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Halal cart chicken and rice is one of New York City’s most hyped street-food meals. Juicy, spiced chicken piled onto aromatic yellow rice then covered in a lemony garlic yogurt sauce.
Why This Halal Chicken and Rice Recipe Delivers
Most homemade versions of halal cart chicken miss in the same few places. The chicken is dry. The rice is gummy and bland. The white sauce is either a thick glop or basically just mayo.
In this recipe, a quick spiced yogurt marinade (instead of mayo) seasons the chicken thighs and helps them brown without being overly greasy. After a hard sear and a short oven finish, the chicken gets a bath in its own jus for an extra shot of flavor and juiciness. The basmati rice is toasted in oil then steamed in flavorful stock. The white sauce is equal parts mayo and yogurt, so it’s rich but still loose enough to work its way into the chicken and rice.
Get all of that in one bite with a little red sauce and some tomato and lettuce and you understand why this is such a big thing in New York. It’s one of those humble dishes that becomes way more than the sum of its parts.
Brian’s Pro Tips
Cook the Thighs to 185°F
The FDA says that chicken thighs are safe to eat at an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C), but thighs are loaded with connective tissue that needs time to break down. If you stop cooking right at 165°F, they can be bouncy and kind of flabby. I prefer to cook them to at least 175°F, but preferably 185°F or slightly above. With that extra cooking, more fat renders and some of the connective tissue breaks down. The result is juicy, almost shreddable meat.
Toast the Rice Like a Pilaf
Frying the rinsed rice in oil before liquid goes in is the classic pilaf method, and it’s a big part of why cart rice eats differently than plain steamed rice. The heat firms the surface starch so the grains stay separate. The coating of fat (oil) slows water absorption, helping them hydrate evenly and stay firm and distinct. And the light browning adds a nutty toastiness you can taste in the finished rice.
Drench in Roasted Chicken Jus
I like to use the brown bits that build up in the pan during the sear by deglazing with a splash of water and scraping them up. Then I drag the cooked thighs through those pan juices before cutting. This boosts the roasty chicken flavor and makes everything super juicy.
Diced Over Shredded Lettuce
Every recipe I came across tells you to shred the lettuce. But those shreds end up slopping sauce on your face and don’t neatly fit onto a spoon or fork. Diced is the perfect form factor. It integrates with the other components so that every bite is a perfectly constructed one.
Key Ingredient Notes
These are some of the ingredients I want to highlight in this recipe. A full list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
Chicken Thighs
Thighs have more fat and connective tissue than breast, so they stay juicy under hard heat and can take way more cooking before they dry out. Make sure to trim off excessive chunks of fat. In a quick cook like this they don’t render all the way and can be kind of flabby.
Chicken breast gives you a tiny cook window and then it’s dry so I don’t recommend it.
Basmati Rice
Basmati is essential for this dish. It cooks up into long, separate grains that all squish individually as you eat them. That’s more the vibe.
Substitute with – Jasmine rice works, but it’s softer and stickier. It needs less liquid so pull the stock back by 10 to 15% (about 340 to 360g instead of 400g). Don’t use short grain rice. It’s way too sticky for this.
Chicken Bouillon
Store bought chicken stock alone doesn’t do much to flavor the rice. A big spoonful of Better Than Bouillon boosts the savory chicken flavor and brings all the salt the rice needs, which is why there’s no other salt in the pot. Combine that cartoonish chicken flavor with the onion and garlic powder and this rice tastes like Rice a Roni in a VERY good way. No paste?…
Substitute with – Bouillon cubes. They do a similar job of seasoning the rice, but the amount you use will depend on the brand and cube size.
Plain Yogurt (Not Greek)
A lot of halal cart copycat recipes use mayo in the chicken marinade, but I find that it turns oily during cooking. I like yogurt because it helps the spices cling to the chicken better than mayo AND isn’t oily.
Yogurt also goes in the white sauce to balance the richness of the mayo and keep the sauce loose enough to drizzle. Stick with regular plain yogurt since Greek is too thick. If that’s all you have, thin it with a splash of water.
Full ingredient list and amounts listed in the recipe card below.
How To Make Halal Cart Chicken and Rice
Marinate The Chicken
- In a bowl big enough to hold the chicken, combine the salt and spices with 25g plain yogurt, 15g fresh lemon juice and 15g olive oil. Stir into a smooth paste then toss the thighs in the marinade until fully coated.
