Nong Poonsukwattana, a native Thai, rose through the ranks of Portland cooks by perfecting her khao man gai recipe, saving money, and finding her own position in the city’s fiercely competitive food cart industry.
| Prep Time: | 1 hr |
| Cook Time: | 45 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 45 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 quarts water
- 1 (3 pound) whole chicken
- 1 head garlic
- 1 cup chopped fresh ginger root
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1 tablespoon chopped shallots
- 4 pieces ginger, coarsely chopped
- 2 cups uncooked jasmine rice
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 3 pandan leaves (Optional)
- ⅓ cup peeled, roughly chopped ginger
- 4 red Thai chile peppers
- ½ cup fermented soybeans
- 1 head pickled garlic
- ⅓ cup white vinegar
- ⅓ cup thin soy sauce
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro
- 1 cup cucumber slices
Instructions
- Boil water in a large pot. Place chicken, garlic, ginger, salt, and sugar in the pot. Return to boil and let simmer for 35 minutes. Remove chicken, cover to keep warm, and set aside.
- Heat coconut oil in a rice cooker or heavy-bottomed pot with lid; cook and stir garlic, shallots, ginger, and pandan leaves until golden and aromatic.
- Pour rice into the rice cooker or pot; stir to coat with oil. Stir in chicken broth and set the rice cooker cycle. If using a pot, bring rice to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 15 minutes.
- Combine ginger, red Thai chilies, fermented soybeans, pickled garlic, white vinegar, and soy sauce in a food processor or blender. Pulse until liquefied, but not smooth in texture.
- Debone chicken and cut into 1-inch pieces.
- Place chicken pieces over cooked rice to serve. Top with sauce (or serve sauce on the side) and garnish with cucumbers and cilantro. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 589 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 71 g |
| Cholesterol | 63 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 31 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Sodium | 2465 mg |
| Sugars | 4 g |
| Fat | 19 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
We used to eat this when we lived in portland and we enjoyed it. We’ve since moved out of state and are glad to see this recipe and the video on all recipes. It’s easy to make, and I’d agree with the others to watch the video to see when they say to “chop” the ginger and other ingredients, that they are in large pieces, not truly chopped up. The chicken broth and other ingredients make the rice so tasty. I will admit I did not make the sauce, but bought it on Amazon. The ingredients in the bottled sauce makes several recipes and has a lot more sugar in it, so maybe that’s what the written recipe is missing. Tastes just like nongs in portland when you use your bottled sauce. I plan on making the sauce from scratch at some point when I go back to the Japanese super market, which had pandan leaves. Though no one knew them as pandan leaves, they knew them as bai teoy. They’re really long and look like thick blades of grass and have a subtle scent. They aren’t necessary but do give the rice a little more flavor and some color. I used a rice cooker and dumped everything in the rice cooker with two cups of rice (not measured cups, but the little cup that comes with my zojirushi rice cooker) and filled up to the 2 line with the chicken broth/stock. So, adjust the rice however you normally make it since you typically do need more liquid than rice. But if you’ve got a rice cooker, just make how you usually would. Delicious recipe that’s again a staple in our house!
I like this recipe. The chicken and rice come out great prepared exactly as listed. I saute the spices for the rice in coconut oil on the stove and then put them in the rice cooker with 2 cups of rice and the chicken broth. My only complaint is the sauce which of course is the heart and soul of this dish. Using the exact ingredients listed the sauce does not come out tasting like the sauce from the restaurant. It’s not bad but it doesn’t taste like Nong’s sauce. I’m still searching for the perfect ingredients. It’s a very tasty dish but if you’re expecting it to taste like Nong makes it you may be disappointed.
I did what some of the other reviewers recommended and used approximately a 2:1 chicken broth to rice ratio in the rice cooker and it came out fluffy and delicious. Next time I will try to time the boiling chicken and steaming rice better so that the chicken can be cut and served right away, as the gai dries out quite quickly. Personally I recommend buying some nam jim sauce in the store as a backup, since this sauce is known to be difficult to properly make. Overall it definitely tastes like the authentic khao man gai that I’ve eaten in BKK
So easy. So good.
Chicken: -needed almost a gallon of water -increased the salt by 2 teaspoons -stuffed the chicken with ginger and green onions This made the chicken flavorful inside and out. For the rice, I used 1 tablespoon of chicken fat fried from the excess fat and skin trimmings instead of coconut oil. This made the rice bursting with flavor and aroma.
I’ve made this a couple of times and it’s delicious. My daughter LOVES it. I serve it with homemade quick pickles, made with rice vinegar and fish sauce. I’ve had to substitute miso for the fermented beans because I haven’t been able to find them. Also, I’ve added an extra cup of broth to the rice. I use the broth that the chicken was cooked in.
This is a fabulous recipe that has become a regular in our household. There is in fact an error in rice to water ratio. I use 2 cups rice to 3 cups broth that the chicken cooked in and it comes out perfect every time! I also season the cooking broth with extra salt and serve as an accompaniment to the chicken and rice. My family enjoys the broth as much as the chicken and rice. I freeze the extra and then heat up for snacks or when someone is feeling a bit under the weather. Ginger is great for upset tummies! Enjoy!
It turned out great! My husband and I followed the recipe, but adjusted the chicken broth and rice ratio to 1.5:1, as some previous reviews have suggested. We also used the same broth that the chicken was cooked in to cook the rice.
A variation of this has become a staple of my diet; easy, delicious, and cheap. I substitute legs or thighs if available, and then use the broth from cooking the chicken to cook the rice instead of this other process. I also add fish sauce. The rice ratio here (1 water/broth:1 rice) is for fresh rice–that’s my theory as to why Nong’s is so good–for OK jasmine rice that isn’t particularly fresh use a 1.5:1 or 2:1 ratio.
Excellent! Amzaing flavor!
This doesn’t taste like the Khao Man Gai you’d buy from the restaurant. And, the rice that comes out of this recipe isn’t really oily. The name “Khao Man Gai” translates to Rice from Chicken Fat. Also, when cooking the rice if you’re chopping the garlic, look at the video to see how they should be chopped. They’re chopped in big slivers vs. chopped pieces. When I cooked the rice, we used 3 cups of broth vs. 2 cups of broth and it came out good. Not too wet or dry. The food came out good, but I’d stick to buying this instead.
I believe there is a mistake in this recipe. Proportion of broth to rice. For two cups of rice, there should be FOUR cups of broth. Otherwise, too dry and uncooked. Almost every rice recipe requires two parts liquid/broth to one part rice. Otherwise, PRIMO. I actually went to the trouble to find all the ‘exotic’ ingredients. Portland OR has a great Thai-oriented grocery called Lily’s Market. If you have an Asian community in your community, you should be able to find these ingredients. The panda leaves, shown as optional, are incredibly aromatic and like nothing else. When you smell them, you realize you’ve been exposed to them in every Thai restaurant you’ve ever been in.