As a busy college student, I am always looking for ways to make life less hectic. One of the main ways that I am able to save time is to meal prep. The best things to meal prep are foods that have quick cooking times or ones that taste good even when reheated. A good dish that fits both of these criteria is chicken fried rice. Not only is chicken fried rice easy to make, it allows for you to prepare some of the ingredients ahead of time so that when you are ready to make it, the cooking time will be cut in half. I’ll share with you my recipe and tricks to make delicious chicken fried rice that will be hassle-free and won’t break your savings account!
Ingredients
water
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon seasoned salt
½ teaspoon Maggie chicken season (optional, this is a Jamaican spice I have at home that adds tons flavor but is hard to find at the local grocery store)
2 pounds of chicken*
4 cups of white rice
3 cups of frozen mixed vegetables
½ of a medium sized onion (chopped finely)
2 cloves of garlic (chopped finely)
2 stalks of scallion (chopped)
3 sprigs of thyme
½ of a large bell pepper
⅓ cup of oil (I used canola oil but you can use whatever oil you have)
2 whole eggs
*For my recipe I used chicken thighs that I deboned and cut in chunks, as chicken thighs are cheaper. However, if you aren’t an experienced cook and don’t mind spending the extra money then diced chicken breasts would be a better option for you.
Directions
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The first and most important step when making any type of meat is to season it before cooking. Once I deboned the chicken and cut it into cubes, I seasoned it using the salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, seasoned salt and the chicken seasoning. I left this rub to marinate on the chicken for 30 minutes
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While the chicken marinated, I made the four cups of rice by bringing water to a rapid boil, then adding a pinch of salt and the white rice. This is a step that can be done days in advance to decrease cooking time.
3. I also cooked the frozen mixed vegetable by boiling 5 cups of water and then adding the vegetables. These boiled for about 12 minutes then I removed them from the heat.
4. Using a colander, I strained the water from the vegetable and promptly ran them under cold water to prevent them from cooking any further. At this time, I added the bell peppers to the vegetable mixture.
5. Once 30 minutes passed, I brought a large skillet to medium heat and then added the oil.
After the oil was hot I added the garlic, onion, and thyme. I allowed this to saute for 3 minutes then I added the chicken.
The chicken cooked for approximately 20 minutes. I stirred it every 4 minutes to prevent the contents from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Once the chicken was cooked, I removed them from the skillet and added the two eggs.
I scrambled the eggs then removed them from the pan.
By that point, all my supplementary ingredients were cooked so I started adding everything to the large skillet and turned the stove to medium heat.
I added the vegetable and some soy sauce and allowed that to heat up for about 2 minutes.
After, I added the rice, eggs, and chicken to combine everything into a tasty creation.
I hope you enjoyed my take on chicken fried rice. I love this recipe as it allows each individual to add their own twist to it. What is your go-to recipe when you know you have a busy week ahead?
Also, if you recreated the recipe or have pictures of your own fried rice, feel free to share them!
*Thumbnail picture by esimpraim / Flickr Images*