Chicken Rice Bake
Cherie Metcalfe
One pan, big flavour, minimal mess. Coconut-soaked rice doing all the heavy lifting underneath crispy, satay-coated chicken thighs. The kind of midweek dinner that feels like more effort than it actually was.
Ingredients
- 2 cups white rice
- 3 cups boiling water
- 1 cup coconut cream
- 2–3 tablespoons Satay Swift, plus 2 tablespoons for the chicken
- 5–6 chicken thighs, bone in (or chicken drumsticks)
- 1–2 tablespoons Crack Crunch, optional
- 1 lime, quartered
To serve
- A handful of coriander
- Sliced spring onion
- Pickled red onion
- A pinch of Crack Crunch
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C fan bake.
- Rinse the rice under cold water until the water runs clear.
- Tip the rice into a large casserole or oven dish. Pour over the boiling water and coconut cream.
- Add 2–3 generous tablespoons of Satay Swift and stir well to combine.
- Coat the chicken thighs with the remaining 2 tablespoons of Satay Swift, rubbing it in until well coated. Sprinkle with Crack Crunch if using.
- Nestle the chicken thighs down into the rice and sauce.
- Bake for 25 minutes, then pull the dish out and gently fluff the rice with a fork. Tuck the lime quarters in among the thighs and return to the oven for a final 20 minutes.
- Lift the chicken out and set aside. Fluff the rice with a fork and taste — add a pinch of salt if it needs it. Return the chicken on top.
- Optional: spoon a teaspoon of satay sauce over each thigh for an extra hit.
- Garnish with coriander, spring onion, pickled red onion, and a final pinch of Crack Crunch. Serve straight from the dish.
