khao Mok Gai ข้าวหมกไก่ Southern Yellow Chicken Rice

After a week of Malaysian food we are slowly moving up to Thailand's deep south. Some refer to this as the Thai Bryiani and I think they are not wrong at all. A southern Thai Muslim dish that is popular around the country and a favourite of my late grandfather. A very simple dish to prepare but the end result is never short of festive. If you don't have a rice cooker, just finish off the dish using the absorption method. A dish heavily influenced by Indian and Arab cooking but the dipping sauce has managed to make this a unmistakably Thai.

Serves 3 as a one dish meal

you'll need;

6 chicken drumsticks or thighs, marinated with 1 tbs each of curry powder and turmeric powder

2 cups of jasmine rice, washed and drained

2 shallots, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tbs of Malaysian curry powder

1/2 tbs of turmeric powder

1 cinnamon stick

2 bay leaves

1/4 cup of coconut milk

chicken stock

salt and pepper to taste

fried shallots as toppings

cucumber and tomato slices

Prepare the aromatics for the rice.

For the sauce;

2 green chilies

5 cm knob of ginger

3 stalks of coriander 

3 spring onion

1/3 cup of castor sugar

1/3 cup of white vinegar

salt to taste

1 tbs of water

Chop all the herbs and aromatics finely and set aside. Place sugar and water in a bowl and microwave for a minute, add in the vinegar. Add chopped ingredients into the sugar and vinegar mixture, check for seasonings.

Pan fry chicken til golden.

Saute chopped shallots and garlic til lightly brown then add the spices and coat the rice well.

Place rice and chicken in the rice cooker.

Add stock and coconut milk and start cooking.

Serve rice with chicken, garnish with sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, not to forget the sauce of course.