Chicken and rice is the kind of dinner that should take five minutes to season and taste like it took an hour. This version gets there with one ingredient: Montagé Sukhothai, a sea salt already infused with roasted coconut, galangal, ginger, and lemongrass — the exact aromatics a good Thai-style marinade would call for, pre-blended into every crystal.

Why This Works

A typical lemongrass chicken marinade means mincing fresh galangal, grating ginger, and bruising lemongrass stalks before you've even touched the chicken. Sukhothai makes it easy. Season the chicken thighs or breasts, let them rest while the rice cooks, and the salt does what a bowl of oil, acid, and aromatics normally would — season the meat and start breaking it down before it hits the pan.

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skin-on chicken thighs (bone-in works too — add 5–6 minutes per side)
• Montagé Sukhothai lemongrass coconut sea salt, added in pinches to taste
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 1½ cups jasmine rice, rinsed until the water runs clear
• 2 cups chicken broth (or water)
• Lime wedges and fresh cilantro, to serve

Step-by-Step

1. Season the chicken. Pat the chicken dry, then season generously on both sides with Sukhothai — about as much as you'd normally salt chicken. Let rest a few minutes while you start the rice.
2. Start the rice. Combine rinsed jasmine rice, chicken broth, and a pinch of Sukhothai in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low, and cook until the rice is tender. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
3. Sear the chicken. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high. Lay the thighs skin-side down and cook undisturbed for 6–7 minutes, until deeply golden. Flip and cook another 5–6 minutes, until the internal temperature hits 165°F.
4. Rest, then slice. Move the chicken to a cutting board and rest 5 minutes — skipping this step is the most common reason chicken thighs come out dry. Slice on a slight angle.
5. Serve. Spoon the rice into bowls, fan the sliced chicken over the top, and pour over any pan drippings. Finish with lime and cilantro.

What to Serve It With

A quick cucumber salad, pickled carrots or a fried egg on top all work if you want to build it out further.

Recipe Card

Prep: 10 min | Cook: 25 min | Total: 35 min | Serves: 4

Chicken Seasoning FAQ

What's the best seasoning for chicken?

The best chicken seasoning does two things at once: it seasons and it flavors. A plain salt-and-pepper mix seasons but doesn't add character; a spice rub without enough salt tastes flat no matter how many spices you add. Look for a blend built around salt first, then layered with aromatics — garlic, ginger, citrus, or in Sukhothai's case, coconut, galangal, and lemongrass — so one shake does both jobs.

What seasonings and spices go well with chicken?

Garlic, onion, paprika, and black pepper are the reliable base. From there, pick a direction: smoky (cumin, chili, paprika), bright (lemon, herbs, lemongrass), or warm (ginger, cinnamon, five-spice). Chicken has a mild enough flavor that it takes well to almost any direction, as long as salt comes first.

What are the top seasonings to keep on hand for chicken?

Unrefined sea salt, black pepper, garlic or garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cumin, dried oregano, chili powder, ginger, and a citrus zest (lemon or lime) cover almost every direction you'd want to take a chicken dinner.

How do you make chicken more flavorful?

Season early — at least 10 minutes before cooking, ideally longer — so the salt has time to work into the meat instead of sitting on the surface. Sear or roast at high heat to build a browned crust, then finish with something acidic or bright, like a squeeze of lime, to cut the richness.

How do restaurants make their chicken so juicy?

Mostly brining or a wet marinade, then not overcooking it — pulling the chicken at 165°F and resting it 5 minutes before cutting. An infused sea salt like Sukhothai gets you partway there without a separate brining step, since salt on the surface starts drawing moisture in almost immediately.

This recipe is built around Montagé Sukhothai lemongrass coconut sea salt — shop the salt that seasons this dish →