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December 18, 2025 
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Good morning! Today we have for you:
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| Kay Chun’s sticky coconut chicken and rice. Sang An for The New York Times. Food Stylist; Simon Andrews. |
One-pot and pretty perfect
As frequent readers of this newsletter know, I love my rice cooker. They also know that’s an understatement — I need my rice cooker. I bring it with me to Airbnbs and other rented homes. I once had to make rice without a rice cooker, and it did not go well, for me or the rice.
But I do give my rice cooker the occasional night off, and in those instances I’ll often make some sort of one-pot chicken-and-rice situation. I’ve written about this one-pot whole roasted chicken and rice before, and if you haven’t made this simple wonder, definitely do that. But today I’ll be talking about Kay Chun’s sticky coconut chicken and rice.
I love a coconut rice (see also: nasi lemak and this creamy coconut-lime rice with peanuts), so this is an easy win for me: Plump pieces of chicken thigh are cooked on top of coconut rice that’s infused with garlic, ginger, scallions and cashews. Cilantro and hot sauce to finish add freshness and acidity. The dish takes 45 minutes start to finish, which is actually less time than my rice cooker takes on its basic white rice setting.
Leftovers? Chop up the chicken into bite-size pieces and give everything a stir in a hot, oiled pan for a rough-and-tumble fried rice situation. We love a one-pan lunch from a one-pot dinner.
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More one-pot chicken-and-rices |
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Today’s specials
Overnight sausage and mushroom strata: It didn’t occur to me until I read the word “overnight” in the recipe title that this Yossy Arefi dish was meant for breakfast, not dinner. So if you, too, saw this savory, filling casserole and thought, I want that on Friday night with a green salad and a lot of vinegary hot sauce, you’re not alone.
White bean shakshuka: Similarly, while Ifrah F. Ahmed’s protein-boosted take on shakshuka would be a reviving, eye-opening breakfast, I would happily eat this for dinner. It’s exactly what I’d want to make to end the day strong if my lunch was a gone-cold coffee and a handful of cookies (not speaking from experience or anything).
Blood orange olive oil cake: The blood oranges have appeared at my local grocer, and I’m thrilled. I’ve been swapping them in for, uh, orange oranges wherever I can. This lovely loaf cake from Melissa Clark puts their dramatic color to good use, with little ruby segments polka-dotting the loaf. Melissa also provides a tip for making a honey and blood orange compote to serve alongside because she’s Melissa, and she wants us to have happy holidays.
And before you go
A whole roasted cauliflower is a very nice vegetarian main. But what if you took that cauliflower, portioned it into generous wedges and then roasted those wedges in their own phyllo nests filled with rich, Cheddar-infused custard? You’d then have Yotam Ottolenghi’s cheesy cauliflower nests, which look so incredibly inviting.
If you’d like more ideas for vegetarian holiday mains, we’ve got you covered right here. Enjoy, and thanks for reading!
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