These simple and delicious ginger lime chicken tenders are exploding with flavor! Paired with the coconut rice and you have a perfect meal.
You can consider this post a two-for-one deal! Two recipes, one amazing meal.
The coconut rice soaks up all the outrageous flavors of the simple chicken tenders. It’s a fabulous combination.
Why Chicken Tenders?
While you can use any cut of chicken in this recipe (chicken thighs or chicken breasts), I love chicken tenders.
They cook ultra-fast. And just like their name implies, they are tender and so juicy.
Unlike sturdier chicken thighs that can marinade for longer periods of time, the chicken tenders only need a few hours of marinading time.
If they sit in the marinade too long, they can develop a kind of mushy texture.
How to Cook the Chicken Tenders
I prefer grilling the chicken, but you could also use an air fryer or the broil setting in the oven.
They cook quickly! Just a few minutes on each side and they’ll be done.
Once they are finished cooking, I pile them in a baking dish or a tray, tent with foil, and let them hang out for a few minutes. The juices and marinade will accumulate in the bottom of the dish, and it makes a great makeshift sauce to drizzle over the chicken and rice when serving.
{See the note in the recipe about making extra marinade if you want things extra saucy.}
How to Make Coconut Rice
This easy coconut rice is a dream. If you’ve never had coconut rice, you are in for a treat. Coconut rice is simply rice that is cooked in water PLUS canned coconut milk.
It is buttery, salty, and just very lightly sweet, and it pairs perfectly with Asian- or Indian-style dishes.
The Key to Perfect Coconut Rice
Coconut rice can easily turn out gummy and gloopy – but one simple step helps prevent that:
Rinsing the rice.
I never rinse rice when I make it the “every day way” (even though experts online say I should 😬 ). But I always rinse if I’m making coconut rice; it makes a huge difference.
Rinsing white rice removes the starch which allows the rice to separate into pieces while cooking vs clumping together.
Stand Alone Recipes
Both the spiced ginger lime chicken tenders recipe and the coconut rice recipe can stand alone.
They don’t have to be made together for the same meal. Each is delicious to stand on it’s own (and the coconut rice is a beautiful back-pocket recipe to use for a variety of meals).
But together, the flavorful chicken and coconut rice make a stellar combo. Throw in bright 5-minute skillet broccoli, and you basically have the meal of my dreams.
