Chicken Fried rice…fooling Monday blues!!

Chicken Fried Rice…start the week with cleaning up your fridge of the leftovers and face the Monday blues head on with a contented smile on your face…tell me if looking at that plate doesn't make you happy J  

Chicken Fried Rice

Ingredients:

• Cooked day old rice, 2 cups (if using freshly boiled rice, ensure it is only about 95% done, water is drained out and it has cooled completely)
• Chicken breast, boneless and skinless, cut into thin strips or cubed, 2 halves
• Garlic, finely chopped or minced, 1-2 cloves
• Ginger, finely chopped or mined, ½ ” piece
• Onions, finely chopped, ¼ cup
• Vegetables of your choice, finely chopped, 1 ½ cups veggies (I used green, red, yellow and orange bell peppers this time round – the options are endless celery, green beans, carrots, bean sprouts, green peas, sweet corn, mushrooms, leeks etc)
• Scallions/ Spring Onions/Green Onions, finely chopped, 2-3, only the green portion
• Light Soy sauce, ½ tsp for every cup of rice or Regular Soy sauce, ¼ tsp for every cup of rice
• Shaoxing wine/ Chinese Rice wine, 1 tsp for every cup of rice (optional)
• Brown Sugar, a little less than ¼ tsp for every cup of rice (optional, but do try it once before you completely diss off the idea)
• Salt & Pepper, to taste
• Oil, 1 tbsp
• Fried Egg or Chopped Omlette, optional to top

For the chicken:

• Corn starch/ Corn flour, 1 tsp
• Fresh Ginger, grated/paste, ½ tsp
• Fresh Garlic, grated/ paste, ½ tsp
• Pepper, to taste
• Soy sauce, 1 tsp
• Oil, ½ tsp+ 1 tsp

Instructions:

Start with the chicken before you start prepping the vegetables.

In a medium size bowl, toss the chicken with ginger, garlic, pepper, soy sauce, corn starch and ½ tsp oil. Mix well and keep aside for 10-15 minutes while you prepare your vegetables.

Break up any large clumps of rice before you start cooking.

Heat a large wok on high heat for about a minute.

Swirl in 1 tsp oil and heat it till it starts to shimmer.

Reduce the heat to medium and stir fry the prepared chicken strips/cubes to golden brown on all sides. Remove the chicken and keep aside

Add the remaining 1 tbsp oil to the wok. Add in the garlic and ginger and stir fry for about 30 seconds.

Add in the onions and stir fry until onions start going soft.

.

Start adding your veggies from the hardest to the softest on 30 seconds to a minute interval. All vegetables should soften but still retain some crunch.

Add in the sugar and rice wine, then stir fry for another 30 seconds.

Add in the rice, the cooked chicken, soy sauce, salt and pepper and toss everything well together.

Stir and toss to mix until rice is well coated and heated through. 

Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Add in the scallions and give a final toss.

Top it up with an egg cooked to your liking and done!!