This recipe was formed out of desperation and a ticking expiration date.... "What the heck am I going to do with these 2 chicken legs?" I googled and googled until I stumbled on a few Asian glazed chicken thighs that sounded delicious... so I winged it!
Asian Chicken with Stir-fry Veggie Rice
Ingredients:
2 chicken thighs
1 tblspoon sesame oil
juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup teriyaki or soy sauce
1 tblspoon honey
4 garlic cloves, crushed
ground ginger (or fresh grated if you have it)
1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes
jasmine rice - (2 cups cooked)
any veggies you want about 2 - 3 cups worth chopped
2 tblspoons teriyaki or soy sauce
sesame seeds for garnish
Directions:
Combine sesame oil, lime juice, sauce, honey, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes and pour into a large ziplock bag. Add chicken to the bag and smoosh around so marinade and chicken make friends. Place bag in refrigerator (after checking for leaks) and marinate overnight.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove chicken from bag and reserve marinade. Place chicken in a shallow baking dish and pat the top skin with a paper towel to remove marinade. Then brush skin with a little olive oil or sesame oil. This will help the skin become delicious and crispy. Pour reserved marinade around chicken (not on top). Bake for 45 minutes.
In the meantime, measure out enough jasmine rice for the number of people, 2 in my case so I used a cup of rice and it made about 2 cups. Put your rice in a mesh strainer (so the holes aren't bigger than the rice) and rinse with cold water until the water is no longer milky. This step is super important for nice flaky light rice. You are basically rinsing a lot of sticky starch out of the rice. Cook rice according to instructions, but keep a close eye on your rice. I always find the instructions call for a much longer time than necessary. When the liquid is absorbed, remove from heat, leave covered and fluff when ready to serve.
About 20 mins before the chicken is done, heat a wok or large skillet over medium. Drizzle in oil and add chopped veggies. Stir fry until veggies are just softened and add either teriyaki or soy sauce. Continue to stir fry until veggies are done, the sauce should be mostly absorbed. Remove from heat, drizzle with a little sesame oil and a tsp of sesame seeds and toss.
Plate a scoop of rice, top with veggies and add chicken to plate. Drizzle as much of the chicken's sauce on the rice and veggies as you like. The sauce is amazing so don't skip the drizzle!
