“I hate it when this cafe is so packed. Every place in town is packed during the tournament. It’s a nightmare trying to find a place to eat.”
—a man in Luca, FFX
You’ll need kabob skewers for this recipe. Double-pronged ones like this are useful so the meat doesn’t slip around.
For the chicken marinade:
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons black peppercorns, coarsely ground
- 2 tablespoons allspice berries, coarsely ground
- 2 tablespoons whole cloves, coarsely ground
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons grated ginger (about 6 square inches)
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup fresh lime juice
- ½ cup peanut or grapeseed oil
- 6 medium green onions, chopped
- 4 Scotch bonnet or habanero chiles, stemmed and minced
- 1 bunch of fresh thyme sprigs, divided in half
- 1½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast tenders
- 1½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
For the rice:
- 2 tablespoons peanut or grapeseed oil
- 10½ oz. long-grain brown rice, jasmine or basmati (about 1½ cups)
- ½ yellow onion, peeled and chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Combine marinade ingredients and half the thyme sprigs. Divide into two containers. Set aside one of the containers in the refrigerator (it will be used later as sauce for the cooked chicken). Add the raw chicken to the other container. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
While the chicken is marinating, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat in a heavy-bottomed soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the rice and saute until it starts to turn golden, about 2 minutes. Add onion, garlic, and salt. Stir and continue cooking for about 10 more minutes, reducing heat as needed and being careful not to let the rice burn.
Pour the coconut milk into a large measuring cup and add water until there are 4 cups of liquid in total. Slowly pour liquid into the rice. Stir in beans and bring to a simmer. Add the other half of the thyme sprigs and continue cooking until all liquid has been absorbed. Lower heat to very low and cover for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside for 15 minutes.
About 1 hour before you’re ready to start cooking the chicken, soak the wooden skewers in water so they won’t burn. Prepare a grill for direct heat, using wood chunks such as pimento or apple if available.
Discard marinade. Thread the chicken onto the skewers. Grill at 350 degrees with the lid closed for about 5 minutes on each side, until beginning to blacken. Transfer to a platter and serve with rice and the other container of sauce for dipping.
Final Fantasy Recipes 