Street Cart Chicken and Rice

This is based on the Halal Cart-Style Chicken and Rice with White Sauce Street recipe at Serious Eats.

I added some extra seasonings to the chicken and sauce, plus a few other changes.

There is room to play with the ratios on some of the ingredients to make the nutrition content fit your needs.

Sauce: You can try using all Greek yogurt instead of half mayo.

Rice: The original recipe called for 2 tbs of butter. You can get away with 1 tbs. I have not tried omitting it entirely and just dumping the seasonings in with the rice.

Chicken: I used a mix of chicken breasts and thighs here. The thighs will be juicier and more authentic to the actual street carts, but the chicken breasts come out great as well.

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Street Cart Chicken and Rice

Servings 6

Ingredients

  • For the sauce:
  • 1/2 cup olive oil mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 lemon, squeezed
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • salt
  • water
  • For the rice:
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 tsp tumeric
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 1 1/2 cups Jasmine rice
  • 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • For the chicken:
  • 1 lb chicken breast
  • 1 lb chicken thigh
  • 4 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 tbsp oregano
  • 1/2 tsp tumeric
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 lemon, squeezed
  • 1-2 tbsp avocado oil or other high smoke point oil
  • Extras
  • fresh sliced tomatoes
  • romaine or iceberg lettuce
  • cabbage/ broccoli slaw, cucumbers, other greens (optional)
  • Harissa or Sriracha, optional

Instructions

  • Put the chicken in a bowl with the marinade ingredients. Set aside on the countertop for at least 15-20 minutes while you prep the rice and sauce.
  • Combine all ingredients for the sauce. If the sauce is thick, stir in some water (one tablespoon at a time) until it is a drizzle-y consistency. Set aside in the refrigerator.
  • In a pot or rice cooker (on sauté function), melt the butter. Add the spices and mix them with the butter. Cook for 30 seconds. Then, mix in the rice. Add the chicken broth. Cover and cook according to package directions.
  • You can either grill the chicken, or cook it on a skillet.
  • Once chicken is cooked, transfer it to a cutting board and slice it. If using a skillet, you can throw it back on for a minute or two so that all sides get browned.
  • Serve the chicken over the rice. Add a handful of greens, some tomato slices, and drizzle with the white sauce.

Notes

Nutrition estimate for 1/6 of the recipe (half chicken thighs and half chicken breasts, with 1 tbsp of sauce:
488 calories – 20 fat – 35 carbs – 42 protein

The real street carts give you tomato and iceberg lettuce, which are awesome mixed in with the rice and sauce.  Just to fill the veggie quota, I add a handful of cabbage slaw or broccoli slaw.  It handles the dressing well and adds a nice, fresh crunch. Cucumbers are great, too.

Tumeric tends to tint everything orange, so you might not want to use your fanciest white cutting board to cut the chicken.

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