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, like the Chick-Fil-A Inspired Crispy Chicken Sandwich and Lemonade!
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.
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).
Give it a shot! It may seem intimidating because of the number of ingredients, but it is really just a slightly long list of really easy steps and the end results more than makes 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!
How to Make Halal Cart Chicken and Rice
The process for making this recipe is pretty straight forward. The amount of spices shouldn’t intimidate as they are incredible together. There are three main things to prepare: The chicken, the rice, and the sauce.
- Step 1 – Marinade: This is critical to get a deeper flavor. Combine the chicken spices in a blender until smooth. Only marinade in the fridge for 3-4 hours max, or the chicken will get mushy.
- Step 2 – Cook Rice: Stovetop rice:
- Melt the butter, then add the spices 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 kosher salt and at least a teaspoon black pepper to start,
- 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. Once fluffed you can use the yellow rice as the base to the meal then top with chicken pieces.
- Step 3 – Cook Chicken: Take the chicken out of the bag and pat dry with paper towels. Cook on medium-high heat, 4-5 minutes until well browned on each side. Once the chicken is cooled, then chop into rough chunks.
- Step 4 – Mix Sauce: To make the sauce: Whisk together the yogurt, garlic, salt, pepper and Sriracha and let sit for an hour in the fridge.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The sauce is based in 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.
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.
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!
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.
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Key Ingredients in Halal Cart Chicken and Rice
- 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 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 every day 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.
Alternative Cooking: Using a 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 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, and serve.
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How to Store Halal Cart Chicken and Rice
- 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 Halal Cart 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 separate.
- 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.
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
- 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.
Notes
Nutrition
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Photos used in a previous version of this post.
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
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.
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
I can’t seem to find the point at which the chopped chicken is added. I plan to make this tomorrow. Thank you.
Can I use sour cream instead of green yogurt?
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
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!
I’ve made this many times now. Soooo good and so easy! It’s become a family favorite. Thanks!
My family loves this dish! I was wondering if I could cook the chicken in an air fryer?
I don’t see why not? I’m sure it’d be great.
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.
So glad it worked out for you, thank you for your support!
Very inspiring method recipes .Can I start food truck
One of my favorite recipes!
Really does taste like the food trucks in NYC.