Halal Cart Chicken and Rice
Juicy, marinated chicken thighs piled over yellow basmati rice with creamy garlic-yogurt white sauce, hot sauce, lettuce, and tomato. Inspired by the famous chicken and rice platters from NYC halal carts.
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.
Don't stir the rice or lift the lid during its 30 minute cook time.
If there are any burnt or blackened bits of marinade in the pan, pull those out with a fork before making your jus.
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