Halal Cart Chicken and Rice (Copycat)

by Sabrina Snyder

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206 Comments

4.78 from 36 votes
6 servings
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
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Halal Cart Chicken is boldly spiced and served with fragrant Turmeric Rice and spicy yogurt sauce. The perfect copycat of NY cart food.

There are so many delicious Copycat Recipes you can try making yourself at home like In-N-Out Animal Style French Fries (Copycat) and Chipotle Barbacoa Beef (Copycat). They are surprisingly easy to make, and SO much fun to eat!

Sabrina’s Halal Cart Chicken and Rice (Copycat)

Halal Cart Chicken and Rice is a hugely popular dish in New York City. Along populated corners, you can walk past a food cart selling street food, or a restaurant, and smell the amazing, warm spices of the chicken and rice, and find yourself standing in the long lines before you even realize what happened. The Halal Guys are as much a reason to visit the city as any other food you’ve decided to put on your short list during a visit.

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Halal Cart Chicken and Rice (Copycat) Recipe

Halal Cart Chicken is boldly spiced and served with fragrant Turmeric Rice and spicy yogurt sauce. The perfect copycat of NY cart food.
Yield 6 servings
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Main
Cuisine Middle Eastern
Author Sabrina Snyder
Bowl with rice, chicken, and sauce
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

For the Chicken:

  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon fresh oregano , chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 3 cloves garlic , roughly chopped (about 1 ½ tablespoons)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon course ground black pepper
  • 2 pounds chicken thighs , boneless, skinless, trimmed of excess fat (6 to 8 thighs)
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

For the Rice:

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 1/2 cups basmati rice , or extra long-grain rice
  • 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon course ground black pepper

For the Sauce:

  • 1 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1-2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic , minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon course ground black pepper

Instructions

  • To marinade the chicken: Combine the lemon juice, oregano, coriander, garlic, and olive oil in a blender until smooth.
  • Season to taste with kosher salt and course ground black pepper.
  • Place the chicken in an airtight bag.
  • Marinade for 3-4 hours.
  • Take chicken out of the bag and pat dry with paper towels.
  • Cook on medium-high in a pan, skin side down for 4-5 minutes, or until well browned.
  • Turn over and cook for another 4-5 minutes until cooked completely through.
  • Let the chicken cool for 5-10 minutes, then chop into rough chunks.
  • For the rice: Melt the butter over medium heat in a large Dutch oven, then add the spices and cook until you can smell them, stirring into the butter.
  • Add the rice and stir to coat.
  • Cook, stirring frequently for 4 minutes until the rice is toasted.
  • Add the chicken broth and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  • Bring mixture to a boil.
  • Cover, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes without disturbing.
  • Remove from the heat and rest without opening the lid for 15 minutes.
  • To make the sauce: Combine yogurt and Sriracha and let sit for an hour in the fridge.

Nutrition

Calories: 620kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 140mg | Sodium: 1505mg | Potassium: 429mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 244IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 89mg | Iron: 2mg

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About this Recipes

This Halal Cart Chicken and Rice is served up to a long line of fans for good reason. The seasonings are bold and delicious, crispy cooked chicken, and seasoned rice. This dish is fantastic and isn’t too spicy for even the youngsters to enjoy (minus the sauce).

Chef’s Note

Give it a shot! It may seem intimidating because of the number of ingredients, but it is really just a slightly long list of pretty easy steps, and the results more than make up for it! If you like this recipe, you’ll enjoy making P.F. Chang’s Spicy Chicken (Copycat) as well. While this does have a few more steps than most other recipes, the work is totally worth it, and look at what it gets you! Yum!

Ingredients

  • Chicken: Find fresh chicken that is boneless and skinless. If using frozen chicken, completely thaw in the fridge before preparing.
  • Rice: Basmati Rice is the best rice to serve with this dish as it is a long rice and fragrant, making it popular in many popular dishes in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and South Asia. You can use regular rice, but the dish is extra special with either extra-long grain rice or Basmati.
  • Yogurt: Greek yogurt is thicker and more nutrient-dense than regular yogurt. It also has less sugar. You can use regular yogurt, but the Greek yogurt will bring a tanginess that blends well with the food.
  • Turmeric: Turmeric is a versatile plant that is related to ginger! The powder is used as a textile dye as well as a seasoning in many old-world dishes. It is packed with nutrients and can easily be found in the seasoning section of your closest grocery store. It’s not a spice that gets a lot of use in everyday cooking, but this is really the secret ingredient in the dish, along with ground coriander seed! It is very bitter, so only a small amount is used. 

