THAI CHICKEN AND RICE

Though there are many parts to this recipe, it’s pretty easy to follow, and you should be able to get the ingredients quite easily no matter where you live (at least if you live as long as you have access to an Asian supermarket or market).

          I’m going to write down the ingredients I used for 4 chickens (we fed about 20 people) along with the following photos, but in the real recipe (further below, formatted section), I’ve gone ahead and reduced all the ingredients to ¼, or just 1 chicken.

INGREDIENTS

 For the chicken and chicken broth:
 4 large bone-in skin-on chicken thighs or breasts
 1 whole garlic, cut in half
 1 whole onion, quartered
 4-5 sprigs of cilantro
 1 celery stalk, cut into big pieces
 1 teaspoon salt
 ½ teaspoon pepper
 4-5 cups of water (enough to cover the chicken)
 1 daikon, sliced (optional)
 1 winter melon, cut into 1x2-inch pieces (optional)
 For the rice:
 2 cups good Jasmin rice
 2 cups chicken broth
 For the sauce (about 1 cup):
 6 tablespoons Soybean Paste
 1 tablespoon Dark Sweet Soy Sauce
 2 tablespoons sugar
 1 tablespoon minced ginger
 ½ tablespoon minced garlic
 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Thai chilis
 2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice
 Side and garnish:
 cucumber slices
 cilantro (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

STEP 1
Add the chicken, onion, garlic, celery, cilantro, salt, pepper to a large pot, add water enough to cover the chicken. Bring it to a boil and lower the heat to low and let it simmer until the chicken is cooked. About 20-30 minutes. Skim foam off the top but leave most of the fat.
STEP 2
Make the rice. Wash the Jasmin rice in tap water in the rice cooker bowl. Use your hand and gently swirl the rice in the water, get rid of the starch water and repeat 5-6 times until the water is clear. Try to get rid of the water as much as you can, as we'll be using broth instead.
STEP 3
Add chicken broth to the rice, try to get all the fat from the top in. Cook the rice in the rice cooker. If you can find daikon or winter melon, add them to the broth. Simmer and let them cook until soft but not mushy.
STEP 4
Make the sauce. Mix minced garlic, ginger, Thai chilis, sugar, Dark Sweet Soy Sauce, Soybean Paste and lime juice in a bowl. Taste it. It should taste salty, sweet and tangy. If you use a different brand of Soybean paste, it might be saltier than mine. Start with less and add later, if needed.
STEP 5
Take the chicken out of the broth and let them cool down a little bit. Carefully take the skin off and remove the chicken from the bone. Cut the chicken into pieces. Serve with rice, broth and cucumber slices. Garnish with some cilantro (optional). Enjoy!