Juicy Garlic Yogurt Chicken Kebabs (With Lebanese Vermicelli Rice)

Garlic Yogurt Marinated Chicken Kebabs is the kind of recipe that makes you wonder why you ever settled for dry, bland chicken. The secret? Yogurt. It tenderizes like a dream, carries all that garlicky flavor deep into the meat, and creates those golden, slightly charred edges you think only kebab shops can pull off.

This is one of my husband’s favorites, it reminds him of home. His family paired this up with vermicelli rice that has such wonderful flavor. It’s one of those things where you have to taste it to appreciate it. Best of all, making vermicelli rice is actually very easy. We top it with a flavorful garlic yogurt sauce and it’s just all so tasty!

Get full recipe with option to print, adjust servings, or convert to metrics here: https://lolajayyum.com/garlic-yogurt-marinated-chicken-kebabs/

Lebanese Vermicelli Rice: https://lolajayyum.com/lebanese-vermicelli-rice/

Why I switched my family over to the Mediterranean diet: https://youtu.be/WUADS4ryEkU

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Chapters:

00:00 Intro
00:18 prepare chicken & rice
1:23 garlic yogurt sauce
2:06 vermicelli rice
2:54 cook chicken
3:30 plate & serve
4:01 taste

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Since switching my family over to the Mediterranean diet, I’ve been recreating dishes that we love in a healthier, more weeknight-friendly way. Today’s recipe is inspired by one of my husband’s favorite dishes. It’s a juicy garlic yogurt marinated chicken over a garlic yogurt sauce served over some fluffy Lebanese vermicelli rice. (upbeat music) Start by cutting one and a half pounds of chicken breast into medium-sized chunks. I like them about two inches, small enough to soak up the marinade, but big enough to stay nice and juicy when you cook them. You’ll then add in some full-fat Greek yogurt, and I’m adding in some olive oil, and some freshly crushed garlic. And for the seasoning, I’m using shawarma seasoning, and I have my own version that I make at home, which is linked in the recipe, or you can use a store-bought. Add in some fresh lemon juice, and just combine well with your hands. And the yogurt will tenderize the meat, and the spices add nice flavor and depth, so you do wanna be careful when you have lemon in your marinade. Just because if you leave it too long, the meat will get mushy. I find that two hours is perfect, even one hour and four hours is the max. I’m using basmati rice because I love the long, fluffy grains, but some people use calrose rice, which gives it a softer, stickier texture. Wash your rice until the water runs clear, and then just let it soak for about 15 to 20 minutes. While the rice is soaking, let’s go ahead and make our garlic yogurt sauce, and I’ve got one and a half cups of full-fat Greek yogurt, some olive oil, salt and pepper, and some fresh lemon juice. And we’re gonna grate the garlic super fine, which is key, because it melts right into the yogurt instead of tasting raw. And I always make double of this because it’s so great to dip anything in, like veggies, or maybe even use on top of a salad. And another little cheat trick for this is if you have the Lebanese Toom, which is like a garlic sauce, you can just add that into the yogurt with a little bit of salt, and you don’t need the oil, or to grate fresh garlic. Now onto the vermicelli rice. This dish is common across the Middle East and Arab Mediterranean countries, and this is my husband’s version. It’s what he grew up with, and traditionally it’s made with ghee, but I use olive oil with just a touch of butter for richness. And I’m gonna toast the vermicelli until golden brown and nutty. And we’re just gonna add the rice in, and you’ll just saute the rice so that it soaks up all of that nice oil and it helps the grain separate and get covered in the oil while it cooks. Then you’ll go ahead and add in your chicken broth, or like I did, I just added water with some bouillon cubes. And we’re just gonna cover, bring this to a boil on medium high, lower it once it comes to a boil, cook for 15 minutes, and then we’re gonna turn off the heat, steam it, and let it get fluffy. Heat your cast iron skillet on medium high heat and add in some olive oil. Once it’s nice and hot, you’ll add in your chicken and make sure to not add them in too close. You want them to create a nice color and char on them and not steam. And once that’s done, about four minutes per side, you’ll flip and repeat until all the chicken is done. And just in time, our rice is almost done. I’m just gonna cover it with a kitchen cloth, take it off the heat, and let it steam for about 10 minutes. And once that’s done, just go ahead and uncover, take a fork and just go ahead and fluff it, and it’s ready to serve. It’s super delicious and like a Middle Eastern version of Orzo. Go ahead and plate it on a plate, and I’m going to top it with my chicken, which is totally optional if you wanna do rice. You can definitely skip the rice, but this is how I like to serve it. And on top of the chicken, I like to put my garlic yogurt sauce, plenty of that. And then I put on some paprika or some Aleppo pepper, some fresh parsley, and it’s ready to serve. Can’t wait to try this. Let’s get some rice, a little bit of chicken. (upbeat music) That was so delicious. The yogurt is garlicky, the rice is nice and fluffy, and the chicken is juicy. And I know you’re back there waiting for a bite, so. Come on. I can see you drooling. Good. If you enjoyed this video, don’t forget to comment, like, share, and subscribe, and tune in every week for some easy Mediterranean recipes.