One-pot coconut rice & chicken
This is a top 9-free one-pot meal that borrows some beautiful and distinct Thai flavors, but this is not a Thai dish. I feel pretty comfortable taking liberties with Korean dishes and still calling them Korean, but I want to tread lightly when working with flavors of other cuisines because I don’t want to drift into cultural appropriation territory. For Thai recipes from a Thai person, I highly recommend checking out Pai’s amazing recipes.
Canned coconut milk and jasmine rice are both incredibly fragrant, especially when you add garlic to the mix. This will fill your kitchen with intoxicating scents, be forewarned.
There’s a moderate amount of prep work in advance, but your time in front of the stove will be minimal. I was originally going to do this as a rice cooker dish, but realized that many people may not have rice cookers (yet!), so we’re using the Dutch oven on the stove top. (A regular pot will not work for this dish because it will not heat as slowly and evenly as a Dutch oven and the rice may burn.)
See the video for this recipe on my Instagram: The Asian Allergy Mom.
Other top-9 free recipes
One-pot coconut rice & chicken
Serves 4
Ingredients:
For the marinade:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into chicken nugget-size pieces
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp kosher salt (1/4 tsp table salt)
1/2 tsp brown sugar, packed
Juice from one-quarter lime
1/4 tsp fish sauce (optional; omit to keep top 9-free)
1 TBS neutral oil
For the Dutch oven:
2 cups jasmine rice, rinsed
1 13.5 can coconut milk (not “lite,” not the beverage)
1 cup water
1 tsp kosher salt (1/2 tsp table salt)
1 carrot, cut into thin strips or similar (see photo)
Optional garnish:
Lime wedges
Scallions, chopped
Directions:
Prepare chicken and marinade: in a medium bowl, add chicken pieces, garlic, salt, brown sugar, lime juice, fish sauce (optional) and oil. Massage and mix to evenly coat chicken. Let marinate for 30 minutes up to a few hours.
Heat Dutch oven on stove-top with medium heat. Add rinsed rice, coconut milk, water, salt. Stir.
Add carrot in a single layer, pushing down with a spoon to submerge them but do not mix. Add chicken, spreading evenly over top of the rice and carrots. Do not mix; let chicken rest on top.
Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce to simmer, and cook for 15 minutes without disturbing. Remove from the heat and allow to rest until the water is completely absorbed and the rice is tender, about 15 more minutes.
Remove lid and fluff rice. Serve with lime wedges or chopped scallions if desired. Salt to taste.
Allergens: fish (omit fish sauce to make fish-free)
