Coconut Chicken & Rice Soup

This recipe was loosely inspired by the flavors of Moqueca, a Brazilian fish stew, but adapted into a seafood-free version to meet different client requests. I love the rich flavor that the bone-in skin-on chicken thighs give to this broth, but you can substitute boneless skinless chicken if needed. Though this soup requires 40 minutes of simmering, it has relatively low effort and I love using that time to intentionally take care of other things. 

 The addition of rice makes the soup a hearty balanced meal combined with vegetables and chicken. This one-pot dish is a perfect way to feed yourself a home-cooked meal without lots of cleanup and is a favorite cozy dish to make as we head into colder weather. 

Ingredients 

1 yellow onion, diced 

1 tbsp coconut oil

3 carrots, diced 

1 yellow onion, diced

salt

3 cloves garlic, minced  

2 medium tomatoes, diced  

1 lb chicken thighs, bone in skin on 

½ cup white rice 

4 cups chicken stock (or water)

1 can coconut milk

2-3 cups of green vegetables of your choice, diced into small pieces. Cabbage, broccoli, bok choy, or green beans all work well

½ bunch cilantro, roughly chopped

Juice of ½ lime 

Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. 

Add in the onions, carrots, and ½ tsp of salt. Allow the mixture to soften, stirring intermittently, until the onion becomes translucent. 

After 4-5 minutes, add in the minced garlic, and saute for 30 seconds

Next, add the diced tomatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes, to allow the tomatoes to soften and break down. 

Add in the chicken thighs, broth, and coconut milk and an additional ½ tsp of salt. 

Cover the pan and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow the soup to simmer covered for 20 minutes. 

After 20 minutes, add in the rice. When using bone-in chicken it's important to boil the chicken for at least 40 minutes total so cover the pot again and simmer for an additional 20 minutes. 

Use tongs to remove the chicken from the soup and set aside. 

Add in the diced vegetables of your choice, an additional ¼ tsp of salt, and continue cooking covered for 4-5 minutes.  Turn off the heat. 

When the chicken has cooled, shred the chicken thighs removing the bones and skin.

Add the shredded chicken back to the soup along with the roughly chopped cilantro and the juice of half a lime. Serve with an extra squeeze of lime juice before serving.