Coconut Rice With Chicken Thighs Recipe

Hi Friends,

I am back with another Thai recipe.  You must be wondering why do I always bring either Thai or Malaysian recipes.  Well to be frank, I love eating this maybe because I come from that place and have always relished it from childhood.  Also I enjoy cooking using coconut milk.

This is a one-pot meal of tender chicken thighs, fresh, crunchy snow peas, and lightly spiced rice cooked in coconut milk It adds a rich flavor, creamy texture, and a sweetness that is perfectly at home in savory dishes. it sure is a tasty way to make a quick, weeknight meal.

Serves 4/ Time :45 minutes

Why this recipe works:

Searing chicken thighs in a pot helps build up aromatic food, which in turn flavors the whole dish as it simmers under a single lid.

Just a pinch of spices (cumin and cayenne pepper) help to tame the sweetness of coconut milk. Adding some chicken broth to the mix also helps maintain the dish's savory profile.

Make sure to watch your heat carefully as the bottom of the rice will burn if it's too hot. Stir the rice occasionally as it cooks to see if the rice if sticking.

Happy eating!

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (4 to 6 thighs)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Pinch of cayenne powder

1 ½ cups basmati, Jasmine, or long-grain rice

1 can coconut milk - Note: You'll want to stir the coconut milk in the can to loosen it up before adding it to the pan. The coconut milk, once stirred, makes up for the rest of the liquid needed to cook the rice. Keep an eye on it, if you're concerned, and stir to make sure it doesn't stick.

1/3 cup homemade or store-bought low sodium chicken stock or water

2 cups snow peas

2 tablespoons fresh juice and 1 tablespoon zest from 2 limes

½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

DIRECTIONS

1. Season the chicken well with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in skillet over medium-high heat until lightly smoking. Add the chicken, skin-side down. Cook without moving until browned, 6 to 10 minutes. Flip and cook until second side is browned, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove to a plate and set aside.

2. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat and return pot to medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the cumin and cayenne and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until fragrant and lightly toasted, about 1 minute. Add the coconut milk and chicken stock (or water), stir together, then nestle the chicken back on top, skin side up. Adjust the heat to maintain a simmer, then cover and cook until the chicken and rice are almost done, 15 to 20 minutes, longer, checking that rice isn't burning occasionally. Add snow peas, stir, and cook until rice and chicken are fully cooked and snow peas are bright green, 1 to 2 minutes longer.

3. Stir in the lime juice and zest, season to taste with salt and pepper, sprinkle with cilantro, and serve.

When cooking in a regular pot where a lot of the liquid evaporate, I would imagine that you’d need more liquid than that.  You should be able to judge for yourself.  You can also cook this in the pressure cooker so it takes less time.

For Vegans you may use the following instead of chicken.  I am penning down this option as I have a lot of vegan friends and I don’t want to disappoint them.

1 (8 oz) package baby bella mushrooms, sliced

* 2 small zucchini, thinly sliced

* 1 red bell pepper, diced

* 2 garlic cloves, minced

* 1 Tbs. freshly minced ginger

* 1/2 cup frozen edamame (young soybeans, usually still in the pod)

* 2 scallions, finely sliced

Food is for eating, and good food is to be enjoyed... I think food is, actually, very beautiful in itself. Delia Smith

Parsan Narang

27th May 2016