aka 焗葡國雞飯. Egg fried rice with stir fried chicken, topped with a creamy coconut curry sauce. I’m sure all of you has eaten this at some point in your lives in cha chaan tengs.
This is one of the staple items that you would usually see in a cha chaan teng (Hong Kong style cafe) in Hong Kong and Macau. Despite it being called, “Portuguese Chicken Rice”, this is a dish that actually originated in Macau, not Portugal. This so-called Portuguese sauce, which is basically a coconut curry sauce, was actually a Macanese cuisine invention instead.
Usually, cha chaan tengs would serve this over white rice. In my kitchen, we take things up to the next level, so we are frying our rice for the base. Therefore, please use cold overnight rice because that is the number one basic step if you want to make the best fried rice. (I’m looking at you all who use freshly cooked rice to fry rice and I am shaking my head because that is not the asian way to fry rice!) I also added more coconut milk than the original dish, because it makes the sauce creamier and so much more flavourful (please follow my tip on this, you’ll thank me later).
The perfect dinner that will leave you leftovers for lunch and dinner for the rest of the week (or maybe it won’t even last that long because it’ll be finished too quickly).
If you do try out this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and/or give it a rating! I’d also love to see your creations so don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!
Baked Portuguese Chicken Rice
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
- 1 lb boneless chicken thigh (cut into 1 inch thick pieces)
- 1 tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp curry powder
- ½ tsp cornstarch
Egg Fried Rice
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs (whisked)
- 6 servings of cold leftover rice
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp chicken bouillon powder
Sauce
- 2 medium carrots (chopped)
- 2 medium yellow potatoes (chopped)
- 4 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion (chopped)
- Splash of white wine
- 1 tbsp all purpose flour
- 200 ml chicken stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp ground tumeric
- ½ tsp curry paste
- ½ green bell pepper (chopped)
- 200 ml coconut milk
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp evaporated milk
Cornstarch Slurry
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp water
Topping
- ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
Chicken Marinade
- In a large bowl, marinate the chicken with all the ingredients for 20 minutes.
Egg Fried Rice
- In a large pan/wok over medium-high heat, add in the oil. Once the oil is heated, add in the whisked eggs and stir fry. Add in the cold overnight rice and break it apart. Season with salt and chicken bouillon powder. Place in a baking dish.
Sauce
- As you’re frying your rice, boil the carrots and potatoes. In a saucepan of boiling water, boil the carrots and potatoes for 10 minutes, or until you can poke it through with a fork. Strain and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- In a large pan/wok with heated vegetable oil, cook the chicken over medium-high heat until browned. Flip and add in the garlic. Cook the chicken until both sides are browned and chicken is 60-70% done.
- Make a spot in the centre and add in the butter and onion. Stir fry with the chicken and then add in the white wine.
- Once the chicken is 80% done, turn down the heat to low and sprinkle on the flour and mix everything together.
- Add in the chicken stock, bay leaves, ground tumeric and curry paste (add it before the water boils or else the tumeric won’t melt properly). Turn up the heat to bring it to a boil.
- Once it has started boiling, add in the cooked carrots and potatoes, along with the bell pepper and coconut milk. Stir continuously to prevent it from sticking to the bottom. Then, add in the sugar, evaporated milk and combine everything together.
- Mix in the cornstarch slurry to thicken up the sauce a bit.
- Spoon the sauce over the fried rice and spread it evenly. Sprinkle on the shredded coconut. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
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