Halal Cart Chicken and Rice
When I was a grad student, I often found myself at a halal food truck, grabbing a quick bite to eat between classes or experiments. That steaming hot container of grilled chicken, fragrant rice and crisp lettuce, topped with plenty of white sauce, became a delicious and comforting staple of ours.
The chicken and rice plate was created and popularized by New York City food carts such as the Halal Guys. Carts serving halal food[1] started to spring up in New York in the early 90s, catering to a growing population of Muslim workers and cab drivers in the city. While the dish is leans heavily on Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavors, it is not authentic to any specific Middle Eastern cuisine: yogurt-marinated chicken is a common sight in many cuisines in the Eastern Mediterranean, while the turmeric rice is similar to that served in Egypt and the white sauce has strong Greek influences. Like so many of America’s culinary icons, from hot dogs to General Tso’s, the humble chicken and rice plate is a product of a delicious multicultural melting pot. If you’re missing the halal carts of the big city, here’s how to make it at home!
Ingredients
For the Chicken
2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 lemon
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried parsley
½ tsp ground coriander
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
Vegetable oil
We’ll start by making the marinade for the chicken. The chicken will need at least one hour to marinate, but you can also prepare the chicken the night before and marinate it overnight. To make the base of marinade, we will combine ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt with an equal amount of mayonnaise. While both thick and creamy, the yogurt and the mayonnaise serve different roles in this marinade. The lactic acid in the yogurt helps to tenderize the meat, and lends a unique tangy flavor to the chicken. Mayonnaise is a stable oil-water emulsification, and acts to carry fat-soluble flavors in the marinade into the meat. The proteins and fats in mayonnaise also promote quick browning when the meat is cooked, making it ideal when grilling thin and lean cuts like chicken.
Add ½ cup olive oil, the juice of ½ a lemon (use the other half to make the sauce!), minced garlic, dried oregano, dried parsley, ground coriander, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp black pepper to the yogurt-mayo mixture. Mix the marinade until the ingredients are well combined. We will be using boneless, skinless chicken thighs in this recipe. Trim any excess fat from the thighs and score them on both sides with a sharp knife. Place the chicken pieces in the marinade and toss them until the meat is well-coated. Place the chicken pieces in either a plastic bag or a sealed container, and pour in all of the marinade. Let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for at least one hour, or overnight.
Ingredients
2 cups basmati or jasmine rice
3 cups chicken stock
2 shallots, finely diced
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp ground cumin
1 bay leaf
Salt to taste
When you are ready to cook, start by preparing the turmeric rice. Begin by melting 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the diced shallots to the pan. Cook the shallots for about 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the shallots become soft and translucent. Then add the turmeric and cumin to the pan and stir the spices into the melted butter. Toasting these spices in the hot oil for about 30 seconds will help to extract some of their fat-soluble compounds.
When the spices are fragrant, add the raw rice to the pan. Toast the rice in the pan for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. We want to coat each grain of rice with a bit of the flavored butter, ensuring the flavors are uniformly distributed and turning the rice a brilliant yellow[2].
Then transfer the entire mixture of rice, shallots, and spiced butter to the pot or rice cooker in which you will be cooking the rice. Pour over 3 cups of chicken stock and add one bay leaf. Season the stock with salt (the amount will depend on the saltiness of your stock), then cook the rice. If you are using a rice cooker, this will just be a button press, but if you are using a pot, tightly cover and simmer over low heat for 20-30 minutes, or until the rice is fully cooked. While the rice cooks, we can prepare our toppings. Dice the tomatoes, shred the lettuce, and set the vegetables aside for service.
Now it’s time to cook the chicken. The marinated chicken can be cooked on the grill or in a cast-iron skillet. Remove as much marinade from the chicken as possible, either by brushing it off or dabbing it with a paper towel. If you’re grilling, preheat the grill to a high heat (gas on high, or building a hot fire with charcoal). Oil the grates to prevent the chicken from sticking, then lay the chicken onto the grill. Cook for about 6 minutes per side, flipping once, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 °F and is fully cooked.
If you’re cooking on the stovetop, place a cast iron skillet over high heat, and add about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, or just enough to coat the surface of the pan. When the skillet is hot, add the chicken to the pan in a single layer. Cook the chicken for about 6 minutes per side, flipping once, or until the chicken is fully cooked. Let the chicken rest for at least 5 minutes before roughly chopping it. You can also choose to cook the chicken in the oven: bake the chicken at 425 °F for 20-30 minutes. Then broil it for about 5 minutes per side.
