Ooh, dinner was good tonight. My favourite combination of garlic and mushrooms… this time with some chicken and some brown rice. I have to admit, even as a naturopathic doctor, I was never really a big fan of brown rice… until recently. In a self-epiphany kind of moment, I guess it made sense that I should be eating it if I was recommending to all of my patients. Duh. Oh brown rice, I’m sorry to have mistreated you and turned my back on you all these years. You really are quite tasty… with the right combination of spices and flavours.
Which leads me to my recipe for tonight… this one’s for you Jo. I decided to take photos along the journey of making brown rice tasty and it’s all because of your suggestion from my last recipe! I was contemplating it before but your recommendation gave me that extra bit of motivation to actually pull my camera out and document my cooking process! Thanks girl!
Garlicky Chicken Fried Brown Rice
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, divided
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup green onions, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2-3 cups of various mushrooms, sliced (I went for organic Bella, white and Portobello mushrooms)
- 3 cups brown rice, cooked
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar (this seems like an odd ingredient, but it makes all the difference!)
- 2 pinches salt (the good stuff… there should be some colour to the salt, like pink or gray)
- Optional: 1 tbsp Korean chili pepper paste (gochujang) or 1 tsp chili pepper flakes (for those who like a bit of kick to your food, this is a good addition!)
Just a note: this recipe makes enough for two plus leftovers for lunch the next day! Mmm… leftovers! And the final seal of approval was from Graham… he really liked dinner tonight!
Start the process out by cooking the brown rice. Make sure you soak it for at least a half hour before cooking.
Mmm… mushrooms. Chop all of your assorted mushrooms. You could do this with one type but I’m a serious mushroom lover so I decided to go with three different types.
Mince the garlic (also organic and there’s a huge taste difference… seriously!), chop the onion and green onion.
Slice the chicken breasts into fairly thin slices. This will ensure the chicken cooks quickly and evenly throughout.
Heat a heavy pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and put the garlic, onion, green onion and chicken into the pan. Fry until the chicken is still a bit pink and add the mushrooms. Turn up the heat to high, add the pinches of salt and stir everything well until the chicken pieces and mushrooms are cooked. Remove the mixture to a plate and keep warm.
Yay for peas! I love President’s Choice products… even my knives are PC! Solid forged stainless steel kitchen knives… love them! But I digress, back to the recipe…
Turn the heat down to medium-high heat and heat the remaining coconut oil. Add the rice and fry until well coated and heated through. Stir in the soy sauce, vinegar and peas and stir for about a minute. Gotta be quick here or the rice will start sticking to the bottom of the pan! Add the chicken mixture (minus the liquids that have accumulated in the plate) and stir to blend the rice and chicken together and heat through. If you like a bit of extra heat, add the chili paste/flakes and give it one last stir to evenly mix everything together.
Serve up on a plate and enjoy! I know, I think I need to go out and get better presentation plates than my generic CorningWare plates if I’m going to keep doing this. I don’t want the world to see my ugly plates! Something about seeing food on pretty plates just makes food taste so much better!
Bon appetit!
