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Merchant buckwheat with chicken

Merchant-Style Buckwheat with Chicken

A really simple, tasty everyday dish. Merchant-style buckwheat with chicken combines the meat and the side in one — cooked all in a single pan, which saves you time both while you cook and afterward, when it's time to do the dishes.

Yulia M.

Recipe author

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Buckwheat

Chicken

450

Onion

Carrot

Tomato paste

Water

Vegetable oil

Dry seasonings

Salt

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 25 % 7 g

Fats 25 % 7 g

Carbohydrates 50 % 14 g

138 kcal

GI: 7 / 93 / 0

Cooking method

Cooking time: 40 min

Step 1:

How do you make merchant-style buckwheat with chicken? Gather your ingredients. Boneless chicken is best — thigh or breast fillet — so you're not picking out bones as you eat. Breast fillet tends to come out a little dry, so I chose to use boneless chicken thighs. We'll cook everything in one pan, so use a deep, roomy skillet.
Step 2:

Prep the vegetables: peel the onion and carrot and rinse them. Pick over the buckwheat, removing any debris and unhulled grains, then rinse it several times in cold water.
Step 3:

Rinse the chicken and pat it dry well. Cut it into small pieces. Pour a little vegetable oil into a hot skillet and add the chicken. Fry over high heat for 7 to 10 minutes to brown it a bit. The meat will release juices as it cooks, but after a few minutes they'll evaporate and the meat will start to brown — that's what the high heat is for.
Step 4:

While the chicken fries, chop the onion and grate the carrot on the coarse side of a grater. If you like the carrot to stand out, you can just finely chop it with a knife instead.
Step 5:

Add the onion and carrot to the pan with the meat. Stir and fry everything together another 3 to 4 minutes.
Step 6:

Add the rinsed buckwheat to the pan. Boil the water. Stir the tomato paste into the hot water and pour it over the buckwheat. Season with a little salt and seasonings to taste. Stir and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and cook over low heat for 13 to 15 minutes.
Step 7:

As it cooks, the buckwheat will soak up the water. Taste it — it should be soft. I like this dish juicy, so I add a little more hot water and take it off the heat. The buckwheat has stopped cooking by then, so it won't turn mushy, but there'll be a bit of broth in the dish to keep it moist.
Step 8:

Spoon the merchant-style buckwheat onto plates and serve. Enjoy!

If you like, you can add some mushrooms, bell pepper, or tomatoes while it simmers.
Rinse the meat and be sure to pat it dry with a paper towel — otherwise the extra moisture will keep it from browning and it'll steam instead.
For all the secrets of cooking buckwheat and how to choose it for a great result, see our article "Everyday buckwheat: do we really know it all?"
Use filtered or bottled water with a neutral taste. Tap water can leave an off, distinctive flavor in the dish.