Don’t you love recipes where everything is cooked all at once, in one pot? Well, this is one of those all-in-one meals, except it’s made in the Thermomix, not a pot – which makes it even better because you can do three or four different things at once! So while the sauce is cooking in the jug, the coconut rice is steaming in the basket above it, and the chicken and veges in the Varoma tray on top! This is one of our favourite quick-and-easy meals… when I don’t feel like cooking, I can have this on the table in half an hour. And everyone loves it. (Adapted from the Chicken and Cashews recipe in the Thermomix Everyday Cookbook – but with my coconut satay sauce!)
The first 3 steps, marinating the chicken, can be done ahead of time for more flavour – but if you’re doing it at the last minute like I usually am, don’t worry, it still tastes good!
Note: You can find fine sea salt, Aussie pepper and Organic Garlic for this recipe in my online store!
- 300g - 400g chicken breasts or thighs
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- 1-2 cms fresh ginger
- a couple of tablespoons of tamari or soy sauce
- a splash of sesame oil
- 450g coconut cream (1 tin)
- 750g water
- 400g basmati rice
- some thin wedges of onion
- 2 stalks of celery, leaves removed, thinly sliced
- 2 carrots, thinly sliced
- broccoli, small pieces
- green beans
- chinese cabbage, thinly sliced
- boy choy, thinly sliced
- red (and/or green) capsicum, thinly sliced
- snow peas
- shallots, sliced and sprinkled on top
- some sesame seeds
- a handful of cashews (roasted or raw)
- a dash of sesame oil
- a dash of tamari (or soy sauce)
- a couple of handfuls of raw cashews
- 1 inch of fresh red chilli (or more if you like it hotter)
- a good handful of fresh parsley or coriander
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 inch of fresh ginger
- a couple of tablespoons of tamari (or soy sauce)
- 1 teaspoon of Rapadura (optional)
- a tablespoon of chicken stock paste (or vege stock paste)
- Cut chicken into smallish cubes (about 1.5cm square) or slices and place in a bowl.
- Chop garlic and ginger in Thermomix bowl for 5 seconds, speed 7. Scrape out with spatula and mix with chicken in bowl.
- Add to chicken, mix in tamari or soy sauce and seasame oil, cover, and set aside.
- Pour coconut cream and water into Thermomix bowl.
- Sit lid on top of jug, and rice basket on top of lid. Set scales and weigh rice into basket. Remove basket and lid, rinse rice under tap (in basket), place basket in jug, then replace lid and lock into place.
- Place Varoma tray on top of lid, tip chicken into it and spread out so there's holes open for the steam to come through. Start cooking at Varoma temperature, 20 minutes, speed 4.
- Meanwhile, chop up the veges and place them into the Varoma as it's heating up. I start chopping the harder veges first and put them in as I get them chopped, leaving the ones like snow peas, capsicum and shallots until the end. Make sure there's a hole in the middle for the steam to get through.
- Sprinkle sesame seeds, cashews, sesame oil and tamari over the top of the veges.
- When the time's up, remove the rice (placing in the Thermoserver to keep warm), and stir the chicken and veges, breaking the chicken apart and making sure there are holes unblocked for the steam to get through. Cook for another 5 or 10 minutes on Varoma temperature, speed 2, checking that the chicken is cooked through. You may need to add a little more water if there's not much left in the bowl. Once cooked, remove Varoma tray while you finish the sauce. (Tip: You can take the lid off the Thermoserver with the rice in it, and sit the Varoma tray on top so they both stay warm.)
- To the juices and coconut cream left in the bowl, add raw cashews, red chilli, parsley or coriander, garlic, fresh ginger, tamari, rapadura, chicken stock paste and blend on speed 9 for 1 minute.
- Serve immediately - rice, chicken and veges with cashews on top, and sauce drizzled over liberally!
Hope you like it!
I knew this was worth waiting for! Great job Jo, and this is exactly my kind of recipe. Why? Because it is a)savoury, not a dessert, and b)makes full use of the Thermomix’s multi-tasking abilities.
I just love pushing my Thermomix to the limit with doing more than one thing at once and here you are pushing it to several functions: the marinade prep +the rice cooking +the vege cooking +the chicken cooking +the sauce = FIVE. WoooHOOO. All my favorite flavours too. I’ve never cooked my rice in coconut water before but I love the idea!
Thanks too for all your thorough notes. The recipe ‘reads’ long, but it’s really quite simple, just that you have been so thorough with detailed instructions — so it’s also great for newbies.
The photo turned out so bright and colorful too, and that touch of sesame seeds sprinkled on top really makes the whole dish sing! (I’m singing about it now… sort of a chicken clucking, sunny opera type aria…)
(I’ll bet you’re glad we live so far apart?!)
😉
Helene, I wish you lived right next door – we’d have a ball!!!! 😀 We could sing and cook together! (Might scare the neighbours, though!)
