Sautéed thinly-sliced chicken served over easy rice-cooker-made white rice has long been a quick and simple weeknight dinner choice for me. I’d usually liven it up with some combination of grilled artichoke hearts, shiitake mushrooms, shallots, Kalamata olives and/or sun-dried tomatoes… whatever fresh, dried or marinated produce I had on hand at the time. While I always enjoyed the taste of this ever-slightly different combination, it also always seemed to lack that extra something special to tie it all together. It was finally when at a Greek restaurant I discovered tzatziki sauce that I knew I’d found the missing flavorful fresh taste I’d been looking for here.

This update to my original basic recipe also adds saffron to the rice for flavor and color, and crisps the bottom of the rice to a tasty crunchy crust akin to Persian tahdiq. I also don’t skimp on a generous helping of feta cheese on top for an extra tangy flavor.

I first called this recipe “Greek chicken” and later thought a more expansive “Mediterranean chicken” would be a better choice. But finally, with the additional Persian influence inspiring ingredients and techniques from further east (not to mention my East Asian shiitake mushrooms), “Tethyan chicken” covered not only the greater geography but also links nicely to the historical Mesozoic/Cenozoic orogenic belt along the same region.