Easy Thai Chicken with Coconut Brown Rice

This sweet, sticky and tangy Thai chicken with roasted pineapple and coconut rice is a stunning and simple week night dinner. It's a healthy dinner brimming with fresh veggies and wholegrain brown rice. All that is ready for dinner in 60 minutes!

Before we talk about these gorgeous bowls of sticky Thai chicken, can we have a quick chat about the Royal wedding this weekend? Did you watch it? How much did you love Meghan Markle's dress?

I watched the event in absolute awe of the whole spectacle. It was a beautiful day and I couldn't be happier for the new Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Okay. Now let's get down to the dinner details. This Thai chicken is made using a marinade of alllll our favourite Thai ingredients... ginger, sesame, soy, lime, lemongrass and garlic. Yep. There's some fish sauce in there too for good measure. But the real star of this show is the palm sugar that gives the whole marinade it's subtle but deep rich sweetness.

If you're not familiar with palm sugar it's derived from palm trees. The particular brand that I used is derived from a coconut palm which gives it a mild coconut flavour that has a hint of maple about it. If you can't get palm sugar, that's perfectly okay. You can substitute with a light or dark brown sugar. I've created a guide to sugars if you're not sure which one you'd prefer.

Thai Chicken Step By Step

This recipe is so simple, it's a dream to make. You can make the marinade for this and leave the chicken for anything from 30 minutes to overnight.

1. Mix marinade and add chicken.
2. Make the coconut rice.
3. Slice vegetables for garnish.
4. Roast pineapple.
5. Sear the chicken.

Dinners like this really make my day. They always put the fun back in my cooking and make me realise how much I love cooking. It's not something that I normally forget, but there are dishes and flavours that really make me come alive that these bright and punchy Thai flavours are right up there for me.

But I probably say that about lots of different kinds of foods. In the summer I run around the kitchen talking about how much I love tomatoes and in the fall I walk around the market eyeing up all the different apples and pumpkins that are available.

The bottom line is that I love cooking and I hope that these recipes help you love cooking even more than you already do. And if you don't love cooking at all, then I hope that these recipes inspire you to get in the kitchen and try cooking from scratch.

This Thai chicken is perfectly perfect on the BBQ as well. So, it really is a recipe you should

1. Make tonight because it's so quick and easy and...
2. Print it out and keep it ready for any night this summer when you want something simple but punchy and healthy.

Thanks so much for being here! I'd love it if you left a rating and a comment letting me know how much you loved any of these recipes and be sure to tag me on Instagram if you've made this Creamy Tomato Pasta. Follow along on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook for the latest!

Thai Chicken With Coconut Brown Rice

This sweet, sticky and tangy Thai chicken with roasted pineapple and coconut rice is a stunning and simple week night dinner. It's a healthy dinner brimming with fresh veggies and wholegrain brown rice. All that is ready for dinner in 60 minutes!

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 745kcal

Author: Debs

Ingredients

• 4 chicken thighs

For the marinade

• ½ cup palm sugar
• 3 Tablespoons light soy sauce
• 5 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil divided
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons minced ginger
• 2 teaspoon lemon grass paste
• 1 clove garlic minced
• ½ pineapple cored and sliced into half moons ¼ inch thick
• 4 red radishes thinly sliced
• 1 carrot cut into thin ribbons *see notes
• ½ cucumber thinly sliced

To serve

• Sesame seeds
• micro greens

For the rice

• 1 cup brown whole grain rice
• 2 cups coconut water
• sea salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Mix the marinade ingredients together and rub into the chicken thighs. Leave to rest for about 30 minutes.
• Heat a large non stick skillet over a medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of sesame oil. Remove the chicken from the marinade (reserve the marinade) and sear the chicken in the sesame oil for about 6 minutes. The chicken should be sizzling and starting to char. Turn the thighs and continue to cook the chicken for another 6-9 minutes. The chicken juices should run clear.
• Remove the chicken to a plate and let it rest while you roast the pineapple.
• Place the marinade in the skillet and bring it to a boil and let it thicken for 1-2 minutes. It should become the consistency of maple syrup. Add the pineapple to the pan and roast for about 2 minutes, making sure that the pineapple slices are coated in the sauce and tender.
• Using a mandolin or a sharp knife slice the radish, carrot and cucumber into long ribbons.

To make the rice, place the rice, coconut water and a pinch of sea salt in a pan with a tight fitting lid. Bring the water upto a boil and turn down to minimum. Place the lid on the pot and cook until all the water has been absorbed. About 20 minutes.

To serve: Place the coconut rice in bowls and top with the chicken and place 2-3 slices of pineapple into each bowl and garnish with the cucumber, radish and carrot.

Notes

*Notes- Using a mandolin to slice the vegetables is the quickest and easiest way to get them really lovely and thin. But be CAREFUL! They’re super sharp.

Nutrition

Calories: 745kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 110mg | Sodium: 1024mg | Potassium: 919mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 2730IU | Vitamin C: 59.9mg | Calcium: 81mg | Iron: 2.7mg

have you made this recipe? I'd love to see it! Tag me @salted_mint or use #saltedmint!