Chicken burrito bowl

• 1.5 lbboneless skinless chicken thighs
• 2 tbspavocado oil · divided
• 1 tbspchili powder
• 2 tspground cumin
• 1 tspsmoked paprika
• 3 clovesgarlic · minced
• 2 wholelimes · one juiced into the marinade, one cut for serving
• 1 cuplong-grain brown rice · dry
• 1 can (15 oz)black beans · drained and rinsed
• 1 cupfrozen corn · charred in a dry pan
• 1 cupcherry tomatoes · halved
• 2 cupsromaine or shredded green cabbage
• 1 wholeavocado · sliced
• 1/2 cupplain Greek yogurt · as the sour-cream swap
• 1 small handfulcilantro · chopped, stems included
• kosher salt · to taste

Method

1. 1

   Use thighs, not breasts, and marinate for the char

   Boneless thighs stay juicy under high heat where breasts dry out, and their extra fat carries the lime, cumin, and smoked paprika. Twenty minutes in the marinade is enough; overnight is better. Pat them dry before they hit the pan or they steam instead of browning.

2. 2

   Cook the rice in broth, not water, and let it cool before it goes in the bowl

   Brown rice simmered in low-sodium chicken broth tastes seasoned all the way through. If you are meal-prepping, spread it on a tray to cool before packing; rice sealed hot into a container turns gummy and sour by day two.

3. 3

   Char the corn in a dry, screaming-hot pan

   Frozen corn straight from the bag is watery and flat. Tip it into a dry cast-iron pan over high heat, leave it undisturbed for two minutes, then toss until it blisters. This is a two-minute step that adds the smoky-sweet note that makes the bowl taste like the takeout version.

4. 4

   Get a hard sear on the thighs, then rest and slice

   Six to seven minutes on the first side, undisturbed, until the crust releases on its own. Flip, cook three or four more, then rest five minutes before slicing so the juices stay in the meat and not on the board. Slice against the grain.

5. 5

   Swap sour cream for Greek yogurt, one for one

   Plain Greek yogurt gives you the same cool tang and creamy drag as sour cream with a fraction of the saturated fat and a protein bump. Thin it with a squeeze of lime and a pinch of salt so it drizzles instead of sitting in a clump.

6. 6

   Rinse the black beans, then warm them with their own seasoning

   Rinsing cuts the tinny canning liquid and about a third of the sodium. Warm the beans with a little cumin and a splash of water so they are seasoned in their own right rather than relying on the chicken to do all the work.

7. 7

   Keep the wet toppings separate if you are prepping ahead

   Avocado, yogurt, and fresh lime go on the day you eat, not the day you cook. Build the rice, beans, chicken, corn, and tomatoes in the container; add avocado and yogurt at serving. Avocado browns and yogurt weeps if it sits on hot rice for four days.

8. 8

   Acid and herbs at the very end

   A fresh squeeze of lime and a scatter of cilantro right before eating is what separates a bowl that tastes made-today from one that tastes reheated. Do this even on day four.