Sweet Chile–Chicken Rice Bowl Recipe
At his West Los Angeles restaurant Chego, Roy Choi (Kogi) is giving the humble rice bowl a makeover with fresh vegetables, homemade sauces, and meats that are cooked with care. This rice bowl recipe is nothing like the gooey microwaved rice, rubbery chicken strips, and syrupy teriyaki-sauced versions you’ve seen. Read more about Chego and Choi’s philosophy on making good food accessible in our Q&A with Choi.
What to buy: Mae Ploy is a sweet chile sauce that can be found in the Asian section of your supermarket or online.
Look for Sriracha hot sauce in the Asian section of your supermarket; we prefer the one made by Huy Fong Foods (with the rooster on the jar!).
Korean red pepper powder or kochukaru is what gives kimchee its spiciness. It can be found in Korean markets in large resealable plastic bags, in different grades of coarseness and spiciness. Choose a grade based on your personal preference.
Korean chile paste or kochujang is found in jars or small plastic tubs in Korean markets or online. Store... read more
For the sweet chile sauce:
- 1 (10-ounce) bottle Mae Ploy Sweet Chilli Sauce
- 2/3 cup loosely packed Thai basil leaves
- 2/3 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 4 medium limes)
- 1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (from about 1 medium orange)
- 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1/2 bunch scallions, coarsely chopped (white and light green parts only)
- 8 medium garlic cloves, peeled
- 3 tablespoons Sriracha hot sauce
- 2 tablespoons Korean red pepper powder
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- 1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1 dried Anaheim chile, stemmed and coarsely chopped
- 1 serrano chile, stemmed and coarsely chopped
- 4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 4 teaspoons Korean chile paste
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the chicken:
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 4 medium limes)
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
- 1 medium Asian pear, peeled and grated on the large holes of a box grater
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
For the crispy shallots:
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 shallot, cut lengthwise and thinly sliced
- Kosher salt
To cook the chicken and jalapeños:
- Vegetable oil
- 3 jalapeños
To assemble:
- 6 cups hot steamed white rice
- 6 soft-poached eggs
- 1/2 pound Chinese broccoli, cut into 1-inch pieces, blanched, and kept warm
- 6 shiso leaves, torn
- 6 Thai basil leaves, torn
- 4 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
- Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and purée until smooth, about 1 minute; set aside.
For the chicken:
- Place all of the ingredients except the chicken in a resealable plastic bag or a nonreactive bowl or dish and stir to combine. Add the chicken, turn to coat, and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
For the crispy shallots:
- Pour about 1 inch of oil into a small saucepan and place over medium-high heat until the oil registers 350°F on a candy/fat thermometer.
- Place the flour in a small bowl, add the shallots, and toss to coat. Remove the shallots from the flour, shaking off any excess, and add about half of them to the hot oil without crowding the pan. Fry until golden brown, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, remove the shallots to a paper-towel-lined plate and season immediately with salt. Repeat with the remaining shallots; set aside.
To cook the chicken and jalapeños:
- Lightly coat a grill pan with vegetable oil and heat over medium-high heat until hot, about 5 minutes. Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade, letting any excess drip off, and place them on the grill pan without crowding (you will have to do this in 2 batches). Cook until grill marks appear and the juices run clear when you cut into the meat, about 5 minutes per side. Remove to a cutting board and tent with foil to keep warm.
- While grilling the second batch of chicken, also grill the jalapeños, turning occasionally, until they’re blistered and charred all over, about 15 minutes. Remove to the cutting board with the chicken.
- Slice the chicken into 1/2-inch-thick pieces and slice the jalapeños into 1/4-inch-thick rings; set aside.
To assemble:
- Divide the rice among 6 serving bowls, then top each with some chicken, a poached egg, and some Chinese broccoli. Garnish each with the grilled jalapeños, shiso leaves, basil leaves, sesame seeds, and reserved crispy shallots. Drizzle each bowl with 1/4 cup of the sweet chile sauce, passing additional sauce on the side.
This was time-consuming, but was also by far the best rice bowl I have ever made. Although I also made some changes: The crushed red pepper I used was not Korean. I left out the Anaheim chili and tripled the serranos, left out the Korean chili paste and used regular basil leaves in place of Thai. I deep fried 6 shallots so there would be plenty to go around. Instead of the broccoli and Shiso I used regular stir-fry vegetables. The shallots really made all the difference -- they added a tasty crunch to the meal. I also soft-boiled instead of poached the eggs. I think the sauce would be delicious on all kinds of dishes, so I'm glad I had extra. I would definitely make this again.
...although I've never heard of dipping the shallots in flour. Sounds strange and unnecessary to me. Also, one shallot seems like far too few. I usually deep fry 5-10 at a time, and dump a whole bunch in the oil at once without problems.
Just a couple of notes: 1. Mae Ploy is the name of the manufacturer, and is not a specific sauce. It means "Aunt Ploy" in Thai, if my understanding is correct. (A lot of the Thai manufacturers of sauces and pastes are named after aunts... Mae Sri, for example, is another famous one.) 2. For people who want to skip deep frying shallots: nothing says delicious like deep fried shallots. It's incredibly easy to do and given the massive amount of luscious flavour deep fried shallots impart, this is one step that should not be skipped! I use deep fried shallots as a finishing ingredient on many dishes, from plain rice to pad see eew. Best of all, the oil in which you deep fry the shallots (provided you deep fry them in a conservative amount of oil) is fabulous and makes an excellent cooking oil for stir fries.
I don't know how good it is, but the recipe is ridiculous. It calls for 34 ingredients!
you should just use a lot of kochujang... it would be pretty tasty to....
I agree with poster who said would have preferred a garnishing sauce from scratch rather than the bottle sweet gloopy stuff. Sounds like a good marinade, though.
I agree poster who said they would have preferred a garnishing sauce from scratch rather than the bottle sweet gloopy stuff. Sounds like a good marinade, though.
would have preferred a garnishing sauce from scratch rather than the bottle sweet gloopy stuff. Sounds like a good marinade, though.
I just made this and it is very good, I made some alterations. First I cut down the portions (only cooking for 2). I left out the Korean chili paste and used regular red pepper flakes. The chili sauce does not take that much effort, its just like making salsa. The chicken, I used breast meat and while it was cooking I spooned on some of the chili sauce, Didn't need any jalepenos as the chili sauce is plenty hot. I didn't deep fry the fried shallots. I don't think it are necessary. I fried the egg instead of poach since I had the oil from the shallots. I did accidentally substitute shallots for the scallions, I am not used to seeing green onions called scallions. Try this out, it's really good if you love chili.
I agree with VikingKvinna. Overly complicated recipe -- the sauce contains 6 different forms of chili pepper! I'd bet you could leave out half the ingredients in the sauce and not notice a big difference (if any).
This looks awesome - I always love throwing a poached egg on almost anything but I always forget about it in Korean dishes. I'll probably skip the fried shallots though they do sound yummy - that's the only step that seems over the top to me + they sell them at all the asian markets near me
This strikes me as the kind of recipe designed to make readers and would-be cooks say, "Ahh, eff it, I'll just go to the restaurant." I mean, I'm an experienced cook and not intimidated by long ingredient lists and complicated steps, but...for a rice bowl? I'm not going to fry shallots, marinate and cook chicken, *and* poach an egg. This is a far cry from the kind of rice bowl that Choi references in the article, when he talks about putting rice in a bowl and topping with some protein and pickled vegetables. That's three steps; four if you count heating it up. This looks to be more like 20. Give me a break.
Sounds delicious and I am going to try it, thanks, Colleen