Chicken Basil Fried Rice

Fried rice is a friendly beginner's recipe since it incorporates leftover rice and chicken, frozen veggies, and a few fresh ingredients that are easy to prep. With this recipe, the prep work is the most time consuming. I recommend having all of the ingredients measured out and prepared beforehand so, when you start cooking, all you're doing is throwing in ingredients.

Shopping Tip
  • To save time: Purchase already prepared items at the supermarket such as rotisserie chicken (found in the deli area), diced onions (found in the bagged salad and pre-cut veggie sections), and peeled garlic (found in either the bagged salads or fresh lettuce and greens area).

Cooking Tips
  • ​Use a wok: Woks are great for stir fries since the sides are tall which prevents the ingredients from flying out while you're cooking. If you do not have a wok, a large skillet would be a good option, too! For smaller skillets, cut the recipe in half to prevent overflow.
  • High Smoke Point Oils: Since stir fries are cooked over very high heat, you will need to cook with oils with high smoke points such as peanut and sesame oils and avocado oils. Avoid low smoke point oils like extra virgin olive oil, because it lets off a smoke that's carcinogenic to the body.
  • ADDABLES: Once you get this basic recipe down, start adding other ingredients you like! For me, I like adding shrimp as well as other vegetables like bok choy, red bell peppers, baby corn, spinach, and broccoli.

​Happy cooking!
Recipe Yields: 5 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp peanut oil (divided into 1 Tbsp and 1/2 Tbsp portions)
  • 1/2 white onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen peas, carrots, and corn
  • 2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 cups cold, leftover brown rice
  • 3 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp Sriracha
  • 1/2 cup basil leaves 
  • 2 scallions, thinly chopped
  • Sesame seeds (for topping)
Instructions
  1. Heat wok over medium high heat.
  2. Prepare and measure out all ingredients while wok is heating up.
  3. Once wok is hot, add 1 Tbsp of peanut oil.
  4. Add onions and saute for 1 minute. Then add minced garlic and stir for another minute.
  5. Add frozen peas, carrots, and corn and stir in the wok for 1 minute.
  6. Add shredded chicken breasts to the wok and stir until the chicken is warm, about 2 minutes.
  7. Push everything in the wok to the side until the middle of the wok is cleared. 
  8. Add 1/2 Tbsp of peanut oil into the middle of the wok.
  9. Crack both eggs into the center, allow it to cook for a minute, then start scrambling the eggs for another minute.
  10. Add the rice and stir all the ingredients in the wok together for three minutes.
  11. Mix in the soy sauce, Sriracha, basil leaves, and scallions for a couple of minutes. 
  12. Once the basil leaves start to wilt, remove from heat.
  13. Serve the fried rice in a bowl and sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional).
  14. Enjoy!