Nok Suntaranon’s Khao Mok Ghai (Morning Market Chicken Biryani) is a warm, comforting bowl of golden-hued, heavily spiced chicken and rice!
The chicken marinates overnight in a turmeric-hued yogurt, then gets pan-seared and braised. The reserved broth becomes the base for sautéed garlic, ginger, and onions bloomed with star anise, cloves, cardamom, and Nok’s own Karee Powder. Rice simmers in this aromatic mix before the chicken is nestled back in to finish, letting everything mingle into a rich, deeply layered meal.
It’s served with a bright, vinegary, herby, and spicy sauce (my new obsession) plus a sprinkle of cilantro and crispy fried shallots.
It’s definitely a weekend project – especially since the Karee Powder, sweet chili sauce, seafood sauce, and fried shallots are all separate recipes folded into this one – but you will be rewarded with so many layers of flavor.
The only change I’d make next time is adjusting the cardamom. I am still getting used to cooking with it and sometimes it overpowers all the other flavors in a dish for me!
Book: Kalaya’s Southern Thai Kitchen, page 69
Rating: 4/5
How Easy Is That – Skill Level: Easy
How Easy Is That – Time Involved: 8 hour marinade, 1-2 hours cooking/prep
Store-Bought Is Fine: Sweet Chili sauce
Notes/Tips:
- This requires an overnight marinade!
- This is a recipe that has a number of other recipes (Karee Powder, Nam Jim Waan, Seafood Sauce, Fried Shallots) from the book you’ll need to make so it is a bit of a project
Recipe is not online.
