This flavor-packed main course from Ike Edeani features a Thai-style marinade.

If you could taste Ike Edeani’s portraits they would be sweet and sufficiently seasoned. This sensation is reflected in his roast chicken recipe, where cabbage and coconut rice accompany a Thai-style marinade. The New York-based photographer recalls the first time his girlfriend made him this dish, not long after they met. “It’s since become a favorite,” he tells Family Style. “We often cook it when either (or both) of us return from a trip away, which led to us calling it ‘homecoming’ chicken.”
Ingredients:
- Zest and juice of 1 lime
- 1 inch piece ginger, peeled, finely grated, plus 3 peeled slices
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- ⅓ cup coconut palm sugar or (packed) light brown sugar
- ¼ cup fish sauce
- 13.5 ounce can unsweetened coconut milk, divided
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more
- 2 pounds skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (4–6)
- ½ medium head of green cabbage, stem trimmed, sliced into 1 inch thick wedges
- ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal or ¼ teaspoon Morton kosher salt, plus more
- 1 cup jasmine rice, rinsed until water runs clear
- Cilantro leaves with tender stems and lime wedges (for serving)
Instructions:
- Whisk lime zest and juice, grated ginger, garlic, coconut palm sugar, fish sauce, half a cup coconut milk, two tablespoons of oil, and two teaspoons of pepper in a large bowl to combine. Set one quarter cup of marinade aside for serving. Place chicken in remaining marinade and toss to coat. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Generously brush cabbage wedges on both sides with oil; season with salt and pepper. Arrange, a cut side down, in a medium cast-iron skillet. Remove chicken from marinade and set, skin side up, on top of cabbage; season with salt and pepper. Roast 35 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees and continue to roast, rotating pan halfway through, until chicken thighs are browned and crispy, 5–7 minutes more.
- Meanwhile, bring rice, ginger slices, remaining one cup coconut milk, remaining half teaspoon of Diamond Crystal or a quarter teaspoon Morton kosher salt, and one cup of water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until liquid is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the pan from heat. Fish out and discard ginger slices. Re-cover pan and let rice sit until ready to serve.
- Arrange chicken on a platter; drizzle with reserved marinade and top with cilantro leaves. Serve with coconut rice and lime wedges for squeezing over.