Manhattan is home to many smells, but perhaps the most delicious is the chicken-y, savory scent that emanates from from the city's countless halal carts. Serving lunch to late-night, these carts dish up a container full of chicken rice that tastes like nothing else, crave-worthy and totally singular. To taste this particular chicken and rice you can get yourself to Midtown or try this home version by Kenji, a spot-on rendition of the street food classic. Marinated in oregano, lemon, and coriander, chicken thighs are browned, chopped into chunks and served over a pile turmeric-yellow rice. Of course, it wouldn't be halal-cart style without the ubiquitous (and none too fancy) salad of iceberg and tomatoes, and that mysterious sweet-sour-tangy white sauce that just has to be ladled all over the chicken and rice for true street-style authenticity.

Adapted from Serious Eats: A Comprehensive Guide to Making and Eating Delicious Food Wherever You Are by Ed Levine and The Serious Eats Team. Copyright © 2011. Published by Clarkson Potter. Available wherever books are sold. All Rights Reserved