Lemon-Pepper Rice

Mei's wedding is this weekend. I smoked a brisket Thursday for the pre-wedding dinner — a twelve-pounder, fish sauce lemongrass rub, fourteen hours over pecan because I'm bringing Texas to Dallas whether Dallas wants it or not. Wrapped it in butcher paper, packed it in a cooler with towels, and loaded it into the truck Friday morning. Four hours of driving with a brisket in the passenger seat. The truck smelled like heaven for a hundred and seventy miles.

The pre-wedding dinner was Friday night at a Vietnamese restaurant in Garland called Pho Bang. Mai rode with me from Houston — a rare road trip for her, and she slept for most of it, which I didn't mind. She sleeps easily in cars. Always has. Linh and her husband Richard met us at the restaurant with David, who'd driven up from Cambridge for the wedding. David is finishing at MIT and is taller than I remember, which is what you say about every young person you haven't seen in six months.

The dinner was beautiful. Twenty-five family members around a long table. Pho, bánh xèo, grilled everything. And my brisket, which I unwrapped at the table like a man presenting evidence. The restaurant owner, a Vietnamese woman in her sixties, looked at the brisket, looked at me, and said in Vietnamese, "You brought your own food to my restaurant?" I said, "It's family." She said, "It better be good." It was good. She came back for a second slice and said nothing, which is how Vietnamese women compliment you when they don't want to.

Mei looked happy. Jeffrey the tax attorney was hovering attentively, refilling water glasses and making small talk with aunties he'd just met. He was trying hard. I respect trying hard. I told him the brisket recipe and he nodded seriously and wrote something in his phone. Linh leaned over and whispered, "He wrote it down." I said, "I see that." She said, "That's either dedication or terror." I said, "Both are acceptable in a son-in-law."

Mai sat at the head of the table — the family matriarch, eighty-three and still the center of gravity. She didn't say much but she watched everything with those eyes that miss nothing. At one point she looked at me across the table and gave the smallest nod. I know what it meant. It meant: this is what we built. This family, from a boat in the South China Sea to a restaurant in Garland, Texas. This is what survived.

Every brisket needs a side that doesn’t try to compete. This lemon-pepper rice is what I packed alongside the twelve-pounder for Mei’s pre-wedding dinner — something bright enough to cut through fourteen hours of pecan smoke, familiar enough to sit on a table next to pho and bánh xèo without feeling out of place. Jeffrey wrote down the brisket recipe, but honestly, this rice is the part that ties everything together.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 cups long-grain white rice
3 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Zest of 2 lemons
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced

Instructions

Rinse the rice. Place the rice in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse under cold water until the water runs clear, about 1 minute. Drain well.
Toast the rice. Heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the rinsed rice and stir to coat, toasting for about 2 minutes until the grains turn slightly opaque.
Cook the rice. Pour in the chicken broth and add the salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover tightly, and simmer for 18 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.
Season and finish. Fluff the rice with a fork. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, and cracked black pepper. Fold gently until the butter is melted and everything is evenly distributed.
Garnish and serve. Transfer to a serving bowl, top with chopped parsley, and serve warm alongside smoked meats or grilled dishes.

Nutrition (per serving)

Lemon-Pepper Rice — The Side Dish That Traveled Four Hours with a Brisket