Mix chicken and all your marinate ingredients together and let sit for at least 30 minutes but a few hours is better. Don’t let it marinate for more that 4 hours. The acid from the lemon juice will start changing the texture of the meat, and not in a good way. And, if you’re marinating the meat any longer than 30 minutes, keep it refrigerated!

Wash your rice and combine everything in a pot with a tight fitting lid. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 - 20 minutes until all water is absorbed. Turn off heat and let sit for 10 minuted with the lid on. Fluff with a fork and serve.

Or, do what I do and use a trusty rice cooker. I love this one from Aroma. It’s pretty basic, affordable and works great.

Thinly slice onions and add to a jar or airtight container. Add in vinegar, sugar, salt and water. You want to make sure you have enough liquid in the container so the onions are covered. Top it up with a little extra vinegar if you need to. Mix it around a bit so all the sugar and salt is dissolved. You can eat these in as little as 30 minutes, but I like to make a batch and have it sitting in the fridge for whenever I want to use them. Plus, the longer you let them sit, the more vibrant color you’ll get.

Mix everything together until fully combined. Check for seasoning and adjust if needed. Sauce should be tangy and slightly sweet, you want a balance.

Blend all your herbs together with the olive oil. Season with salt. The final sauce should be very intensely flavored and will be the consistency of a pesto.

If you want your sauce to stay a super vibrant green, blanche the herbs first and make sure to squeeze out any excess water. I was using this up in about a day or two, and I was impatient, so I just blended them fresh.

Grill chicken till cooked through. Let rest for 10 minutes and then slice to serve.

To serve get a few spoonfuls of rice on your plate. Scatter over some sliced chicken and then drizzle with your white sauce and herb oil. Scatter over some pickled onions, a generous handful of fresh herbs and a good pinch of dried sumac. And be sure to serve some extra pickled things on the side. Here I used some classic dill pickle spears, but if you have pickled beets, pepperoncini, pickled turnips, whatever. Use ‘em. The sour briny flavor goes so well with the white sauce and the fresh herbs. Oh, and some warmed fresh pita would be a good idea as well.