Mloukhieh
الملوخية·(mloo-khee-yeh)
Tabkha Yawmiye: The Weeknight Tanjara
If there is a singular scent that yanks a Lebanese expat right back to their mother’s kitchen, it’s the intoxicating hit of garlic and fresh cilantro sputtering in hot butter. Mloukhieh is an ancient, regal stew of whole jute leaves and rich chicken broth. For the modern American weeknight, utilizing high-quality frozen whole leaves bypasses hours of tedious sorting without sacrificing a shred of authenticity. The magic lies in a crucial grandmother’s secret—shocking the greens with lemon to perfectly manage their texture—and the final architectural assembly: vermicelli rice, tender poached chicken, crispy pita, and a brutally sharp hit of vinegar-soaked onions.
Before you start
Prep the rice and onions early.
Make sure you have a batch of fresh vermicelli rice ready to go, and let the onions sit in the vinegar for at least 20 minutes before serving so they pickle properly.
Ingredients
- bone-in skinless chicken breasts1 1/2 lb
- yellow onion1 med
- cinnamon stick1 large
- dried bay leaves2 med
- green cardamom pods4 med
- Lebanese 7-Spice1 tsp
- kosher salt1 tbsp
- water6 cup
- frozen whole leaf Mloukhieh14 oz
- olive oil2 tbsp
- unsalted butter2 tbsp
- garlic10 large cloves
- fresh cilantro1 large bunch
- ground coriander1 tbsp
- lemon1 large
- white onion1 small
- apple cider vinegar3/4 cup
- thin Lebanese pita bread2 med
- vermicelli rice4 cup
Method
- 01
Boil the chicken and meticulously skim the surface.
Place the chicken pieces and water in a large pot over medium-high heat, using a slotted spoon to aggressively remove the white foam that rises; a clear broth is the foundation of a good stew.
- 02
Infuse the broth.
Once the liquid is clear, drop in the quartered onion, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, cardamom, 7-Spice, and salt, then cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes.
- 03
Strain the broth and shred the meat.
Remove the chicken to a cutting board, strain the golden broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, and pull the meat into bite-sized shreds once it's cool enough to handle.
- 04
Pickle the onion and toast the pita.
While the chicken cooks, submerge the finely diced white onion in the apple cider vinegar to steep, and toast the pita squares in a 375°F oven for five minutes until shatteringly crisp.
- 05
Build the taqliya.
Melt the olive oil and butter in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, fry the garlic paste for exactly 30 seconds, then dump in the fresh cilantro and dried coriander, stirring until deeply fragrant.
- 06
Shock the greens with lemon.
Drop the frozen block of whole-leaf Mloukhieh straight into the sizzling taqliya and immediately squeeze the lemon juice over the top. This is the grandmothers' trick: the acid chemically halts the plant's natural mucilage, ensuring a clean, rich stew rather than a slimy one.
- 07
Simmer the stew.
Pour four to five cups of the hot, strained chicken broth over the thawing greens, bringing the pot to a gentle simmer for 15 to 20 minutes before folding the shredded chicken back in.
- 08
Assemble the bowls in the canonical Lebanese fashion.
Build the dish by layering warm vermicelli rice, a heavy ladle of the stew, a handful of crispy pita squares, and a generous, sharp spoonful of the vinegar-soaked onions right on top.
Notes
Do not thaw the Mloukhieh.
It is imperative that the frozen whole leaves hit the hot oil directly from the freezer. Thawing them beforehand encourages the exact slimy texture we are using the lemon juice to avoid.
Seek out whole leaves.
Ensure your bag of frozen Mloukhieh explicitly says "whole leaves." The minced Egyptian style will turn this hearty stew into a thick soup.
From Cook Lebanese in America.