Recipe: $5.20 | Per Serving: $1.30 | Yield: 4 Servings
Zac recently told me that he was a lot more likely to check out a recipe if it had a title that showed how easy it was. For example: 3-step/30-minute/one-pot. He’s not necessarily my target audience (or is he?), but it inspired me to make an easy one-pot recipe that wasn’t pasta. This was originally split in two separate recipes, coconut chicken and coconut rice, but I scrapped those and tried again. And guess what? It worked! And it's so super fast and easy. One Pan Spicy Coconut Garlic Chicken & Rice. YUM.
We separately made steamed broccoli to go with this, but you could definitely add the broccoli in the last few minutes of cooking to steam it in the same pot. Might I also suggest zucchini, bell peppers, mushrooms, or even frozen peas?
With this recipe, you need to brown the chicken first, then basically add the remaining ingredients, simmer for only about 25 minutes, and voila! Done.
We both LOVED this recipe. Like add it to the weekly menu pronto type of love it. You could use any kind of hot element here, including sriracha, chili-garlic sauce, or Thai red curry paste. Add some more vegetables and it's a perfect meal. One pot! I'm so stoked about it.
For Paleo: Skip the rice. Serve with a starchy side, like sweet potatoes or kabocha squash.
For Vegetarian: Skip the chicken. Combine all ingredients as instructed, adding a can of chickpeas instead of chicken.
One Pan Spicy Coconut Garlic Chicken & Rice
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 pound boneless chicken thighs*
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon spicy chili paste sambal oolek, sriracha, etc.
- 1 cup brown rice
- 1 ½ cups coconut milk 1 can
- ½ cup water
- 5 green onions sliced
- black pepper
- fresh lemon wedges or juice for serving
Instructions
- Trim the chicken and chop it into bite-sized chunks. Melt the coconut oil in a large skillet (mine is nonstick), and brown the chicken on all sides. (Doesn’t need to be cooked all the way yet.)
- Add the minced garlic and spicy chili paste and stir well, sautéing for another 1-2 minutes to lightly cook the garlic.
- Add the rice, the coconut milk, and the water and stir well. Cover and bring to a boil, then immediately reduce to a simmer. Simmer on low-medium heat for about 25 minutes, or until the rice is cooked to your liking.
- Add ½ teaspoon salt and stir well, then stir in the sliced green onions - both the white and the green parts. Top with a little fresh cracked pepper and fresh lemon juice and serve with salad, roasted veggies, or steamed broccoli.
Notes
This is included in 5-ingredients or fewer because most people will have oil, garlic, rice, salt, & pepper in their pantry. (I only bought the chicken & green onions for this recipe!)
This looks really good! If I'm going to an Asian market to buy ingredients, which spicy sauce do you recommend?
This was delicious. Just curious, can you put the ingredients in a rice cooker after cooking the chicken?
Hi! Great question - I haven't tried it, but that should definitely work. There are lots of recipes online using raw chicken and rice in a rice cooker. (Example recipe: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/rice-cooker-ginger-chicken-and-rice) If you have an American style rice cooker (probably $30 or less, doesn't fully seal), then I'd cook the chicken first, but if you have a high-end Japanese-style rice cooker that clicks fully shut, you can probably use raw chicken. Let us know if you try it!