- Refridgerate for 30-60 minutes if you have the time. If you’re in a rush, you can also just marinate while rice cooks and the oven pre-heats.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F / 220°C.
How long does it actually need to marinate? 30-60 minutes is ideal, but you don’t NEED that long. We’re bathing the cooked chicken in its drippings and adding two sauces, so the marinade plays a smaller role. Extra time buys a little tenderness and juiciness. Nice to have, not necessary.
Rinse and Toast The Rice
- Rinse 200g of basmati rice in a colander until the water runs clear. Drain it well and shake out as much water as you can.
- Heat roughly 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil in a 3-4 quart saucepan (that has a lid)over high heat until it shimmers. Add the rice and stir constantly for 4 to 5 minutes. You’re done toasting when nearly every grain has turned opaque, a few are starting to get a kiss of golden color, and the pot smells like popcorn.
Can I skip rinsing? I wouldn’t. Basmati is really starchy on the outside. That loose surface starch glues the grains together into clumps and can leave chalky film in your mouth.
Bloom the Turmeric and Add Stock
- Stir in 15g unsalted butter and 2g ground turmeric and keep stirring until the butter is fully melted and the rice turns yellow.
- Add in 400g chicken stock and, 5g onion powder, 5g garlic powder, 25g chicken Better Than Bouillon and stir until the paste dissolves.
Cook and Steam the Rice
- Bring the pot to a gentle boil, stir and cover with a lid. Turn the heat to low (2-3 out of 10) and cook for 15 minutes. Don’t stir it, don’t lift the lid to check it. Sear the chicken while waiting for the rice to cook.
- Turn off the heat and let it steam, still covered, for another 15 minutes. Again, no stirring or lifting the lid.
- After the 15 minute steam off heat, fluff rice, cover to keep warm, and set aside until it’s time to serve.
Sear the Chicken
- While the rice cooks, heat a 12 inch oven safe stainless steel sauté pan over medium high heat.
- Lay the marinated thighs in the pan smooth side down. Press down with a weight or spatula, then leave the chicken undisturbed for 4 to 5 minutes, until the underside is deeply golden brown.
Finish in the Oven
- Flip the thighs then slide the pan straight into the 425°F (220°C) oven and roast for 7 to 9 minutes, or until the thickest thigh reads 175-185°F (85°C) or even a little higher.
Why sear and then finish the thighs in the oven? You CAN cook these entirely on the stovetop, but I find that keeping the pan over direct high heat for that long burns the marinade before the thighs cook through. The oven finishes the chicken a little more gently, giving the fat more time to render.
Make the White and Red Sauces
- While the chicken roasts, whisk 125g mayonnaise, 125g plain yogurt, 3g kosher salt, 5g (1 clove) minced garlic and 10g lemon juice in a bowl until smooth and pourable.
- TASTE IT and adjust with a little more lemon or salt if it needs it. I like to transfer mine to a squeeze bottle for easy drizzling.
The white sauce is the reason people line up at the carts. The Halal Guys have kept their recipe a secret, but his is my version. It’s creamy, garlicky, tangy and thin enough to drizzle.
- Next, make the red sauce by mixing together 2:1 sriracha (120 g) to Louisiana hot sauce 60 g). A lot of recipes make this from scratch, but this version gives us exactly what we need from it (sour + hot) with essentially no work.
- Dice tomatoes into a small dice
- Dice head lettuce into a medium dice.
Rest Chicken & Build the Plate
- Move the thighs to a plate and let them rest for about 10 minutes.
- In the meantime discard any blackened or burnt bits of marinade from the sauté pan. Add roughly 2 tablespoons of water to the pan and scrape up the brown fondy bits until a kind of chicken jus is formed.
- Once the chicken is rested, give it a pass through the roasty chicken jus, then dice into ¾” chunks. If you want, drip some of the jus over the diced chicken as well.
Build the Plate
- Spoon the rice into bowls and pile the chicken on top. Add diced lettuce and tomato on the side, drizzle white sauce generously over everything and finish with a drizzle of red sauce. Add a pita on the side if you want.
