Khao Man Gai (Thai Chicken Rice)
Whole chicken does the heavy lifting here, with jasmine rice rounding it out. A Thai lunch that takes 60 minutes, start to finish.
✓ USDA-verified nutrition data
790 calories
97g protein
50g carbs
21g fat
2g fiber
Ingredients
- 3 lb Whole chicken
- 3 cups Jasmine rice
- 4 slices Ginger
- 6 cloves Garlic
- 1 Cucumber
- 1/2 cup Cilantro
- 3 tbsp Fermented soybean paste
- 2 Thai chilies
- 1 tbsp Dark soy sauce
- 1 Lime
Steps
- Rub the whole chicken inside and out with salt, then poach it in a large pot of simmering water with the ginger slices and smashed garlic, 45 minutes at the barest simmer. Boiling makes tough chicken; a lazy simmer makes silky chicken.
- Lift the chicken out and plunge it into ice water for 10 minutes. This shocks the skin tight and glossy, the signature look of proper khao man gai. Reserve the poaching liquid; it is liquid gold.
- Rinse 3 cups of jasmine rice, then toast it in a pot with rendered chicken fat or oil and minced garlic until the grains turn pearly. Cook the rice in 3 1/2 cups of the reserved poaching broth instead of water.
- Carve the chicken and arrange over the fragrant rice with cucumber slices and cilantro.
- Stir together the fermented soybean paste, minced chilies, a splash of dark soy, and a squeeze of lime for the dipping sauce. Every bite is chicken, rice, cucumber, and a dab of that sauce. The formula never fails.