Khao Man Gai Recipe (Thai Chicken Rice)

Praew July 10, 2023 0 Comments

Tender chicken paired with fragrant, richly flavored rice, accompanied by a homemade dip, comforting soup, and fresh vegetables.

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Plate of Khao Man Gai featuring boiled chicken, white rice garnished with fresh coriander, a side of spicy chili dipping sauce, a bowl of soup, and crisp cucumber slices.

Khao man gai recipe (Thai chicken rice) isn’t just one of my favorite Thai street food, it’s a delight I can’t wait to explore with you! Today we’re heading to the heart of Thailand, Bangkok, where you can find this dish at every corner of the street. We’ll be cooking up a wonderful meal using simple and traditional ingredients like winter melon, garlic, palm sugar, and soybean paste. Along the way, we’ll whisk together a zesty homemade chili sauce that pairs perfectly with the flavored rice. This dish isn’t just good food, it’s Thai cuisine in every bite.

Thai woman joyfully presenting a plate of khao man gai and pretending to eat a spoonful of the dish.

Table of Contents

What is khao man gai

Thai chicken rice (ข้าวมันไก่) is a comfort food made with tender boiled chicken and fragrant, seasoned rice. It’s like a warm hug in a comforting bowl on a cold winter day. In Thailand, this chicken dish is served with a delicious chili dipping sauce, a side of chicken soup, and often accompanied by fresh and crisp sliced cucumber.

Close-up of a spoonful of chicken and rice taken from a clay dish filled with steamed rice, boiled chicken, and a tangy dipping sauce.

Variations of Hainanese chicken rice can be found across various countries in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Each country adds its own unique touch and cooking methods, but in this recipe we’re making it Thai-style. Chicken rice carts can be found on the street of Asian countries and are often visited among locals and tourists. With its simple but delicious flavors, this food has captured the hearts of people around the globe.

Clay dish with cucumber slices, chili dipping sauce, and Thai chicken rice.

Chicken rice Thai street food

For Thai people, khao man gai is like a street food star. It’s light and simple – but it fills you up nicely, it’s cheap – but it’s a healthy choice, and it tastes different wherever you go.

Have you ever seen those street food carts with the whole chickens hanging behind the glass? Those carts immediately draw me in, I simply can’t resist them. Just one smell of the aromatic broth is enough for me to order a portion of Thai rice with chicken.

But for my hubby, the chicken portions they serve is often not enough, and that’s where the advantage of cooking homemade food comes in. You can top your rice with as much of that delicious, tender chicken as you want, yummy!

Clay dish filled with Thai chicken rice, beautifully garnished with pepper and coriander, accompanied by fresh cucumber slices and a chili dipping sauce.

Cooking method

In this authentic khao man gai recipe, we’re creating magic. We’ll be using chicken legs, but you can use a whole chicken as well. The chicken is boiled in an aromatic bath of winter melon, coriander, black peppercorns, garlic, salt, and bouillon, giving it a light but totally irresistible flavor.

Thai woman seated on a bamboo table, working with a granite mortar and pestle.

Then we’ll be cooking our rice in the aromatic broth, which infuses the rice with the incredible flavor of the broth. It’ll be the most flavorful rice you’ve ever tasted, Thai restaurant quality assured!

And the best part? The fiery and tangy dipping sauce. It’s the perfect addition to this recipe, and I absolutely love drizzling it all over my chicken and rice.

Hand holding a spoonful of fiery red dipping sauce, hovering over a granite mortar and pestle filled with more of the dip.

Making Thai chicken rice is a little more time-consuming than most Thai recipes or simply ordering takeout, but it’ll be totally worth your time. For me, cooking is not just about the end result, it’s also about the experience and being proud of what you create. With this recipe, you’ll get a feel of traditional Thai cooking. Appreciate the food and ingredients, taste-test as you go, and fill up your house with the aroma of Thai cuisine.

Ingredients

For ease, we’re going to break this recipe down into three tasty stages. Each stage will be cooked separately, and at the end we’ll serve everything on the same plate.

It’s best to focus on each stage at once, as if you were making three different meals. After you cooked each meal, you can assemble them on a plate. The end result will be a feast for the taste buds and the eyes.

Soup ingredients

Ingredients for a Thai dish presented on a bamboo serving tray, including water, raw chicken legs, salt, winter melon, bouillon cubes, garlic, coriander, and black peppercorns.

