Chicken Fried Rice

Yesterday was a crazy busy day. Last night when it was time to cook, I had no energy, a massive headache and no real “gumption” for cooking anything.

Big Girl suggested take out. or grilled cheese sandwiches. or cereal.

While there was a part of me that fully embraced her ideas, there was another part of me remembering the thawed chicken in the fridge and knowing we’d all feel much better if we had a healthy, home-cooked dinner.

So, I drug myself into the kitchen and tried to decide what to make.  I had planned to make my Asian Chicken Stir Fry, but for some reason, I just didn’t want to make that last night. No particular reason, but it just seemed like an insurmountable task.

Crazy.

Anyway, what I ended up making was sooo good that I thought I’d share with all of you.  I wanted an Asian-type of dinner, but just not the noodles in the stir fry. So, I decided to make my own Chicken Fried Rice.

Oh.my.goodness.

So yummy.

This makes enough for four healthy servings plus some leftover for lunch the next day (which I am looking forward to!)

Chicken Fried Rice

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked, cooled rice
2 eggs, beaten
4-6 chicken thighs
sesame oil
grated carrots (about 1 cup, diced even more)
1 cup shelled edamame (you can get these in the freezer section)
2 cups broccoli florets
1/2 small onion, diced finely
minced garlic
ground ginger
soy sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
Houston House Seasoning
Chinese Five Spice Powder

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, beat the eggs and set aside.
2. In a large skillet, heat some of the sesame oil until it shimmers. Add the chicken thighs, seasoning with sprinkles of the Houston House Seasoning & Chinese Five Spice Powder.
3. Cook, turning over once or twice, until the chicken is browned.  Remove from skillet to a plate. Wipe skillet out with a paper towel and return to low heat.
4. Add the eggs to the skillet, scrambling them and cooked through. Remove to a paper plate and wipe the skillet out again.
5. Return the skillet to medium-high heat and add about another tablespoon of sesame oil.
6. Add the broccoli, onion, edamame, carrots to the skillet & sauté for about five minutes, stirring frequently.
7. While the veggies are sautéing, dice the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
8. To the skillet of vegetables, add about 1 heaping teaspoon minced garlic, another sprinkling of the five spice powder and about 1/2 tsp of ground ginger. (I just sprinkled the five spice and ginger over the vegetables) Be careful not to burn the garlic.
9. Add the rice to the skillet. The skillet will seem “dry” but you want to brown the rice, so this is OK.  Sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
10. Add the diced chicken to the skillet.
11. In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar with about 1/4 cup of soy sauce. Once your rice is browned, pour this over the rice and stir well.
12. Add the eggs. Mix.
13. Drizzle the entire thing with 1-2 teaspoons of sesame oil for a finish.

Serve hot. Enjoy!

Related articles

• Chicken Stir Fry (thoughtsalonglifeshighway.com)