Glad you liked the recipe – yes, I thought it looked a bit long for such a simple recipe – I hope that doesn’t scare anyone off, because it’s so easy. Thanks for your comments! 🙂
Jo xx
Jo, I love thie recipe, too! And like our Canadian friend Helene I am suitably impressed that you so easily got your Best Friend in the Kitchen doing FIVE things for you at once! I just adore savoury coconut dishes so this one goes into my Thermomix very soon. I can already taste the rice cooked in coconut milk and my mouth is watering at the thought of it! Brilliant, Jo, many thanks!
Thank you Madame Thermomix! 😀 I was thinking, you could do another step in the tmx – make the coconut cream first! I have done that before for this recipe, but you just have to make sure you strain it before you use it, so it’s nice and smooth. (That may seem obvious, but I tend to cut corners, so I didn’t!)
Jo this look fantastic. I never liked the sauce that went with the Chicken & cashew dish from the EDC. This looks simple enough even for DH to make!!
BTW I got confused by how to make the coconut cream. Is there a difference between dessicated & shredded coconut?
Thanks, Jane
Hi Janee 🙂 It is very simple – I hope you like it!
You can use either shredded or dessicated coconut to make coconut cream – I use organic shredded coconut mostly. The shredded one is the longer strips, dessicated is much finer. Just make sure you strain it well through a cheesecloth, or it’s not as nice. 🙂
I loved it – sadly my family didn’t 🙁
Oh well, you can’t win ’em all 🙂
I’ve got everything prepped to make this tonight – will let you know how it goes. Cheers Suzanne
This was seriously SCRUMMY YUMMY!! my sauce was quite runny but I did use coconut milk instead of cream. The chicken was tender and so delicious! My first main meal in my new Thermie!! Will make again for sure. Cheers Suzanne
Just made this with Salmon instead of chicken! Went down a treat. Love the chicken version too! Thanks I’ve only had my TMX for a few weeks and already cooked this three times! I usually have sauce left over which i use to jazz up a basic stirfry or steamed veggies another night!!
So glad you liked it, Suzanne! And your first main meal – well done!!
That salmon sounds like a great idea – I must try that one too – yum!!
Jo, I am new to your site and thermomix and LOVE this recipe – delicious, easy and nutritious, all my favourite things in a meal. Thank you!
I cooked this last night. The first complete meal I have made in the Thermomix. My husband said it tasted as good as something you would find in a restaurant. Loved it!!
Talitha
This was also the first proper meal I cooked in my Thermomix, it was very easy to make and my husband loved it. He does not like rice at all for a meal, he thinks rice is for puddings only. He is raving about this dish now!! Thank you Jo ;o)
Thanks guys! So glad to hear you’ve all enjoyed it! 🙂
Hi Jo, another big fan here:). This would have to be my most favourite meal – THANK-YOU!!! I love your blog, I just wish I was half as creative as you are, in the mean time I will be creative through your creations.
Thank you!! I’m glad you enjoyed it – and creativity just takes practice! Have fun 🙂
Hi Jo, yet another fan of you and your beautiful food. Thank you so much for posting this. So easy and yummy! The whole family loved it and that is no easy feat. Made plenty with some leftovers for DH the following day.
Thanks Moo2! Very sweet of you 🙂 It’s nice to have leftovers for lunch, isn’t it!!
This would have to be the most tasty dish we have eaten for a long time. FANTASTIC! Perhaps we eat too much, but I would say the quantity of meat and veg would serve 5-6 people, but the rice would serve 8. The leftover rice went down a treat the next day served with some stir fried prawns. Thanks for the lovely recipe.
I’ve made this dish twice now, and I’m sure I’ll make it many more times 🙂 Yummo!
Today I added raw beetroot to the steaming veggies, it may seem a bit odd to people used to only eating beetroot from a tin, but the addition of its earthy sweetness was delicious!
Also the beetroot juice drips down into the TMX bowl as it steams, and stains the rice a beautiful mix of sunset colours, and the sauce a delicate peach, looks even more fabulous than before! 😉
Thanks Jo for a recipe that tastes gourmet but is so simple and quick to make. Its a win/win in my book!
Finally got around to making this one – everyone loved it – so yummy! We had brown rice so I just cooked it as per the directions from the fried rice recipe. The sauce was an absolute winner – so tasty! Can’t wait to do it again! Thanks again Jo!
Holy cow. This is delicious!
My kids thought I ordered this from the Thai restaurant. 🙂
Thank you!!
Thanks guys, so glad you’ve all enjoyed it!!! 🙂
Seriously best ever! Will now be a household regular. Thanks Jo for all your effort for our families! (Today also tried banana, choc, nut “ice cream”, tomorrow will b toffee one) Couldn’t believe it, in health food store buying supplies today & they’d never heard of a TM! Even my 9yo piped up to explain it!
Woo hoo!!! Thanks Janine 😀 Good on your 9 yr old – seems odd when health people haven’t heard of the TM, doesn’t it!!
Can this be made wth brown rice. How do it do this
Yes, you can make this with brown rice – just soak the rice first for a few hours or overnight, and cook for about 25 mins, adding the veges inthe last 15 mins. Also, add more water so that there’s 1200g altogether.