How to Store

  • Serve: Halal Cart Chicken and Rice can stay good at room temperature for up to 2 hours. If serving at a party, keep covered when not in use. You can also serve the chicken without chopping and it is still a gorgeous meal. 
  • Store: Transfer the Chicken and Rice to an airtight container and store in the fridge for 3-5 days. Be sure to reheat the chicken thoroughly. You can store the rice and chicken together or separately. 
  • Freeze: Freezing is great for meal prepping. Put your portions into a freezer bag or box and store in the freezer for up to 3 months for freshest taste.

Alternate Cooking Technique

Pressure Cooker

  • Rice: You can easily cook the rice in the pressure cooker. Use 2 cups of rice and 2 1/4th cups of chicken broth. Utilize the sauté option to melt the butter, activate the seasonings, and coat the rice. Then, after you’ve added the chicken stock, pressure cook on high for 3 minutes. Follow the recipe for cooking rice for your particular model for best results.
  • Chicken: Using the pressure cooker is technically possible, but it isn’t recommended since the grill flavor won’t be strongly present, and it is recommended to cook the rice in it instead. However, you can still do so by searing the chicken on the sauté option until browned on both sides. Remove the chicken and replace them with the little trivet for the chicken to stand on. Add 1 cup of water or chicken broth. Place the chicken back onto the trivet. Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. Once you release the quick-release valve, you can remove the chicken, chop it, and serve. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the white sauce made from?

The sauce is based on a Greek yogurt mixed with Sriracha, which is a popular hot sauce. It’s a versatile sauce and can be used on many dishes, so be sure to make extra and store it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks!

You can substitute the yogurt for mayonnaise and then add a teaspoon of vinegar and a teaspoon of garlic paste, and blend well for a fun garlic mayo sauce.

What is the best chicken to use?

This recipe calls for skinless chicken thighs. But you can use regular chicken thigh or even chicken breast. You’ll be cutting into chicken into pieces, so the boneless kind is what you want. 

Who are the Halal Guys?

An Egyptian-American started a food cart in New York over 30 years ago. They became popular by serving this dish with chicken or gyro meat, which catered to the cab drivers. Their flavors boast a bold fusion of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors. It’s the quintessential American Dream story!

What spices do I need?

Your spice rack should be stocked with coriander, cumin, and turmeric. These can be pre-ground, but you’ll appreciate the flavors more if they are whole and you grind them as needed.

More Amazing Chicken and Rice Recipes

Chicken and Rice plate closeup

Photos used in a previous version of this post:

Middle Eastern Chicken Pin image
Middle Eastern Chicken bowl, aerial view

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. My go to rice recipe I honestly have not made this exact chicken recipe but they are perfect. I always chop small carrots to add to the rice and some Thompson raisins

    Reply

  2. We tried this for the first time tonight and to be honest, we thought it had 0 flavor. I made it exactly as the directions specified so I’m not sure what happened. The best part was the Sriracha sauce. If I were to make this again, I would probably triple the amount of spices in each step.

    Reply

    1. I’ve made this recipe several times and I love it….but the reason why is because I add way more turmeric and cumin. I also add chopped tomato and pickle on top and garlic sauce. It’s an excellent base recipe that can be added to otherwise it is a little plain

      Reply

  3. I can’t seem to find the point at which the chopped chicken is added. I plan to make this tomorrow. Thank you.

    Reply

  5. You say to put the chicken “skin side” down when first putting it in the pan. However, the ingredients say boneless, “skinless” chicken thighs. Skin or no skin? Thank you

    Reply

    1. Hi! My mistake! You can put either side down, but if using chicken with skin put the skin side down first. Sorry for the confusion!

      Reply

  8. Our kids made a similar dish. We froze the extra chicken so today I thought I would use it. I didn’t have the recipe they used and I only needed the rice and sauce. I found your recipe and tried it. It was really good! Basmati is now my favorite rice! Next time I’ll try the chicken marinade. Thanks.

    Reply