Chicken Shawarma Rice Recipe

Chicken Shawarma Rice Recipe is a rice dish that is mix with spiced chicken, salads, turmeric rice, and white sauce, which is a Middle Eastern-inspired Filipino recipe.

During my childhood experiences in Kuwait and Jordan, chicken shawarma is a popular dish found in most local food stalls. It is one of my favorite foods which is not only popular in the Middle East, but also around the world.

While living in the Philippines, one thing that caught my attention that they also serve their Filipino version of shawarma, which in local shawarma food stalls, they serve a delicious beef or chicken shawarma rice and sandwiches.

As you know, rice is a popular staple food in the Philippines which they eat almost breakfast, lunch, and dinner. So it is not surprising why they serve shawarma rice dish.

This fascinates me because in Kuwait and Jordan, we eat shawarma using pita bread rather than rice. Their dish is also similar, except they add yellow rice. Nonetheless, because I love rice, it is one of my favorite rice dishes which is mouthwatering.

In this post, I will be showing you my fusion of how to make a Chicken shawarma rice recipe.

Recipe Ingredients

To make my perfect and delicious chicken shawarma rice recipe, here is the ingredient below:

MEATS: I am using chicken breast for my shawarma rice dish since I love chicken and it is my favorite protein.

VEGETABLES: I am using 3 kinds of vegetables for my salad: cucumber, lettuce and tomatoes. Alternatively, if you already have a prepared salad recipes in your mind, then you can just skip that part.

RICE: To make nice tasty rice, you need long grain rice and turmeric for color. Additionally, I add chopped onion & olive oil for stir-frying the rice. Some just serve the rice right away after boiling, but to me, I prefer to fry the rice to enhance the flavor of my dish.

SPICES: There are specific spices I used for marinating my chicken breast:

• Cumin
• Coriander
• Cinnamon
• Turmeric
• Garlic Powder or Raw grated garlic
• Yogurt
• Lemon juice
• Black Pepper and Salt

These are very important spices to have a tasty mouthwatering chicken. Based on the list above, if you don't have garlic powder, you can instead use raw grated garlic.

SAUCE: The most important condiment for this recipe is the shawarma white sauce. In this dish, I am using my homemade yogurt garlic sauce which you can check in the link provided. The white sauce is made of mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon, and salt & black pepper.

Cooking Instruction

Cooking the Chicken Shawarma Rice is divided into 3 steps: Baking the chicken; Simmering the rice; and Stir frying the rice.

I. Baking the Chicken

• Firstly, add yogurt and all the spices in a large bowl. Mix all of them well before putting the chicken breast in the bowl.
• Once the chicken is well marinated, preheat the oven for 200 C and wait for few minutes.
• When the oven is hot enough, put the chicken breast inside the oven and bake it for 30 minutes.
• Once you are done, remove the chicken from the oven. Let it cool down for a few minutes before chopping the chicken breast into small pieces.

II. Simmering the Rice

• In a separate pot, add a tablespoon of olive oil and wait till it becomes hot. Once the oil is hot, add the rice and give a stir for a few minutes.
• Add a half teaspoon of turmeric powder with 1 cup of water in a separate glass. Mix it well before transferring the turmeric mixture into the pot.
• Stir to mix for few seconds before adding more water in the pot to boil.
• Simmer the rice for 15 to 20 minutes until the water fully evaporates, and the rice is cook.

Notes: While baking the chicken, you can use this time to cook the rice.

III. Stir frying the rice

• Add olive oil in a separate pan. Once it is hot, add the chopped onion and stir for few minutes till it turns light brown or it is almost cook.
• Add the yellow rice in the pan and stir to mix. Seasoned with salt and black pepper and give a stir for one more time.
• Once your done, serve the rice with raw chopped vegetables and shawarma chicken breast in a plate. Drizzle with white yogurt garlic sauce and hot sauce (optional). Enjoy!

Variation

Shawarma Sandwich- This shawarma sandwich contains fillings of chopped chicken, potatoes, cucumber pickled, and Toum sauce that is then wrapped in an Arabic flatbread.

