An easy oven-to-table dish – a great (and delicious) way to feed a family. We love the balance of this dish, the richness of the curry baked rice paired with the fresh and light smashed cucumber salad.
This Week
9 Dec - 15 Dec
Thai Curry Roasted Chicken and Rice with Smashed Cucumber Salad
- 1 hour 30 minutes
- 4
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Meal Prep Guide
Roast ¼ cup of cashews (store in an airtight jar or container in the pantry)
Make the dressing for the smashed cucumber salad (store in an airtight jar in the fridge)
- ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 garlic clove (crushed)
- Add all ingredients into a jar and shake to combine.
Tips
- Rinse the rice thoroughly before adding it to the cooking liquid, this helps to remove excess starch on the rice – resulting in fluffier rice.
- Lightly smashing the cucumbers isn’t just for fun – it actually helps create a greater and better surface area (though more cracks and crevices) for the dressing to be absorbed, which means overall more flavour for every mouthful.
- If your coconut cream splits when you blend it, simply pop the mixture into a saucepan over low heat until combined.
Shortcuts
- Swap out the chicken drumsticks for thighs as they will take less time to cook (see variations below)
Shortcuts
Vegetables
- For some extra veggies you could add some cherry tomatoes or finely sliced cabbage or roughly chopped cos to the smashed cucumber salad.
- Serve with a side of steamed greens.
Protein
- Swap out the chicken drumsticks for chicken thighs. Note, you will need to reduce the stock to 350ml and it will only need to cook for 40-50 minutes.
- For a vegetarian option swap chicken drumsticks for 300g of tofu, cut into bite-size cubes. Note, you will need to reduce the stock to 350ml and it will only need to cook for 40-50 minutes.
Other
- If you don’t have any curry paste you can add the following ingredients to the blender.
- 2 lemongrass stalks (roughly chopped)
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 red chilli
- 1 shallot (cut into quarters)
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 additional Tbsp fish sauce
Ingredients
- 2-3 Tbsp Thai green curry paste
- 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp coconut or brown sugar
- 1 tin (400ml) coconut cream
- 1 kg chicken drumsticks (approx.10)
- 1 ½ cups jasmine rice
- 2 cups chicken broth or stock
Garnish with
- ¼ cup cashews (roasted and roughly chopped)
- ½ cup fresh coriander (roughly chopped)
Smashed cucumber salad
- ¾ cucumber
- ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 garlic clove (crushed)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, fan bake.
- Add curry paste, ginger, fish sauce, coconut sugar and coconut cream into a blender or nutribullet and blend until combined.
- Drizzle drumsticks in a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Add the rice to a large baking dish (we used one that was 40cm x 30cm), pour over the coconut cream mixture and the stock and then nestle in the chicken drumsticks.
- Pop it into the oven for 1 hour – 1 hour 20 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed and the chicken is golden brown, turning the drumsticks at halfway so both sides can get deliciously golden.
- While the chicken is in the oven, you can prepare the smashed cucumber salad. Cut the cucumber in half lengthways, place the cut side down on a chopping board and with a rolling pin or heavy object slightly smash the cucumber, then roughly chop into half moons. Add the cucumber to a bowl.
- To make the dressing, add all the ingredients into a glass jar and shake well to combine. Pour the dressing over the cucumber and let it macerate for at least 15 minutes.
- Once the rice and chicken have cooked, garnish with the cashews and coriander; serve alongside the cucumber salad.
Variations
Vegetables
- For some extra veggies you could add some cherry tomatoes or finely sliced cabbage or roughly chopped cos to the smashed cucumber salad.
- Serve with a side of steamed greens.
Protein
- Swap out the chicken drumsticks for chicken thighs. Note, you will need to reduce the stock to 350ml and it will only need to cook for 40-50 minutes.
- For a vegetarian option swap chicken drumsticks for 300g of tofu, cut into bite-size cubes. Note, you will need to reduce the stock to 350ml and it will only need to cook for 40-50 minutes.
Other
- If you don’t have any curry paste you can add the following ingredients to the blender.
- 2 lemongrass stalks (roughly chopped)
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 red chilli
- 1 shallot (cut into quarters)
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 additional Tbsp fish sauce
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