Having lived in the DC area for way longer than I care to admit, you’d think I would have found a good Chinese delivery place. Negative. I know where to go to get great Chinese food – Chinatown, a run-down shopping center in Springfield, and the ubiquitous place in Falls Church that serves Peking Duck with a Presidential seal. But delivery? No way – not yet – and not in any of the places I’ve lived throughout my tenure in the DMV.

So what’s a gal to do when she’s craving (or more importantly, her husband is) Chinese but delivery won’t cut it? Whip up some homemade chicken and broccoli, fried rice and some other throw-together / tastes delicious stir frys that your kiddos can’t stop eating and makes your husband lick the bowl clean (just kidding…sort of). Yes ladies and gents it is possible. Bonus – no extra grease, fat, msg, or tipping needed.

Most of these recipes can be interchanged with rice, noodles, or even broth if you’re trying for a low carb diet (kudos to you, I cannot.ever.give.up.bread). To make these meals even easier, I either roast a whole chicken and stretch it throughout the week or grab a Rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. Both work well.

Recipe(s)

Chicken and Broccoli

• 2 cups cooked chicken
• 1 cup broccoli (more if your family likes it)
• 8 oz mushrooms
• 1 onion – diced
• 2 garlic cloves – minced
• 3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce – seriously – this is the magic ingredient
• 1.5 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1 can water chestnuts (optional)
• Oil – sesame, olive, grapeseed – whatever you have on hand
• 1lb cooked brown or white rice (or noodles if preferred)

Add some oil to the pan and heat until shimmering (for these recipes I use sesame oil, but any oil will work) and add the onions. Cook until onions are soft, translucent and just a bit caramelized – about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant – about 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and cook down until they have released some of their water (that’s what the hissing sound is when they are cooking) and there’s a small water-like sauce in the bottom of the pan.

Next, add the sauces until all have been incorporated and bring to a simmer. Add the broccoli and cook until heated through and slightly soft. Once everything is hot, add the chicken to the pan and heat through.

Finally, add the rice to the pan and mix everything together until each grain of rice is lightly coated in sauce. Add in water chestnuts if desired. Serve hot with extra soy sauce on the side.

Fried Rice

• 1 lb rice – cooked and cooled – whole grain, brown or white rice work well (I love Trader Joe’s frozen jasmine rice, or brown rice and quinoa blend – they cook in 3 minutes flat!)
• 1 onion – diced
• 2 eggs – beaten
• 1 cup of chicken
• 2 cups of veggies – broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, carrots, mushrooms, peppers, etc.
• 2 garlic cloves
• 3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce – seriously – this is the magic ingredient
• 1.5 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1 can water chestnuts (optional)

 

The beauty of this version of fried rice is in its simplicity. Chock full of veggies, protein, and whole grains it’s truly a meal that is as diverse as your imagination. Take your favorite veggies, add your favorite protein, some sauce, a few eggs and voila – super healthy and fulling meal all in about 20 minutes. Literally. It might take longer to cook and cool the rice than it does to make the whole meal.

Add some oil to a pan and heat to shimmering. Add the onions and cook until soft and beginning to caramelize (10 minutes). Next, toss in the garlic and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute). From there, depending on the veggies you use, start by adding in the veg that take the longest to cook. For instance, carrots will take longer to cook than brussels sprouts or broccoli. Once the hardest of the veggies has softened add in the rest of the cruciferous cast. Once all the veggies have cooked through, start adding the sauces one by one until all are incorporated. Now, its time to add the egg – this is an important step – you want to have the eggs incorporate into a nice creamy sauce – if you do it too slowly, you’ll end up with scrambled eggs in your skillet. Which is totally ok if that’s your preference.

Pushing all of your stir fry to the side, slowly pour in some of the eggs and stir stir stir stir. While you’re whisking away be sure to mix in a little of the stir fry with a little of the eggs to get a nice slurry going.  Continue whisking and mixing until all of the eggs are incorporated with all of the veggies. Finally – add in the cooled rice and chicken and stir until heated through. Top with water chestnuts, grated ginger, or even pickled ginger and voila. Delicious fried rice with half the calories of delivery and no extra money out of the ol’ billfold.

Bon Appetit!

ps – sorry for the lack of photos, but real life got in the way and I just plain forgot.