Indonesian Coconut Chicken and Rice

By Jess Kehoe

I am not a food photographer, or a food stylist, or a trained chef, these are the facts.  The photo of this meal on the Food and Wine website looks nothing like this!  The chicken in their photo is perfectly browned.  I don't know how they accomplished that, I even cooked them longer than they recommended, to "brown" them.  Maybe mine are so drab because my chicken thighs were skinless?  Maybe you could try thighs with skins and they would brown better without getting stuck to the pot (which mine did terribly).  But seriously, you should overlook the photo and cook this dish.  Its pretty darn easy, and very tasty!  This recipe fed my family of 4, my two parents and we still had two lunches left over. I love when dinner gives me a wholesome lunch for the next day. ​

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
8 chicken thighs
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 large onion, cut into thin slices
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 cups long-grain rice
1  14 oz can of unsweetened coconut milk
1 3/4 cups water, and maybe little more at the end
1 lb zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped (optional)

Instructions

In a deep frying pan or a Dutch oven heat the cooking oil over moderately high heat.  Sprinkle the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.  Place the chicken in the pot and brown well on both sides, about 8 minutes.  Remove the chicken, set aside and reduce the heat to moderately low.

Add the onion and cook until soft, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.  Add in the garlic and cook for one minute until fragrant.  Stir in the coriander, cumin, rice and the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and the 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.  Stir and cook for about a minute to coat the rice with the spices.

Then stir in the coconut milk and the water.  Return the chicken to the pot and bring this to a simmer.  Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally until the rice is almost done, about 20 minutes.  You may find you want to add 1/4-1/2 cup extra water towards the end if it is looking too dry.  Stir in the zucchini, cover and cook for about 8 more minutes, until the zucchini is just tender.  

Stir in the lemon juice and the cilantro (if desired) and serve.

​Enjoy!