Kwame Onwuachi shares the recipes for two of his favorite comfort foods

Chef, restaurateur and former "Top Chef" contestant Kwame Onwuachi is stopping by the TODAY kitchen to share some of his go-to comfort food recipes. He shows us how to make two staples of his New York City upbringing: halal cart-style chicken over rice and his mom's saucy, Creole-spiced shrimp, also over rice.

Shawarma-Roasted Chicken Over Turmeric Rice by Kwame Onwuachi

Working in NYC as a line cook was hard for many reasons, but food from the halal cart was always a light at the end of the tunnel after a long shift. It is a complete meal that feeds most of the working class of a city that never sleeps.

Mom Duke's Shrimp by Kwame Onwuachi

This is an homage to my own Mom Duke’s, Jewel Robinson, and her supercharged version of the peel-and-eat shrimp I grew up with. I was inspired by that dish’s addictive flavor and silky texture as well as New Orleans’ famous barbecue shrimp. The Worcestershire sauce, beer, white wine and butter — so. much. butter. — yield a highly aromatic glistening sauce, hovering right on the sea side of a traditional barbecue. I like to serve it with rice and torn French bread, though anything that sops up all that good sauce works.

If you like those flavor-packed recipes from Kwame, you should also try these:

Crispy Okra by Kwame Onwuachi

Guisado Chicken Potpie by Kwame Onwuachi

This article was originally published on TODAY.com