Massaman chicken thighs and rice cooked together in one pan, so the rice drinks up all the chicken juices and gets a crusty little top. Pile on the toppings and never cook rice alone again.
Serves: 4 - 6
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
INGREDIENTS
Chicken and rice
9 chicken thigh fillets (1 pack from Coles, about 1.4 kg)
olive oil
salt
1 brown onion, sliced
1 1/2 tbsp massaman curry paste
2 cups jasmine rice (I grabbed it by handfuls, so maybe 2 and a bit)
2 cups chicken stock, made with chicken stock powder
1 x 65 ml triangle pack coconut milk (I used Ayam)
Unfrenched beans
500 g green beans
1 full kettle of boiling water
olive oil
salt
To serve
lime wedges
yoghurt
eggplant chutney
coriander mint chutney, or fresh coriander and fresh mint
optional: lime pickle, chilli flakes or fresh chilli, pappadums
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan-forced.
Heat a heavy-based ovenproof pan until it's really hot. Oil and salt each chicken thigh, then sear in 2 batches, one side only, until really golden brown, about 5 minutes. Set aside to rest.
Add a little extra olive oil to the sticky chicken base in the pan, then add the onion and stir-fry it until soft. Add the massaman curry paste and stir it around, then throw in the rice and stir to coat.
Pour in the chicken stock and the coconut milk and give it a swirl around. Nestle the chicken back into the pan, browned side up.
Pop it into the oven, uncovered, for about 25 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed and the chicken is cooked.
Meanwhile, lay the beans down on the board and slice them lengthways - not perfectly, some small, some long. Put them in a heatproof bowl, pour an entire kettle of boiling water over them and let them steep for a minute. Drain, then drizzle with olive oil and salt.
Serve the chicken and rice with the beans, a squeeze of lime, a dollop of yoghurt, some eggplant chutney and coriander mint chutney (or fresh coriander and mint). Add lime pickle, chilli flakes or fresh chilli, and decide your own adventure.
HINTS
It's uncovered, but the chicken covers so much of the rice that it works like a lidded situation. So much of the chicken juice goes down into the rice and actually cooks it, and all of the steam from the watery business in the rice steams the chicken. You still get a crusty little top on the rice, especially all the bits that are exposed.
I like chicken stock powder because you can adjust how rich you want it.
The toppings are key. If you can be bothered, this would be great with some pappadums.
You can do this with any kind of curry paste. Do it Thai and serve it with lettuce cups and a cucumber salad.
You don't even need curry paste. Sub it out for mustard and some balsamic vinegar and take it a little euro.
You can change the thighs out for mince. It's the same general rule across all of it - cook the chicken and the rice in one pan and they all get the flavour.
NUTRITION (per recipe total - serves 4 - 6 - guide only):
Energy: approx. 4,250 kcal (17,800 kJ)
Protein: approx. 305g
Fat: approx. 180g
Carbohydrate: approx. 330g
Sodium: approx. 3,700mg
This nutrition information is a guide only and may vary depending on brands, exact quantities, and ingredient substitutions used.