Chicken – For this recipe, I used chicken leg, but you can totally go for a whole chicken if that’s what you prefer.
Water – The broth base is made by combining water with all the other ingredients, resulting in a comforting soup.
Winter melon – Winter melon adds a subtle sweetness and texture to the soup, and it’s incredibly healthy and nutritious.
Coriander – Coriander is a staple herb of Thai cuisine, you can add as much or as few of it as you wish.
Black peppercorns – Peppercorns are key for adding a gentle heat to the soup.
Bouillon – Bouillon intensifies the flavor of our soup.
Garlic – Garlic is an essential ingredient for this khao man gai recipe.
Salt

For the rice

Overhead view of rice, chicken skin, soup, garlic, and ginger on a banana leaf.

White rice – The rice will soak up the flavors of the soup, since we will be boiling it in the soup broth. I mostly cook with jasmine rice.
Chicken skin – In Thai, “khao” means rice and “man” refers to fat or oil. This indicates that the rice is cooked with chicken fat or oil, infusing it with a rich flavor. The fat or oil we’ll be using will come from the chicken skin.
Ginger – Ginger adds a refreshing flavor to the rice with slightly spicy notes.
Soup
Garlic

For the dipping sauce

Assortment of Thai ingredients including salt, soybean paste, lime juice, palm sugar, garlic, ginger, and chili peppers beautifully presented on a banana leaf in a bamboo serving tray.

Chili peppers – If you like a spicy sauce, use Thai chilies such as bird’s eye chilies. For a mild sauce, you can use a different type of chilies or remove the seeds, which is where most of the heat is.
Palm sugar – Palm sugar is a key ingredient for sweetening the sauce. Palm sugar has a unique caramel-like flavor which is not found in regular white sugar.
Lime juice – For an authentic version of Thai chicken rice, the dipping sauce has to be sour and tangy. This is best achieved by adding fresh lime juice.
Soybean paste – Soybean paste adds a subtly sweet and umami flavor. It’s key for balancing out the heat and sour flavors.
Ginger
Garlic
Salt

Step-by-step instructions

Begin by preparing the soup. Slice the winter melon into medium to large chunks.

Remove a portion of the chicken skin. We’ll use this later as a source of fat or oil for the rice.

Crush black peppercorns, garlic, and coriander root using a mortar and pestle.

Bring water to a boil in a pot. Add the chicken, the spice mixture from the previous step, winter melon slices, and bouillon cubes. Let the chicken soup simmer for about 40 minutes and make sure the chicken is cooked.

Next, we’ll cook the rice. Rinse your rice thoroughly and let excess water drain.

In a non-stick wok or skillet, fry the chicken skin until it turns golden brown and releases its oil and fat.

Add ginger and garlic to the pan and fry until golden.

Add rice to the pan and continue frying until it has fully absorbed the flavorful chicken oil.

Transfer the rice to a pot, then pour in the prepared chicken soup. Cook until the rice is fully cooked and tender.

Lastly, we’ll make the dipping sauce. Crush garlic, ginger, and chili peppers using a mortar and pestle.

Add palm sugar, lime juice, soybean paste, and salt into the mortar and thoroughly mix into one sauce.

Serve immediately. See how to serve below.

How to serve

Serving khao man gai Thai-style is all about the presentation.

Scoop up a portion of the chicken-infused rice into a bowl and flip the bowl onto a plate to shape the rice into a dome.

Hand holding a glass cup filled with white rice, while a wooden spoon is used to pack the rice tightly into the cup.

Next, place the tender boiled chicken beside the rice, or slice it into even-sized pieces.

The dipping sauce is best served in a small bowl on the side, but I love to drizzle it over my rice and chicken. Serve the soup in a small bowl as well, and garnish with coriander. Add fresh vegetables such as cucumber slices on the side.

How to store

Store the chicken and rice in an airtight container or seal your plate. It can be stored in your refrigerator for up to 3 days. The soup can be stored for longer, it’s best to check for freshness. The dipping sauce will remain fresh for a while in an airtight container, check for freshness as well.

To reheat, use a microwave or a stovetop with a splash of water, or enjoy it cold.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ’s)

What does khao man gai taste like?

Khao man gai is comfort food with a subtle flavor. It comes with juicy chicken, cooked in a flavorful broth. The rice is cooked in that same broth, infusing it with chicken flavor. The sauce in always spicy and tangy, and it perfectly complements the chicken rice.

Can I use brown rice?

You can use brown rice, but the taste will be different.

More Thai chicken recipes you’ll love

Larb gai – Easy Thai minced chicken salad with fresh herbs and spices.
Tom kha kai – A fragrant and flavorful soup with a base of creamy coconut milk.
Pineapple fried rice – With a protein of your choice.
Spicy fried chicken
Chicken cashew stir-fry

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