Thai Curry Chicken & Rice Khao Mok Gai ( ข้าวหมกไก่) – for Quick Dinner, Vegan, and Paleo too.

This is my “go-to” dinner whenever I need to get work done and let my rice cooker do most of the cooking.  When I was a child, my dad used to make the seasoning from scratch so we didn’t have this dish often, but I remember how amazing it was and I wished I could have learned it before he passed away.  I am still working on crafting my version of the seasoning, using the Lobos seasoning to save time and make a great quick dinner. Depending on regions of, or amongst even households in Thailand, everyone will make it differently and uses unique recipes adding various spices and techniques. It’s also known as Thai Biryani too. 1-2 pounds            Chicken Leg and Chicken Thigh 1 packet                Lobos Spicy Chicken-in-rice seasoning mix Available at most Thai grocery store and online. 3 cups                   Jasmine Rice 1                           Bay Leave 1 Tsp.                   Salt 5 cups                  Water 2 tbsp.                  Cilantro, chopped 1 tbsp.                  Coconut oil or butter 2/3 cup                 Yogurt, plain Optional 5 cloves                Shallots, thin Slices ¼ cup                   Canola oil (to fry the shallots) 1 pinch                 Sugar Serve with                              Cucumber salad ( see other blog post for recipe)                              Namjim Khao mok gai ( if you like it Hot!)  In a large ziplock bag, mix the yogurt and seasoning before adding the chicken. Mix well and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.    In a frying pan on medium heat, add either coconut oil or butter and brown the chicken, you want the skin to have a nice golden brown color on both sides, it should be about 10-15 minutes, you do not have to fully cook the chicken, it will cook in the rice cooker. Place the chicken in the rice cooker.  Pour your rice in the ziplock bag so that it can pick up all the yogurt seasoning and place the rice in the same saucepan with the leftover bits from the browning the chicken and toast the rice for about 5 minutes.  Place the rice in the rice cooker and stir the rice and chicken.   Add the water and turn your rice cooker on just like when you are cooking rice and it is done.  Serve the chicken and rice with a cucumber salad and topped with chopped cilantro and fried shallots.  ·         To make the fried shallots use the same technique that I explained with making the garlic oil and replace the garlic with shallots and the salt with sugar. If you don’t have time, they do sell fried shallots at many Asian grocery stores. Namjim Khao Mok Gai ( Hot sauce for the chicken & rice) In a blender add 2-3 pepper, 1 green onion stalk, 2 stalks cilantro, 1 tbsp fresh ginger, 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, 2 tbsp vinegar, 2 tbsp water, and blend. Short on time- I usually prepare the chicken the night or in the morning before I work and let it sit for several hours. If I don’t have yogurt, I have used milk, or buttermilk, and just plain water too. All of these liquids work great but the yogurt does give a richness to the dish but it is not the end of the world. I have even forgotten to marinate the chicken beforehand and only let it sit for 15 minutes and it was still ok. One thing I couldn’t get away with was not pan-frying the chicken before adding it into the rice cooker. The rice ended up being too mushy. Vegans- I have made this vegan style too.  I used Firm Tofu and I love Gardein chicken strip. Instead of yogurt, I have used water or coconut milk (the head only, use the coconut water for cooking the rice instead) with a little squeeze of lemon. Because of the texture, you don’t have to marinate for more than 15 minutes and I still recommend pan-frying so you can get some browning. Also try adding a vegetable or “chicken” bouillon to the rice water. Paleo- Use cauliflower rice but don’t cook it, mix the rice in the ziplock bag after taking the chicken out and get it coated with the seasoning. In the rice cooker add 3 tablespoon of water, first. Place the chicken at the bottom of the rice cooker, then pour the cauliflower rice over, don’t stir and set the rice cooker to cook. Enjoy Tia K.