Wow. Wow. WOW. More than a year later, this blog post and recipe are STILL getting comments and people are STILL discovering the clever features of Thermomix that enable us to cook entire meals in one go – the fast and easy way! I finally made this recipe – or at least a version of it, because I, too, am a last-minute cook with loads of ideas but not always the right ingredients – and it was beautiful. My husband raved about it. I used filets of sea bream which I dusted with the chopped garlic and ginger, and coked the rice in coconut milk to which I added a tsp of Thai green curry paste, some fish sauce, palm sugar and a red chilli. Brilliant! Such a good method. To me, the proof of a good recipe is how easily you can adapt it to the ingredients at hand and Jo, you’ve got a winner here!!! Many thanks for sharing it with us.
Oh wow, if you and your husband thought it was beautiful, that’s great praise indeed, from people that have dined in some of the finest places in London, not to mention cooking up amazing delights yourself!!! Thank you!!! 😀 I love your ‘tweaks’ – they sound delicious. I must try them! Thank you for your lovely comment 🙂
Jo xx
Hi Jo,
Made this dish for the first time tonight. We all loved it – the chicken was so tender. This may be a silly question but this is only the second time I’ve used my Varoma but do you use the middle steamer tray or do you just toss all the vegies on top of the chicken? Gretel
Hi Gretel, so glad you liked it! No, I don’t use the middle tray for this one, I just chuck it all into the big tray, chicken on the bottom, harder veges next, then softer veges, then cashews, sesame seeds, etc. Poke a hole in the middle so the steam gets through, and stir once or twice to make sure it’s cooking evenly. 🙂 Jo
Made this tonight and was super yummy. I had some left over rice so I warmed up some milk and saltanas and made a mini rice pudding, kids loved it. xo
I christened my new Thermomix with this meal last night 🙂 It was yummo! I used quinoa instead of rice and it cooked perfectly. Thanks for this yummy recipe 🙂
Making this dish as we speak, smells divine but the rice has over cooked and gone all mushy. I’m sure I put the right amount of liquid when I put the rice basket in the liquid was half way up and bubbled thru to chicken. So have ditched the rice and cooking some on the stove. Any clue as to why it happened?
Glad you liked it, Carmen and Haid! You’re welcome 🙂
Anon: What kind of rice did you use? Regular white rice only needs to cook about 17 mins I think, so you’d need to remove it to the Thermoserver once cooked, and continue with the recipe. Basmati I like cooked for 20 mins, and brown for 35 mins – so you just have to adjust the recipe to suit which rice you use. 🙂
Hi Jo, I love this recipe. Do you think if I halved the chicken and the vegies it would be cooked in 15-17 minutes with the rice steaming at the same time?
This is the second time we have made this. The things I love about this recipe are:
it’s quick
it’s healthy as it includes a lot of veges
it’s tasty
it’s all-in-one
I’m not sure about the coconut cream. Hubby has concerns about how healthy it is. What would you say Jo?
Hi, re this cooking quicker, yes, you could cook it quicker with less in the Varoma – whatever time it takes for the rice to cook, basically. When I really pack the varoma full, I have to give it another 10-15 mins after I remove the rice so it’s all cooked through.
Re coconut cream, I love all coconut products, as long as they’re the organic, no additives type – some coconut cream you buy has little real coconut cream in it! Get the good organic brands, or make it yourself from organic shredded coconut. If you’re worrying about the saturated fat, don’t. It’s really good for you, and your body needs it. Check out Cyndi O’Meara’s report on saturated fats and the cholesterol myth – that will help. http://changinghabits.com.au/_literature_67273/Cholesterol_Myth_Report
Jo 🙂
Hey there, I haven’t cooked with quinoa in my tmx yet, is it like for like with white rice in this recipe? Thanks!
Yes, you just use 350g instead of the 400g of rice, as quinoa puffs up more. 🙂
Mmmm…made this tonight and it was a big hit.
This rocked!!!Got some left over sauce which will be delicious tomorrow with the chickpeas I have cooking in my slow cooker as we speak!
I think this could be the start of a beautiful blog friendship, I’ve tried 2 of your recipes and they have both been exactly what i am all about with food:) xx
Hi Jo, what would you recommend instead of cashews in this dish. Also, could the soy sauce/tamari be omitted or substituted?
Thanks (:
Stephanie, thank you for your lovely comment!! (Sorry I missed it til now) 🙂 xx
Rosie, maybe you could try blanched slivered almonds? You can leave out the tamari if you like – you just may need a little salt. 🙂
That was the nicest dish that I have ever cooked. Husband adored it and asked for more. Love it. Thanks for the fantastic recipe.
Making this tonight…sounds like a winner to me.
Love your blog page and your recipes of course.
Michele
Thanks Michelle, enjoy! 🙂
Hi Jo, just made this dish for the millionth time, but swapped the chicken for pieces of salmon. Was terrific!
Holly
Ps – when ever I am scratching around for something to cook I always come to your blog first 🙂