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These crispy Caribbean chicken bowls with rice, corn salsa and beans are perfect as a delicious, gluten free family dinner.
I have always loved “bowl food”. Food you can eat in bowls with your feet on the couch while watching Friends.
Food that is neither pretentious or stuffy but full of the good stuff. So you can imagine my delight when this whole ‘bowl’ thing blew up the way it did. I felt a little chuffed that I was so ahead of the curve because I’ve been eating this kind of food for years.
I think a big attraction to this kind of food is that it is so obviously homey. It’s just very much updated. It’s the chicken, rice and vegetables your mom fed you as a child in a pretty bowl, really.And who doesn’t love all of those things? No one, that’s who.
How to make crispy Caribbean chicken bowls
This week’s bowl is this delicious Caribbean chicken and rice bowl with corn salsa and black beans.
I used some left-over Jasmine rice which was the perfect vehicle for the delectable flavors of the chicken, salsa and
dressing. The chicken was marinated over-night (but a couple of hours will be more than enough) in a spicy miture of all spice, coriander, cumin, chilli powder and a little sugar before being dunked in egg and flour and fried until crisp. To keep things a little healthier, you could always grill the chicken instead of frying it and you can do that straight from the rub. I would suggest though, if you are planning on grilling the chicken, that you turn the rub into a marinade by adding a little olive oil, a clove of chopped garlic and a splash of fresh pineapple juice.
Crispy chicken recipes
Caribbean chicken and rice bowls with grilled corn salsa
Ingredients
for the chicken
- 4 chicken breasts cubed
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon all spice
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1½ cups flour seasoned with 1 teaspoon salt
for the fried beans
- 1 x 400g approx 12 oz can black beans
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
for the grilled corn salsa
- 3 ears of corn shucked
- 1 red onion finely chopped
- 1 cup chopped tomato
- 1 red pepper finely chopped
- handful fresh coriander finely chopped
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- salt & pepper to taste
for the rice and bowl
- 4 cups cooked rice
- fresh coriander
- lemon wedges
- fresh chillies sliced
for the coconut dressing
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons pineapple juice
- 1-2 teaspoons chopped chilli
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine all the spices, sugar and salt then coat the chicken cubes in the rub. Allow to marinade for at least 2 hours.
- When the chicken has marinated, coat them first in the beaten egg then in the seasoned flour. To make the salsa, grill the corn until charred and cooked then cut the kernels off the cobs. Combine with the rest of the salsa ingredients then set aside.
- Fry the chicken in a deep frying pan with around 1 cup of vegetable oil until golden brown and crisp.
- Remove from the oil and drain on kitchen paper.
- To make the fried beans, heat the oil in a small frying pan then add the beans. Season with salt and lemon juice then set aside.
- Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl.
- To serve, place the rice in bowls then top with the chicken, salsa and fried beans. Drizzle over some of the dressing and top with fresh coriander. Serve with extra lemon wedges and fresh chillies.
Nutrition
Which brands sell black beans? I’ve been looking all over and so can’t find them anywhere.
I found mine at my local supermarket (Spar) but have seen them in many health food stores too.