Hello my loves,
back from the beach today just in time for a long weekend and we may have been really sad to leave the playa but we enjoyed every second. I say we make pretend that the official end of the summer isn't this weekend and we keep on soaking up every second. Now onto this delicious dish.
There are a few easy dinners that I rotate and always have the ingredients on hand. It's my fool-proof way of keeping away from take-out. This "fried rice" is one I have made with brown rice, leftover white rice and now quinoa. Insanely good and pretty dang healthy compared to it's cousin, from the local takeout joint. I plan on trying it with some barley this weekend and will report back!
What makes this an easy peasy weeknight meal is cooking the chicken, chopping all of my csa veggies and making the quinoa (or whatever grain you use) ahead of time. And you litterally just fry it all up in a wok. Although I couldn't find my wok and used a large heavy pan instead and it worked. Perhaps, I'll get to those boxes this weekend...
Ingredients
2 cups of cooked quinoa
2 cups of cooked chopped chicken **
Finely chopped scallions
cooking spray
2 1/2 tbsp of oil ( vegtable, soybean or canola all work well in high heat)
6 ounces of green beans, trimmed
1 medium red pepper, chopped
1 medium yellow pepper, chopped
1 cup edemame
1 cup roasted corn (frozen works but in season and delish right now!)
1/2 cup of bean sprouts
2 tbsp soy sauce and few drops for eggs
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
4 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tbsp corn starch (to thicken sauce but you can skip this if you want).
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tsp black pepper
Hot red pepper sauce, to taste
Recipe
Coat a large nonstick wok or skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat.
Whisk egss with a couple drops of soy sauce.
Pour in eggs and cook, stirring gently, until just set, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Remove and let them cool in a small bowl.
Heat oil in the pan over medium-high;
Add quinoa and gently stir (I like to let it fry a bit and let it get crunchy).
Push the quinoa to the edges leaving the middle empty and add green beans and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
Add corn, peppers, edemame, scallions, garlic and ginger; cook, stirring, until the vegetables are just tender, about 2 minutes.
Combine veggies and quinoa.
Push to one side in the pan.
Add chicken to the pan and stir until completely heated, about 2 - 3 minutes.
In a small bowl whisk soy sauce, vinegar, corn starch, sesame oil and black pepper and add to the pan; evenly coat everything and cook until the liquid is absorbed, about 1 - 2 minutes.
Mix in bean sprouts.
Fold in the cooked eggs.
Remove from the heat; stir in sesame oil and hot sauce.
**I used boneless, skinless organic chicken thighs seasoned with salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder and a little lime juice, I make a big batch weekly so I can top salads or make quick dinners.
Absolutely delicious, curbed the chinese food craving, healthy and the both babe and hubby loved it! Love this week night meal that tastes even better the next day so you can make it all ahead of time!
Have a fabulous weekend my friends, we will be enjoying a long one with dadda starting right now!
xo
Natalie