Healthy Teriyaki Chicken & Fried Brown Rice

Healthy Teriyaki Chicken & Fried Brown Rice... Trader Joe's Soyaki Teriyaki Sauce is a staple in my kitchen. I've got at least 3 bottles sitting around at any given time. It's lighter than your usual teriyaki sauce, not so thick and sweet. It's got a bit of a tang and its full of sesame seeds for texture. I just love it. My mom used it growing up, and I would say it is definitely a taste that reminds me of my childhood (as odd as that might sound). I had been thinking of doing a regular ole stir fry, but decided to change it up a bit. Instead of sauteing the chicken already sliced, I opted for a baking/broiling technique after marinating it in Soyaki. Instead of simply sauteing veggies in more of the sauce and serving OVER rice, I decided to saute the veggies in soy sauce and add scrambled egg & brown rice to create a sort of "fried rice". I've done a faux fried rice before on Dahlicious, but this one was different because this time I added egg. Which not only created a more realistic, restaurant style flavor & texture, but it added protein to a dish that otherwise was comprised mainly of veggies and carbs. I also stuck with brown rice, as I always do, and used just a few dashes of soy sauce and some fresh garlic to season the dish. Simple and healthful.

On the Menu:
Soyaki Marinated Chicken Breasts w/Veggie Fried Rice

The Chicken:
I marinated two chicken breasts in a Ziploc bag with plenty of the soyaki sauce for about 30-45 minutes. Marinate longer if you can, I didn't decide on this meal until I was home from work so I only had a little bit of time before my stomach started growling undeniably. I set my oven to broil and let it get hot while the chicken marinated and while I chopped and started sauteing my veggies. I placed the breasts on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and popped them in the oven on the top rack for 8 minutes on each side.
I took the chicken out and let it rest for just a minute before slicing and serving. I am telling you I will never go back to the days before broiling my chicken breast. It is so insanely easy and keeps the chicken so moist inside, yet I can always count on it being fully cooked after the 8/9 minutes on each side. Love the technique!

Marinated Chicken Pre Broil

The Veggie Fried Rice:
I happen to be going out of town this weekend, and eating out tonight, so last night I was in need of using up all the veggies in my fridge. I ended up having TONS extra to bring as leftovers to work which I am excited to dig into when the clock strikes 12!

I started by dicing 1 yellow onion, 1 red bell pepper, 1 yellow bell pepper, 1 bunch of broccolini, and a small bowl full of kale (I removed the ribs and shredded the big pieces by hand into bite size leaves). I sauteed in some olive oil over medium heat with 3 cloves of pressed garlic. Once the veggies became a little wilted and opaque I added in a handful of chopped mushrooms and a few dashes of soy sauce for flavor and to help deglaze just a bit. Once the veggies were cooked to my desired state, fully cooked but still with some integrity in the center because I like a little crunch in my fried rice veggies, I pushed the contents of the pan to the edges and created a hole in the center. I whisked 2 eggs in a bowl, just as you would with scrambled eggs and poured it in the hole. I used a fork to scramble the eggs right in the center of the veggies, and once the egg was forming nice scrambly chunks I started giving the whole pan a toss. A few more dashes of soy sauce along with the TJ's steamed brown rice, and voila!

Sauteing the crunchy veggies

Adding the kale

Making the egg hole

Scrambling the eggs

Adding the rice & soy sauce

Finished product

Dinner is served!

This was a super easy dish, but involved a lot of fresh ingredients. I felt like I got all the veggies and protein I could possibly pack into a meal, while keeping it Dahlicious, not to mention I've got lots of leftovers!