Mango Coconut Rice
By Julie Cader
This recipe provides a delightful combination of a spicy chicken thigh medley and mango coconut rice to make a delicious meal. The mango rice has a very unique flavor due to the tartness of mangoes, sweetness of coconut milk and the yumminess of spiced rum.
Ingredients for Mango Coconut Rice
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk
2/3 cup water
1 ½ cups California Calrose Rice
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
3 Tablespoons spiced rum
1 or 2 large ripe mangoes, peeled and cubed
Directions for Mango Rice
In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and stir in the Calrose rice. While stirring constantly, toast rice until slightly browned. Add the coconut milk, water, salt, brown sugar and spiced rum and bring to a boil. Stir in the mango cubes. Cover and reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, fluff with fork and let sit.
Ingredients for Spiced Rum Chicken Thigh Medley
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon powdered cayenne pepper
3 Tablespoons olive oil, split in recipe
½ cup salted pistachio nuts
2 pounds skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
salt and pepper to season chicken
¼ cup finely chopped scallions
¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 or 2 large ripe mangoes, peeled and cubed
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
3 Tablespoons spiced rum
1 ½ teaspoons cider vinegar
Directions for Spiced Rum Chicken Thigh Medley
In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and peppers to make a sugar-spice mixture. Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pistachios and sugar-spice mixture and stir until the pistachios are golden brown. Scrape nuts into a bowl.
Season chicken thigh pieces all over with salt and pepper and set aside.
Using the same skillet, add the remaining olive oil and heat. Stir in scallions, cilantro, garlic, mango and sweet potato cubes and sauté for several minutes. Add the chicken thigh pieces and cook through, for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour in the rum and vinegar while scraping up pieces from the bottom of the pan. Cook for about one minute.
Remove skillet from heat and add nuts. To plate, place mango coconut rice in center of dish; add chicken thigh mixture to top of rice. Serve warm.
Julie is Finance & Administration Manager for the California Rice Commission, and a big proponent of trying new recipes- especially if they feature California rice.
