I seem to be on a meal sharing kick lately. We’ve been doing a lot of running around the last couple of weeks and so we’ve been making “fast food.” Last week it was fish and a side dish (Go here for Meal 1 and Meal 2). This time it’s chicken and rice with a tropical twist. The inspiration for this meal came from a pack of boneless skinless breasts languishing in the fridge and a mango I had bought intending to use in a smoothie . We sliced the breasts into thinner fillets so they cooked quickly without drying out. It also helps keep the portions a reasonable size, since chicken breasts are so large now. Add a salad or other green vegetable and tropical chicken with coconut mango rice will please everyone in the family.
Don’t you love a good seasoning blend? They make life so much easier, don’t they? Just pull the bottle from the cupboard and shake, shake, shake. The blend for the tropical chicken comes from this recipe by Leanne Ely. It made it into my cache of scanned recipes from this summer. I’ve changed the proportions a bit to suit my family. Please feel free to do the same when you mix it up. This is a nice blend to use for chicken or fish. If you have the time, mix a larger batch so you’ll have it ready to use. If you have a Caribbean blend already on hand, feel free to use that instead of mixing the spices. It will be good.
We’re going to make a pan gravy, so a mix of butter and olive oil is nice to use. Feel free to use all olive oil if you prefer.
For the rice, fresh or frozen mango will work. This post talks about how to cut a fresh mango if you need a refresher. I found coconut milk in the Asian section of the store. The lite coconut milk will work fine, but I think the regular coconut milk makes a better tasting rice dish. We like basmati or jasmine rice for this, but any rice will work. Make sure to adjust the cooking liquid if needed.
Steam some broccoli raab or green beans for a vegetable and your meal is complete.
Ingredients
For the spice blend (great to make in bulk to have on hand)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon smoky paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon thyme
For the rice
- 1 1/2 cups rice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 can about 14 ounces unsweetened coconut milk
- Chicken broth and/or Water to make up the volume of liquid to about 3 cups total
- salt to taste
- 1 large mango peeled and diced (about a cup of fruit)
- zest of a large lime use the juice from the lime to make the pan sauce
- chopped cilantro for garnish
For the chicken
- 2 boneless skinless breast halves about a pound, trimmed and sliced longways into thin fillets
- 1 tablespoon butter add more if needed when making the pan sauce
- 2 tablespoon oil
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- juice of a large lime
Instructions
- Mix up the spice blend first and set aside.
Begin cooking the rice
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan with a tight fitting lid.
- Add the rice and stir to coat thoroughly.
- Add the cooking liquid (the coconut milk and water) when the rice begins to change color.
- Allow it to come to a boil.
- Reduce heat to a simmer.
- Add the mango, lime zest and about 1/2 teaspoon of spice mix.
- Taste and add salt as needed.
- Stir well and cover the pot with the lid.
- Cook for about 15 - 20 minutes until the liquid is absorbed.
Start on the chicken
- Trim and slice the chicken into thin fillets. Season on both sides with the spice mix.
- After the rice has been cooking for 10 minutes, heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet.
- Add the chicken, in batches if necessary, and cook for a couple minutes on both sides. It won't take long to cook through because the pieces are thin.
- Remove the chicken to a plate while you make the pan sauce.
- Add the lime juice and chicken broth to the skillet. Use a whisk to mix up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
- Simmer gently and allow to thicken slightly. Add more butter if you want the sauce to be richer.
- Keep an eye on the rice and remove from the heat if needed.
- Return the chicken and any juices to the pan.
- Turn the chicken in the pan sauce to coat well.
- Before serving, stir in a generous handful of chopped cilantro to the rice.
I adore both of these recipes! They are so simple yet so delicious!!
Thank you Bella! I hope you enjoy them 🙂
That looks so yummy and picture perfect! Thanks for linking up with the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party. I have pinned your post to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Board!
This sounds amazing, I have had coconut milk in my cupboard forever. Now I have something to use it with! Thanks for sharing at the Happiness is Homemade link party, you are being featured so make sure to stop on over on Sunday ans grab our button!
Oh boy! Thank you so much for the feature! Glad you like it 🙂
I’ve been obsessed with all things coconut lately and this rice looks divine. I had something similar in at a restaurant and have wanted to try and recreate it. Pinning it!
I hope you like it! I’ll bet some unsweetened coconut flakes would work with the rice, now that you mention it.
Wow, this looks delicious! I’ve never had tropical chicken before but I definitely need to try this. I’m stopping by from the Gingham & Roses link up!
I was skeptical the very first time I made it, but the flavors really work! Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to comment 🙂
How pretty and delicious does this look?! YUM!
Thanks for joining the Link Up this week!
love the seasoning, and coconut milk! Love the presentation, it looks yummy! Pinned! Checking this delicious dish out from happiness is homemade! 🙂
Cathy
Thank you for pinning. I hope you get a chance to enjoy it 🙂
This looks so good. I just happen to have all of these ingredients too! I will be making this very soon.
I love the coconut mango rice idea! I usually just sprinkle Japanese rice seasoning on my rice if I want to add some flavor to it, but this sounds great!
I had no idea there was a Japanese rice seasoning. Now I’m going to have to google it 🙂
You must try it, Lydia! It’s delicious.
I found some online. I think we would like it. Thanks! 🙂
Hi Lydia,
This looks absolutely delicious. I love chicken and rice and with the great seasoning you adding its got to be a great meal pleaser. Will pin. Have a wonderful healthy day!
Thanks, Marla. I really liked the rice. It was nice as leftovers the next day, too. 🙂
What a tempting combination!