Chicken Shawarma Tacos- This chicken shawarma is similar to sandwiches except we use mini tortilla bread and tahini sauce for taco serving. Also, the vegetable fillings that are used include sumac onion, chopped lettuce, and tomatoes.

Shawarma Pizza- This is a baked pizza that contains chopped chicken shawarma which is topped with black olives, red onion and it is drizzle with yogurt garlic sauce.

Substitution

• If you are not a fan of chicken, you can use chopped roasted beef or lamb.
• If you prefer vegetarian, you can use cooked chickpeas, with the same spices and ingredients as your protein.
• You can use other vegetable side dishes such as chopped cabbages and onion.
• As for rice, you can use Jasmine rice, Basmati rice, or American long grain rice.

Serving Suggestion

The shawarma rice is served as a full meal since it comes together with meat, salad, and rice. However, shawarma cannot be complete without serving the yogurt garlic sauce, which is an important condiment for this dish. Also, if you want to add spiciness to your rice dish. You can use any hot sauce such as tabasco or sriracha sauce.

Lastly, I like to serve it sometime with pita bread or kuboos as an add-on to this rice dish.

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Middle Eastern Rice Recipes

If you are looking for delicious Middle Eastern rice dishes, here are the list of recipes you can try in your kitchen:

• Majboos Rice
• Chicken Maqluba

📋 Recipe Card

Chicken Shawarma Rice Recipe

Saif Al Deen Odeh

Chicken Shawarma Rice is a Middle Eastern-inspired Filipino recipe that is mix with spiced chicken, yellow rice, raw vegetables, and drizzle with white sauce and hot sauce.

4.53 from 48 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main

Cuisine Filipino, Middle Eastern

Servings 4 servings

Calories 542 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 pound Chicken Breast

Spiced Rice

• 1.5 cup of uncooked long grain rice
• ½ teaspoon of Turmeric powder
• 2 small onions
• Salt & Black Pepper for Taste
• 3 Tablespoon of Olive Oil

Shawarma Spices for the Chicken

• ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder
• ½ teaspoon of cumin powder
• ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon powder
• ½ teaspoon of coriander powder
• 2 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 3 tablespoon of Lemon juice
• ½ cup of yogurt
• Salt and Black Pepper

Vegetables

• 1.5 Cup Lettuce, chopped
• 1 Large Cucumber, chopped
• 2 Medium Tomatoes, chopped

Yogurt Garlic Sauce

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven in 200 C
• In a large bowl, add the spices and yogurt and mix it together with the chicken.
• Once the chicken is well marinated, transfer into the oven and let it bake for 30 minutes
• While the chicken is baking, start cooking the rice in a separate pot.
• Add a tablespoon of olive oil in the pot. Once it is hot, add the uncooked rice. Give a quick stir for few minutes.
• In a separate glass, mix turmeric with water before transferring into the pot. Stir to mix.
• Add more water in the pot. Let it simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until the water fully evaporate and the rice is fully cook.
• If the chicken is done, remove it from the oven and let it cool down. Chopped the chicken into small pieces for later serving.
• Add a drop of olive oil in the pan. Once it is hot, add onion and give a quick stir for few minutes or till it become light brown.
• Add the yellow rice in the pan and stir to mix. Add salt and black pepper to season the rice.
• Serve the spiced yellow rice with raw vegetables and chopped chicken. Drizzle with white sauce and hot sauce (optional).

Notes

• The calories shown above does not include the yogurt garlic sauce.
• You can use other vegetable side dishes such as chopped cabbage or onion.
• For the ingredient of Yogurt Garlic Sauce, you can check the link in the recipe post.

Nutrition

Calories: 542kcalCarbohydrates: 67.9gProtein: 32.7gFat: 14.6gSaturated Fat: 2.1gCholesterol: 74mgSodium: 120mgPotassium: 946mgFiber: 3.1gSugar: 7.3gCalcium: 112mgIron: 4mg

Keyword chicken shawarma rice, shawarma rice

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