Thai Coconut Chicken Thighs with Ginger, Sticky Rice & Lime
This recipe is similar to my Winner Winner Chicken Dinner shared recently, but with different flavoring, to potentially demystify the idea of cooking as complicated. This is also easy, healthy, cheap(<$5pp) and yummy. I was inspired by Bon Appetit’s recipe, but once I started cooking realized that my way felt easier, which is to say, do what feels good but here is an outline to guide you through. Take what you wish, leave what you don’t, which feels similar to saying goodbye to the weekend really. It seems to be a common sentiment to end Sunday with some sort of sorry and dread for Monday (esp. since Summer is over), so I thought I might also share some personal joys from this morning, how I make magic out of monotony, not lamenting instead celebrating, today, so far at least. It’s so simple to change our perspective – what’s dreadful becomes dreamy, what’s hard becomes easy. List below and the recipe. Love to you always, Olivia
MAKING MAGIC OUT OF MONOTONY MONDAYS
1. Cold sheets + soft pillows for a good night sleep.
2. Decaf coffee cut with sugar free Swiss miss hot chocolate
3. Savory oats to fuel my Stairmaster warmup pre boxing
4. My boxing trainer’s “Grace” tattoo, a simple reminder for #gratitude
5. Toast with a side of anchovy
6. Leftover cold chicken with yellow mustard
7. 5th anniversary Bazooka chewing gum
8. It’s nearly noon so I have rest of day to find more ways to smile. Happy Monday.
Thai Coconut Chicken Thighs with Ginger, Sticky Rice & Lime
Serves 2-4
1 lime, zest and juice + more
Small piece of ginger, grated (or just slice, dice)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/8 cup light brown sugar (I used monkfruit brown sweetener)
¼ cup fish sauce
13.5-oz. can unsweetened LIGHT coconut milk, divided
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Fresh Ground Pepper
2 tsp sriracha + more TT (or gochujang)
4 skin-on bone-in chicken thighs
½ medium head of green cabbage, cut in thick wedges
3/4 cup sticky rice
Lots of chicken stock
Fresh basil, cilantro, for garnish Basil
Unsalted cashews, for garnish
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix lime zest, lime juice, grated ginger, chopped garlic, brown sugar, fish sauce, unsweetened light coconut milk, olive oil, ground pepper, and siracha. Set aside. Dry the chicken thighs thoroughly with paper towels. Heat a few tablespoons of EVOO in a cast iron pan or a heavy skillet. Brown chicken thighs skin side down for 6-8 minutes before flipping. Once the fat begins rendering and there is more room in pan add cabbage to pan to brown. Flip chicken and continue cooking cabbage and chicken in rendered chicken fat. Lift chicken and nestle sticky rice into pan. Cover with chicken. Pour coconut milk marinade over the chicken, rice, cabbage. Add extra chicken stock to make sure there is about ½ inch of liquid over the entirety of the dish.
Cook uncovered in oven for 35-40 minutes. Mid-cooking, add more broth over rice to make sure that the rice is hydrated enough. Turn oven to broil and cook for 5 minutes until thighs are browned and rice is fully hydrated. You might need to add more stock if rice is so crunchy. Remove from oven and let rest briefly.
Serve in cast iron garnished with fresh basil (thai basil if you have it), fresh cilantro, chopped cashews and a drizzle of sriracha or gojuchang for added spice and lime juice!
Find cooking videos via instagram or more recipes, here.
**including my favorite post summer cocktail recipe, here.