Storage & Make-Ahead
Leftover chicken and rice keep in sealed containers in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Store the white sauce in its own container (it’s good for about 4 days too). Add the lettuce and tomato fresh when you serve.
To make-ahead, marinate the chicken the night before and whisk up the white sauce a day early.
More Recipes to Try
- Greek Chicken Souvlaki – Another great way to eat spiced chicken with tangy sauce
- Chicken Thighs Khao Soi – A short cut way to my favorite Thai soup
- 5 Ingredient Arroz Con Pollo – Another chicken and rice dish that hits very hard
Halal Cart Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
Chicken and Marinade
- 600 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 10 g kosher salt
- 5 g ground cumin
- 3 g ground coriander
- 3 g ground black pepper
- 2 g dried oregano
- 3 g onion powder
- 3 g garlic powder
- 25 g plain yogurt , (not Greek)
- 15 g fresh lemon juice
- 15 g olive oil
Rice
- 200 g basmati rice
- 3 T oil
- 15 g unsalted butter
- 2 g ground turmeric
- 400 g chicken stock
- 25 g Better Than Bouillon, chicken
- 5 g onion powder
- 5 g garlic powder
White Sauce
- 125 g mayonnaise
- 125 g plain yogurt , (not Greek)
- 10 g lemon juice
- 3 g kosher salt
- 5 g garlic, minced
Red Sauce
- 120 g Sriracha
- 60 g hot sauce, Louisiana brand
To Serve
- head lettuce (little gem, romain, or iceberg), medium diced
- tomatoes, small diced
Instructions
- To make the marinade, whisk yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and all the spices into a smooth paste.
- Toss chicken thighs in the marinade until fully coated. Refrigerate at least 30-60 minutes if you have time. Otherwise just marinate while the rice cooks.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C
- Rinse basmati rice in a colander until the water runs clear. Drain well.
- Heat 3-4 T oil in a 3-4 quart saucepan over medium high heat until shimmering. Add the rice and toast 4 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until nearly all the grains are opaque and a few are starting to toast.
- Stir in butter and turmeric until the butter is fully melted and the rice turns yellow. Add chicken stock, Better Than Bouillon, 5g garlic powder, and 5g onion powder. Stir until the paste dissolves.
- Bring to a gentle boil, give it one final stir, cover and reduce the heat to low, or about 2 or 3 out of 10. Cook 15 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and steam, covered, 15 minutes more. Keep the lid on the whole time, then fluff with a fork and set aside until time to serve.
- While the rice cooks, heat a 12 inch oven safe stainless steel sauté pan over medium high heat. Add thighs to the pan smooth side down. Press down with a weight or spatula, then sear undisturbed for 4 to 5 minutes or until deeply golden brown.
- Once a nice golden sear has developed, flip the thighs and sear for 1-2 minutes until color begins to decvelop then transfer the pan to the 425°F/220°C oven and roast 7 to 9 minutes. They're done when the thickest thigh reads 175 to 185°F (85℃) or even a little higher.
- While the chicken roasts, make the white sauce. Whisk mayonnaise, 125g yogurt, 3g salt, 5g minced garlic and 10g lemon juice until smooth and pourable. Taste and adjust with a little more lemon or salt if needed.
- Prep the rest of your toppings by mixing together red sauce ingredients and dicing lettuce and tomatoes.
- When the thighs are done, rest them on a plate for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, add roughly 2 tablespoons of water to the pan and scrape up the brown bits to form a chicken jus.
- Pass the rested thighs through the pan jus, then dice into ¾” chunks. Drip some of the rested chicken drippings over the diced chicken if you want.
- To assemble the halal chicken plates, spoon rice into bowls and top with chicken, diced lettuce and tomatoes, and a drizzle of white sauce and red sauce.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, but don’t skip the pan step first. Toast the rice and bloom the turmeric in butter in a pan, then you can move it all into the rice cooker with the stock and Better Than Bouillon and run it on the white rice setting.
Yep. Stuff the chicken, rice, lettuce, tomato and both sauces into a warm pita for a cart style sandwich. Or skip the rice and pile the chicken over just lettuce for a lighter bowl.
Yes, but expect them to be less juicy. Marinate at least 60 minutes, sear then roast to a temp of 150°F (66°C). Note that the official USDA recommendation is cooking to 165°F, but I like 150-155° for optimal juiciness.
