Teriyaki Chicken Bowl

Driving along today, I was having a familiar internal monologue, "What do I do with freakin' chicken today?"  As most of you know, I can get into my "I hate chicken and am so bored to death with chicken" mindset very easily.  As I ran through past recipes in my mind, I had a thought of something else.  Thank God!

Teriyaki chicken rice bowls! 

I mixed up a simple marinade of lemon, soy sauce, hot sauce, oil, garlic and ginger. I scored my chicken breasts and got them marinating for a few hours.  Next step was preparing the teriyaki sauce.  In a small saucepan, I combined the following and brought to a boil.  Once boiling, turn off the heat and let it boil by itself for 1 minute.  Strain it (easier to do this while it's still hot) and set aside to cool.  

• 1/4 c. water
• 3 Tbs brown sugar
• 1 Tbs cornstarch (or flour)
• 1/4 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 1/4 tsp minced garlic
• 1/4 c. soy sauce
• 1/8 c. apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbs honey

Next, I marinated some edamame in Mirin and prepared some scallions with a  light coat of oil.

Now, I will admit to one short-cut here. I used a pre-made, frozen vegetable fried rice by Innovasian as the base.  Grilled the scallions and chicken, glazing the chicken with the teriyaki.  Then, Viv and I built the bowls with rice, grilled/charred scallion, sliced grilled teriyaki chicken, edamame and toasted sesame seeds, all drizzled with a sriracha mayo we mixed up.  Such a great change for our lowly chicken!  The crunch of the sesame was a fantastic textural element and I must say, the sriracha mayo was just perfect. I hope you may decide to give this a try. Definitely helped us with the chicken doldrums!

Roasted edamame: Protein Zap in a Snap

We try to eat high protein as much as possible.  We are not those Atkins, Keto, or any other extremists, but we like lots of protein.  In the constant search for snacks and grab-n-go foods, I tried roasted edamame this week.  

For those of you who don't know, edamame are soybeans.  You can buy them frozen, either shelled or still in the pod.  You see the pods often served in Japanese restaurants as an appetizer.  The shelled ones are great in salads, or just warmed and eaten like butter beans.  But, roasting them transforms them into a nutty, crunchy snack.  Kind of like high protein popcorn. And, it's really simple.

Thaw the edamame and dry them well.  Then, toss with some olive oil, Kosher salt and pepper.  Spread them out on a pan and roast at 375.  I stirred them around every 10 minutes for about a half hour, but just keep going until they look good and roasty to you.  The longer they are in the oven, the crunchier they get.  That's it. Enjoy!

Thawed and patted dry with paper towels

Simply edamame, olive oil, salt & pepper

About a Tablespoon or so

Spread out; stir every 10 minutes

 

Crunchy, nutty, crispy; don't forget to add some salt while they are still hot