Main Meals

Chicken laksa rice bake

4
Easy
15 minutes
1 hour

The fragrant coconut and spice aroma of this dish filling your home is what winter comfort is all about. Chicken and rice are a match made in heaven but add extra flavour and spice and you’ve got a heartwarming, one-pan flavour sensation that you’ll be making all winter long.

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Ingredients

Method
  • 8 pieces Woolworths free-range chicken drumsticks and thighs
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 6 T canola or sunflower oil
  • 2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced
  • 1 x 180 g jar Woolworths seafood paste
  • 1 x 400 ml can coconut milk
  • 2 x 25 g sachets Woolworths chicken liquid stock concentrate
  • 3 cups water
  • 400 g long-grain white rice, rinsed
  • fresh coriander, leaves picked, to garnish
  • lemon wedges, for serving
  • For the sambal:
  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced
  • coriander stalks, chopped (from the coriander garnish)
  • 1 red chilli, thinly sliced
  • 1 T sugar
  • ½ cup white or brown vinegar
  • salt, to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then set aside. Heat half the oil in a large ovenproof pan or skillet over a medium heat.

2. Add the chicken and brown well, turning often to caramelise evenly until it’s dark golden brown in colour.

3. Remove the chicken from the pan and reduce the heat slightly. Add the onions, remaining oil and a little salt to help the onions soften.

4. Slowly cook the onions, stirring often until they’re caramelised and reduced by half. Stir through the laksa paste, then cook for about 1 minute, or until the paste becomes fragrant and the oil in the pan has taken on the colour of the spices in the paste.

5. Add the coconut milk, then mix the stock and water and add to the pan. Bring to a gentle simmer. Add the rice, then place the chicken pieces onto the rice – some of the chicken will be above the liquid in the pan.

6. Cover with a lid and place the pan in the oven for 35–40 minutes, or until the rice is perfectly cooked and the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from the oven and allow to rest, covered, for 20 minutes before serving.

7. While the dish is resting, prepare the sambal by combining the onions, coriander stalks, chilli, sugar and vinegar. Season with salt to taste and mix until the sugar has dissolved.

8. Serve the chicken and rice in bowls, topped with the sambal and coriander, with the lemon wedges on the side.

Find more chicken recipes here.

Videography: Kevashan Moodley
Photography: Jan Ras
Food assistant: Lerato Motau

Clement Pedro

Recipe by: Clement Pedro

Clement Pedro strikes a balance between rib-sticking fare you can really get stuck into and experimental recipes that take accessible ingredients to next-level status. Clem can do pretty much anything – and so can you with his recipes.

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