Raft: Coconut Chicken

I tend to avoid early access games because it can be pretty rare that I’ll jump back into a game again. I made an exception for Raft because my friends that I stream with really wanted to check it out and it fit our favorite style of game to play. We went forward and played a few sessions of the game and streamed our adventure. Each of us took our typical task: Jeff playing the role of herding cats and figuring out ways to break the game, Brock focusing on upgrading and being a pro-player, Saam keeping our raft artsy and pushing the story forward, and then me focusing on keeping our tummies full. I really did enjoy our time with this game and can’t wait for the full story to come together in the future. Pretty sure we will be playing this again at some point. After we had finished going through the main story, Jeff decided to start getting creative with the raft building system. The clip below shows off the early state of Jeff’s raft building. It got very wild near the end.

As with all survival crafting style games, you need to keep yourself fed to keep going. I was very focused on gathering our food supplies while we played. No one should be surprised by this. The one recipe that we were able to easily keep making was the Coconut Chicken. Mushrooms were probably the trickiest item to get for the recipe but worth the effort. This recipe is pretty easy. A lot of it is putting items into a pot and letting it cook, no fancy techniques. Gather the ingredients required and let’s get cooking.

Chicken Drumstick
6 chicken drumsticks
1 tbsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ginger powder
½ tsp salt

Soup
4 dried shiitake mushrooms
⅓ cup hot water
2 lemongrass stalks
1 tbsp garlic paste
2 tbsp ginger paste
4 cups chicken stock
13.5 ounces coconut milk
7 white mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
2 tbsp fish sauce
zest and juice of 2 limes
salt
pepper

Serving
rice
scallions
cilantro

First, place the dried shiitake mushrooms in a bowl and cover with hot water. Allow the mushrooms to rehydrate for at least 10 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the water and cut into slices. Do not discard the water, you’ll need it for the broth later.

Prepare the chicken drumsticks by combining the coriander, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt in a small bowl. Rub each of the chicken drumsticks with the spice mixture and set aside until you are ready to cook.

Heat a deep pot over medium-high heat. Add one tablespoon of canola oil and allow to warm up. Add the chicken drumsticks and cook until all sides have turned golden brown, about three to four minutes per side.

Remove the chicken. If there are too many spices left behind and they have burnt, wipe the bottom with a paper towel and toss the excess out. Add a teaspoon of canola oil, lemongrass, garlic paste, and ginger. Allow to cook for two minutes, until fragrant. Add the chicken stock and reserved shiitake mushroom water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and add the chicken drumsticks back to the pot. Keep at a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.

Add the shiitake mushrooms, white mushrooms, and coconut milk. Simmer for another 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Finally, add the fish sauce, lime juice, and lime zest. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne to your liking.

To serve, place some rice in a bowl. Place a drumstick on top of the rice. Pour some broth and top with green onion and cilantro.

Print Recipe

Coconut Chicken

Ingredients

Chicken Drumstick

• 6 chicken drumsticks
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp ginger powder
• ½ tsp salt

Soup

• 4 dried shiitake mushrooms
• ⅓ cup hot water
• 2 lemongrass stalks
• 1 tbsp garlic paste
• 2 tbsp ginger paste
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 13.5 ounces coconut milk
• 7 white mushrooms stems removed and sliced
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• zest and juice of 2 limes
• salt
• pepper

Serving

• rice
• scallions
• cilantro

Instructions

• First, place the dried shiitake mushrooms in a bowl and cover with hot water. Allow the mushrooms to rehydrate for at least 10 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the water and cut into slices. Do not discard the water, you’ll need it for the broth later.
• Prepare the chicken drumsticks by combining the coriander, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt in a small bowl. Rub each of the chicken drumsticks with the spice mixture and set aside until you are ready to cook.
• Heat a deep pot over medium-high heat. Add one tablespoon of canola oil and allow to warm up. Add the chicken drumsticks and cook until all sides have turned golden brown, about three to four minutes per side.
• Remove the chicken. If there are too many spices left behind and they have burnt, wipe the bottom with a paper towel and toss the excess out. Add a teaspoon of canola oil, lemongrass, garlic paste, and ginger. Allow to cook for two minutes, until fragrant. Add the chicken stock and reserved shiitake mushroom water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and add the chicken drumsticks back to the pot. Keep at a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
• Add the shiitake mushrooms, white mushrooms, and coconut milk. Simmer for another 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Finally, add the fish sauce, lime juice, and lime zest. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne to your liking.
• To serve, place some rice in a bowl. Place a drumstick on top of the rice. Pour some broth and top with green onion and cilantro.