This juicy, quick-marinated, ginger-spiked chicken on a bed of THE lushest coconut jasmine rice, with speckles of crunchy peanuts, bright, fresh cilantro, and lime squeezers, is coming to save your day.
Why This Recipe Is Weeknight-Fancy SOS
We are ride-or-die for weeknight-easy meals, but it’s a bonus when it can still feel a little fancy-adjacent, you know? A little elevated. We also love a frozen pizza or an “ok, it’s popcorn for dinner!” kind of night, too…but it’s nice when that level of ease can also be lovely and delicious and look harder than it was. So, that’s the sweet spot these SOS recipes always go for.
To bring this lil’ gem together:
- Marinate the chicken. Do you have to? No. But it’s a significant extra boost you can give the chicken while prepping the rest of your ingredients anyway! The flavor will be there even if your heart says to marinate.
- Make your rice. Everything goes into the Instant Pot, voila! Perfect coconut rice.
- Caramelize that chicken. Get all that deliciousness in your pan, and let’s go. You want to leave it undisturbed in the hot pan for a bit anyway to get all that caramelly sear, so yay! Less to do!
That’s just about it, a simple 1-2-3! Once the chicken thighs are cooked, you’ll toss your peanuts and greens in there. We love a cilantro/green onion blend, but we’ve also done it with spinach for an A+ situation. Whatever you love!
Top with more peanuts, lime squeezes, everything spilling over that fluffy, luscious coconut rice…ok, YES, SOS. We see you.
How To Make Coconut Rice (And Why It’s Heaven)
We don’t know what to say about this coconut rice other than we…never stop thinking about it? Like, awkwardly so. Have you tried this other SOS fave with coconut rice? Oof.
It’s still an easy Instant Pot button-push away (or rice cooker/stove top if you prefer), so no extra work, but it IS extra luxe. That coconut milk replaces part of the cooking liquid – yep, it’s that simple – and the result is out of this world. It doesn’t turn out creamy exactly, but it is just sort of…velvety? Is that a thing?
So satisfying and rich that you don’t need any extra sauce on the chicken, except for a lime squeeze or two for brightness. We are so very star-eyes about all of it.
What To Serve With This Ginger Peanut Chicken
Everything shines as is, but if you’d like to get some extra green on the table alongside, some roasted broccoli or some seared green beans might be excellent. There’s always another of our SOS-best faves: this simple green salad. Simple, lovely, a never-fail.
INGREDIENTS
Ginger Peanut Chicken
- 1 1/4 pounds chicken thighs, fat trimmed, cut into small bite-sized pieces
- 1-inch piece of ginger, grated
- Three green onions, thinly sliced (white parts and green parts separated)
- zest and juice of 1-2 limes
- Two tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- One tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
- 2 – 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- One cup of spinach, bok choy, etc.
Coconut Rice
- 2 cups white or jasmine rice
- 1 1/2 cups water
- One can coconut milk
- a pinch of salt
INSTRUCTIONS
- Marinate Chicken: In a stainless steel bowl, mix the chicken with ginger, green onions (white parts), lime zest, brown sugar, salt, and oil. Marinate for 20 minutes-2 hours.
- Rice: Add the rice ingredients to an Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes, followed by a natural pressure release for 10-15 minutes (it won’t be entirely done after 3 minutes – it needs the rest time to finish cooking). Release the steam, fluff with a fork, and attempt not to eat the whole thing! (Don’t have an Instant Pot? Alternative methods are in the notes section! )
- Cook Chicken: Heat a large skillet (nonstick or cast iron work well) to medium-high heat. Add the marinated chicken to the pan, working in 1-2 batches, depending on the size of your pan. Leave the chicken sitting undisturbed for several minutes to get a nice caramelization on the chicken.
- Adding Extras: When all the chicken is cooked, turn the heat down slightly and add the peanuts and garlic to the pan. Saute for 3-5 minutes to get the peanuts roasted and the garlic lovely and fragrant.
- Finish by adding in the cilantro, green onion, and spinach. Squeeze lime juice into the pan and season with more salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve over coconut rice! So simple but so good.