Kao Mok Gai
Description
The recipe won't take much time. Those who have been to Thailand have probably tried a very aromatic and delicious dish—Khao Muk Gai. Rice cooked with fragrant spices and chicken is incredibly tasty. There are many recipes for this dish, and I'd like to offer you one of them. It's not too complicated; the process is somewhat similar to preparing pilaf. You can buy the spices already in a set—some stores sell them pre-mixed specifically for this dish. You can speed up the process by skipping marinating the chicken in advance and not drying the onion petals, but it's better to follow the recipe as written. This dish is often served with an interesting sauce made from fresh herbs and always with fresh cucumbers. Let's cook and taste. Serve hot.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Prepare all the spices for the marinade, crush them together, lightly toast/warm them in a dry skillet, then mix with yogurt. Use the resulting marinade to coat the chicken pieces.
- 2
Step 2
Place the chicken together with the marinade into a bag or a container with a tight-fitting lid, and refrigerate for about 6-8 hours.
- 3
Step 3
Peel the shallots, slice them into thin strips, and let the onions dry for a few hours.
- 4
Step 4
Pour 2/3 cup of vegetable oil into a wok or frying pan and heat thoroughly. Add the onion, reduce the heat to medium, and sauté the onion until it turns light golden.
- 5
Step 5
Then we turn off the heat, and let the onion continue cooking until it reaches a slightly golden color.
- 6
Step 6
Using a skimmer, remove the fried onion and place it on paper towels to absorb excess fat.
- 7
Step 7
Heat the oil left from frying the onions over medium-high heat and add the chicken pieces to the wok, removing them from the marinade.
- 8
Step 8
Sear until golden brown, not until fully cooked.
- 9
Step 9
Leave about 4 tablespoons of oil in the wok and heat over medium heat. Mix the minced ginger, garlic, and turmeric, then sauté the mixture until fragrant.
- 10
Step 10
Add rice to the wok.
- 11
Step 11
And sauté over medium heat or slightly higher, stirring, until the rice grains become semi-transparent. Add the remaining marinade from the chicken and sauté, evaporating the liquid.
- 12
Step 12
Place the fried chicken pieces into the rice. Add coconut milk, water, salt, and star anise. Bring to a boil.
- 13
Step 13
Reduce the heat to just below medium, cover the wok with a lid, and cook for about 15–20 minutes, until the rice has absorbed all the liquid. About 3 minutes before the end, increase the heat slightly to form a light crispy layer of rice on the bottom.
- 14
Step 14
Place the rice with pieces of chicken on a plate, sprinkle with fried onions, and serve with fresh cucumbers.