Tender chicken breast marinated in grated cucumber, garlic and herbs. Served over fried onion and vermicelli rice with a Creamy red onion and garlic white sauce.
WHATS GOING ON HERE:
Chicken Breast: Chicken breast is a great cut to work with. It’s super versatile and takes on any flavor. Chicken breast can always be swapped out with other cuts of chicken like thighs or even wings.
The Marinade: The marinade is super simple and flavorful. It’s majority cucumber, garlic and olive oil. Cucumber is a low calorie and flavorful marinade that needs only a few hours to work.
Rice and vermicelli: Buttery rice and vermicelli is a chicken and rice staple for me the buttery rice comes fluffed with fried onions and tender vermicelli noodles. making it the perfect bed for the chicken to lay on.
Creamy Red Onion & Garlic Sauce The creamy red onion sauce is really the star of the show. This white sauce is simple with pantry staples on hand. I opted out of adding cucumber to the sauce since cucumber really shines through the chicken. The white sauce can turn red if too much red onion is added to the blend.
TIPS & TRICKS FOR THE BEST GRILLED CHICKEN & VERMICELLI RICE + RED ONION & GARLIC WHITE SAUCE
creamy sauce: all chicken and rice dishes need a white. traditional white sauce needs a whole heap of garlic and time to tone down. short cut it by cutting the garlic with sour cream and mayonnaise. i do use allot of garlic here so making the sauce ahead will give everything time to come together.
prep & marinade: this chicken dish really benefits from marinating. the cucumber is super flavorful and aromatic so the more time in the marinade the better. i like to let my chicken sit for at least 4 hours but overnighting it will give you the best results.
cooking the chicken: cook the chicken in batches to form a nice crust. overcrowding the pan can cause the chicken to steam resulting in pale chicken. work with medium high temperatures and small batches.
timing: start the rice around the time you start the chicken. that way once the chicken is done the rice is ready to be plated. nothing is worse than finishing your cook and still having to wait to steam rice. set and forget your rice so its piping hot with your chicken.
SIMILAR INGREDIENTS TO:
- CRISPY CHICKEN & COCONUT STICKY RICE BOWL
- SMOKED CHICKEN + HOT BUTTER RICE
- YOGURT LEMON CHICKEN W/ CILANTRO OIL
ENJOY THIS RECIPE WITH:
- MINI CUCUMBER & FETA SALAD
- ROASTED GARLIC AND CALABRIAN CHILI FINGERLING POTATOES
- DOUBLE GARLIC FIDEO W/ GRILLED EGGPLANT
INGREDIENTS
- 3 Chicken Breast, cubed
- Olive Oil
- Marinade
- 1 Lemon Juiced
- 1/4c Olive Oil
- 1/2 Cucumber, grated
- 2tsp Rosemary
- 6 Garlic cloves, grated
- 1tsp Oregano
- 1tsp Turmeric
- 1tsp Thyme
- 2tsp Salt
- 2tsp Black Pepper
- VERMICILLI RICE
- 2Tb Butter+ 1Tb Olive Oil
- 1/2 Small Yellow Onion, minced
- 1/4c Vermicelli Noodles
- 1c White Rice
- 2c Water
- 1tsp Salt
- 1tsp Garlic Powder
- RED ONION & GARLIC SAUCE
- 1/2c Sour Cream
- 1/4c Mayo
- 1Tb Dill, fresh
- 1 Lemon, juiced
- 2Tb Red Onion
- 8 Garlic Cloves
- 1/2tsp White Vinegar
- 1/2tsp Salt
- 1.2tsp Black Pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
- Combine all the ingredients listed under marinade. Pour over cubed chicken breast. Allow to sit for 4 hours plus.
- In the meantime make the sauce by combining all the ingredients into a blender. Squeeze in the juice of one lemon and blend. Allow to sit refrigerated till the chicken and rice is done.
- Once chicken has marinated, heat up a cast iron skillet. Pour in a couple tablespoons of olive oil and add in half of the chicken. Cook on all sides for about 8-10 minutes depending on the size of the pieces. Continue till all the chicken is cooked.
- To make the rice start off by adding butter and oil to the pan. Add in onions and brown for 10 minutes. Add in vermicelli, stir around the pan and cook for 2 minutes till toasted. Add in rice, water and salt. Bring to a boil. Boil for 8 minutes. Reduce to a simmer and cover for 15-20 minutes. Once rice is ready to fluff add in more butter and a pinch of salt.
- Once the rice is done build your chicken and rice bowl by placing the chicken over the rice and drizzling the red onion garlic sauce over the top.
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