Needs a little...something else. Like the other reviews mention it could be acidity, fish sauce, or both! My husband suggested pickled cucumbers or onions which I agree would have been a great addition. The rice cooked perfectly, and the chicken was tender. This dish has potential if you play around with it.
Samantha Biallas
Milwaukee, WI
11/8/2023
When I tell you this is my top-requested meal in the house, I MEAN it! I have made this recipe EASILY over 10 times now and every single time it has been a hit. Only modification I make is to sauté the shallots (or onions in a pinch) on their own first and then add the ginger and garlic. I find that it preserves the aromatics/texture of the more delicate ingredients better. I also like to cut up extra cucumbers and use them to scoop up the sauce/rice. Enjoy!
E.E.
San Diego, CA
7/29/2023
Such a fantastic, easy dish! The sauce comes together while the rice and chicken cook. A great meal to make when you want to drink a glass of wine and relax while cooking. I've made this a bunch of times following the recipe as written and it's wonderful as is. My only suggestion would be to double the sauce, because you will want more.Recently, I've started making some changes to the dish. I used Thai thin soy sauce and Thai sweet soy sauce in the recipe, both in the rice cooking liquid and in the peanut sauce (subbing the sweet soy sauce out for the honey and using the thin soy sauce as the soy sauce called for in the recipe). The result is a little more umami than in the original, which I like.
Anonymous
MPLS, MN
10/8/2022
I made this for the first time last night with skin on boneless thighs as that was all I could find. Unfortunately the skin stuck to my cast iron but I saved what I could and mixed it into the rice once it was all cooked which turned out great. The rice and sauce was delicious but we thought the chicken was a touch on the flavourless side having only been seasoned with salt. I will make this again as the chicken came out beautifully cooked but I will marinate the thighs before cooking in some combination of soy sauce/fish sauce/sake.
Anonymous
7/14/2022
This simple dish really surprised me. I thought the rice was so good, even on its own! Everything came out really flavorful, but in a subtle sort of way. It was a very wholesome & comforting meal. I only changed one thing & that was to add one crushed up bouillon cube when I added the water. I even managed to make this on a Monday after coming home from work! It really is pretty quick, and I will definitely be making this again!
Anonymous
South Carolina
4/11/2022
This is a fantastically delicious and assertive dish. I don't understand the negative reviews, I believe they have either not followed the recipe or made poor substitutions.Make sure you rinse the Basmati rice well so it doesn't cook up too sticky.Star anise from the grocery store is often broken or small, would recommend throwing an extra one if so.USE THE SAUCE GENEROUSLY, it's key to balancing the moisture out and adding that savory-acid-zingy flavor to round out all the rice. I often make a 2x portion of the sauce, I think it's necessary and if you have left overs it's great for a last second dinner - white rice + sauteed veggies + this sauce is great.I'm a scallion addict so I always add a few sliced on the bias to the top.
Trevor
DC
3/31/2022
I have good luck with most of BA's recipes. This looked delicious. I'm not a fan of star anise, but used it because it seemed essential to the dish. Everything cooked up quick and easy, but it needed a more pungent flavor profile. My fussy husband enjoyed it. I did not. It needed fresh lime juice, scallions, soy sauce, or some fish sauce--or all four. I will make this again and build a whole different seasoning dynamic. Maybe smokey. Maybe Mediterranean. The ease of prep on this makes it worth playing with next time.
Anonymous
Southington, CT
1/4/2022
Fail recipe here, IMO. Cooking times here aren't near enough to cook chicken thoroughly with the rice. And like (weirdly?) I lot of Molly Baz recipes, it's a lot of ingredients and steps for...like kinda-ok flavour? Thumbs down.
Brutes
Ottawa, ON
12/30/2021
So good! Really unique flavors with the star anise & chicken fat. The sauce is amazing too. Great weeknight meal that makes a Monday feel a little bit fancier than just chicken and rice.
Araminta
Seattle
11/30/2021
Awesome dish! You can't go without prawn crackers to finish the leftover peanut sauce after this dish.Also works perfectly with vegetarian chicken alternatives, adding some soy beans for a little protein boost💪
Stefan
Amsterdam
9/26/2021
This is the perfect balance of easy, comforting and tasty. I used what I had... brown rice and boneless skinless chx breast. I also had some left over peanut sauce that I combined with the boiling water (half sauce, half water). The chicken was amazingly tender. We had green beans with it. This is a really great idea and a super flexible recipe.
Sabine
Alameda, CA
7/4/2021
Absolutely loved this recipe! Followed pretty much as written and it came out perfectly. Took some of the recs from previous commenters and added the juice of one lime + a grated garlic clove to the peanut sauce, which is definitely the star of the recipe in my opinion. Also used chicken broth in place of the water because I thought it would elevate the flavor. Would agree with a few other people who said it's a bit too much rice, but it really wasn't a big deal. My family loved it so much they went for seconds! I'll definitely be putting this recipe in rotation with my other favorites. Thanks Molly :)
Anonymous
6/8/2021
Satisfying and easy with pantry staples
Gillian
Canada
5/17/2021
This dish was just okay. Waaay too much rice and honestly, the peanut sauce is the only thing that saves it from being bland. I've made better versions of peanut sauce as well. This one was a bit gloppy and one note and needed something like coconut milk to smooth it out. If I made this again I would use half a can of coconut milk with the rice liquid, half as much rice, and the other half of the coconut milk in the peanut sauce.
Anonymous
Chicago
4/14/2021
So so delicious. I followed a review and used the cucumber, cilantro, and sauce with some added EVOO to make a salad to top. Family loved it!
Anonymous
Denver, CO
4/4/2021
