Banana Curry Chicken with Ginger, Green Onion Rice
Serves 4
Adapted from Food & Wine
For Chicken:
2 large bananas, cut into slices
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 teaspoons ground coriander
½ teaspoon chili powder (add more if you like it spicier!)
1 teaspoon mustard
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
Zest of 1 lime
4 teaspoons lime juice (about ⅔ - ¾ of 1 lime)
1¼ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
¾ cup water
4 bone-in chicken breasts or thighs (about 2¼ pounds in all), skin removed
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley, coarsely chopped, for garnish
2 tablespoons cashews, coarsely chopped, for garnish
2 tablespoons green onions, thinly sliced, for garnish
For Ginger, Green Onion Rice:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 green onions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
1 cup uncooked rice, rinsed
Water
Salt
For Chicken:
Heat the oven to 450 °F. In a food processor or blender, blend the bananas, curry powder, coriander, chili, mustard, butter, lime zest, lime juice, salt, pepper, and ¼ cup of water until smooth.
Make a few deep cuts across each chicken and add them to a roasting pan. Pour the curry sauce over the chicken, making sure the sauce covers the entire chicken. Roast, uncovered, until the chicken is just done and reaches an internal temperature of 165 °F, about 30 minutes.
While the chicken is roasting, start the rice.
Take the pan out of the oven. Remove the chicken breasts, leaving the sauce in the pan, and let them rest on a plate, covered.
Set the pan over medium heat and whisk an additional ½ cups water into the sauce. Whisk occasionally until the sauce begins to thicken.
Remove the pan from the heat. Set aside until you’re ready to eat.
For Ginger, Green Onion Rice:
Set a small saucepan over medium heat. As it’s heating up, add the butter and let it melt. Once melted, add in the green onions and ginger. Stir constantly until fragrant, about 1 minute.
The next steps depend on how you plan on cooking your rice:
Rice Cooker:
Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the rice and water to the rice cooker and pour in the contents of the saucepan, plus a pinch of salt. Set the rice cooker to Cook.
Because of the butter and added ingredients, test your rice before serving. You may need to add an additional splash of water to the rice cooker and let it cook for a few more minutes to fully cook.
On the Stove:
In a large pot, add the rice, 1¼ water, a pinch of salt, and the ginger and green onions. Give everything a quick stir.
Bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover the pan and reduce the heat to low. Let it simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. Let it rest, covered, for an additional 15 minutes.
When the chicken and rice are both done, add the ginger, green onion rice to each plate. Top with a piece of chicken. Drizzle the sauce over top and garnish with parsley, cashews, and additional green onions.
Enjoy!