Chicken and Veggie Fried Rice

It may date back to my days as a waitress at P.F. Changs, but I am a sucker for ordering Chinese food. There is nothing better than eating some fried rice out of that cute little carton. I decided awhile back to try some of my own fried rice and have perfected a recipe that I love and I believe is much better for you than the old take-out standby. Peanut oil seems to be the trick to get that fresh out of the carton taste and sends the sweet aroma through your house. If you don’t have or like the vegetables I’ve listed, try the ones you like. Anything goes with this dish.

*Note: Make sure to chop everything ahead of time and have it ready. This dish moves quickly and if you don’t move with it, the dish will not turn out correctly.

Ingredients

2 C long grain white rice
2 TBSP peanut oil
1 tsp ginger
1/2 C chopped scallions
1/2 C chopped bok choy
1/2 C snow peas
1/2 C chopped asparagus
1 C cooked chicken breast
2 large eggs, beaten
2 TBSP low-sodium soy sauce
2 TBSP rice vinegar
2 TBSP hoisin sauce

Cook rice according to directions. Preheat wok at high heat. Add peanut oil. Stir fry scallions and ginger for 15 seconds. Add chicken and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add veggies and stir fry for 3 minutes. Push all ingredients to the side and add egg. Scramble eggs, scraping them off the hot surface. Cook egg through and add rice. Stir all ingredients together and heat through, about 2 minutes. Add soy sauce, rice vinegar and hoisin sauce. Mix thoroughly and remove from heat.

If you don’t have a wok, you can try a deep skillet. I often use leftover rotisserie chicken or shredded chicken from another meal. You could add uncooked chicken at the beginning and add an extra few minutes to the cooking process.

And if that doesn’t work…there is always take-out!