Ingredients
For the Plate
3 tomatoes, diced
Romaine or iceberg lettuce, shredded
2 pita breads
1 cup garlic parsley white sauce
Barbecue sauce
Harissa hot sauce
With the chicken and turmeric rice both cooked, we can move on to assembling the plates. Toast the pita bread in a toaster oven or a dry pan, then cut into wedges. Place a generous scoop of rice and a serving of chopped chicken on each plate, along with some diced tomatoes, lettuce, and pita wedges. Serve with the trio of halal cart sauces: garlic parsley white sauce, barbecue sauce, and harissa hot sauce. Drizzle the sauces over the plate, or let every person sauce themselves!
Both of the primary components of this dish, chopped chicken and turmeric rice, will freeze well! Reheat both elements in a microwave, or heat the chicken in a pan with a bit of oil for some crispy edges.
Substitutions
Other ingredients that work well on this plate include fresh diced cucumbers, raw red onions, and grilled onions and peppers. I do not recommend using a short grain rice in place of jasmine or basmati. Short grain rice varieties will release more starch when cooking, resulting in a different texture. For this dish, stick to long or medium grain varieties.
[1] In New York City, the term “halal” has become shorthand for food served by halal carts and food trucks. However, halal does not refer to a cuisine—rather it describes food which complies with Islamic dietary restrictions. As such, it is akin to kosher food in Judaism. It is interesting to note that in the food world, the word “kosher” has also become co-opted to refer to specific foods, such as with kosher dill pickles and kosher salt.
[2] In addition to being used as a spice, turmeric has been employed as a natural fabric dye for millennia—the warm yellow-orange color of the robes of many Buddhist monks is traditionally derived from turmeric.
Recipe
Prep Time: 20 min Cook Time: 30 min Total Time: 1 hr 10 min
(+20 min inactive)
Difficulty: 2/5
Heat Sources: 2 burners
Equipment: pan, cast iron skillet or grill, pot or rice cooker
Servings: 4
Ingredients
For the Chicken
2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 lemon
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried parsley
½ tsp ground coriander
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
Vegetable oil
For the Rice
2 cups basmati or jasmine rice
3 cups chicken stock
2 shallots, finely diced
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp ground cumin
1 bay leaf
Salt to taste
For the Plate
3 tomatoes, diced
Romaine or iceberg lettuce, shredded
2 pita breads
1 cup garlic parsley white sauce
Barbecue sauce
Harissa hot sauce
Instructions
1. To make the marinade, combine the Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, olive oil, minced garlic, the juice of ½ a lemon, dried oregano, dried parsley, ground coriander, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp black pepper.
2. Score the chicken thighs and then place them in the marinade, ensuring that the meat is well-coated. Place in a plastic bag or a sealed container and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
3. To start working on the turmeric rice, melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the diced shallots to the pan and cook for 2-3 min, or until the shallots have softened.
4. Add the turmeric and cumin to the pan and fry for about 30 seconds, stirring well to toast the spices.
5. Add the rice to the pan, stirring well to coat the grains with the butter and spices. Toast the rice in the pan for about 3 min, stirring constantly.
6. Transfer the rice and shallot mixture to a pot or rice cooker, pour over the chicken stock, and season the stock with salt. Cook the rice in the rice cooker, or at a simmer over low heat. Cooking the rice should take 20-30 minutes.
7. While the rice cooks, dice the tomatoes and shred the lettuce. Set the vegetables aside for service.
8. When you are ready to cook the chicken, preheat a cast iron skillet or grill over high heat. Remove as much marinade from the chicken as possible, either by brushing it off or dabbing it with a paper towel.
9. Cook the chicken in the skillet for about 6 min per side, flipping once, until the chicken is fully cooked (internal temperature of 165 °F). Alternatively, bake the chicken at 425 °F for 20-30 minutes. Then broil it for about 5 minutes per side.
10. Remove the chicken from the heat and let rest for 5 min before roughly chopping.
11. Toast the pita bread in a toaster oven or a dry pan, then cut into wedges for service.
12. Plate the chicken with the cooked rice and the tomatoes, lettuce, and toasted pita wedges. Drizzle the plate with your choice of sauces: garlic parsley white sauce, barbecue sauce, and/or hot sauce.
