Like most families, chicken is a staple in our diet. And while I love chicken dishes, my kids do not. I try a new type or flavor of chicken each week, searching for something my kids will tolerate. But with this, I hit the jackpot! Not only do they tolerate this dish, they actually LOVE it! It’s pretty much a dream come true.
They would be perfectly happy with just a bowl of rice and vegetables, but I’m always looking for ways to get in more protein in to their meals. It’s a struggle. I found a chicken marinade that makes poultry super savory and almost caramel-y tasting. The chicken is the real star of this fried rice show. I always start with Foster Farms Simply Raised (without antibiotics) chicken for my family’s meals. I love knowing that their chicken is coming from California, where we live. The chicken is delivered within 48 hours from the ranches meaning their product is always fresh. And they’ve been producing locally grown poultry for 76 years! The Foster Farms Simply Raised (without antibiotics), Foster Farms Certified Organic, and Foster Farms Fresh & Natural products are grown without added hormones and steroids. Boom. This is the type of stuff I like to feed my family.
This chicken marinade was actually a happy accident. Originally it was intended for red meat. But I loved how flavorful it was and decided to try it out on chicken. I played with measurements and added some fresh ginger to make it work a little better as fried rice. A fried rice dish is a great way to get more vegetables in to your kid’s meal without them really knowing. I also use brown rice and they don’t even realize it. To me, that’s a win!
This chicken fried rice, which I named Two Sons Chicken Fried Rice since it was created for my boys, is a great weeknight meal idea. While you do have to remember to put the chicken in to the marinade ahead of time, it cooks quickly and is almost a one-pot meal. I like to use Foster Farms thin sliced fillets and use my kitchen shears to cut them in to smaller pieces. Did you know all of the Foster Farms fresh chicken products are American Humane Certified? They totally are.
My father in law runs a flower nursery out of his backyard. He grows unique varieties and is known in the cottage gardens industry for his specialty product. I know how much work goes in to creating this business and he is successful because of his passion for what he is able to create for other people. We’ve talked, at length, about growing vegetables and I know that the experiences must be similar. This is one of the reasons I try to support local producers. Aside from getting a fresher product or interesting varieties, I feel like it comes from a place of love. This is how Foster Farms started. Max and Verda Foster initially raised turkeys right off their bedroom so Verda could watch the eggs and chicks! How sweet is that? And the company is still run by their grandson, Ron.
But I digress. When you are ready to cook dinner, cook the chicken in batches. The minced onion (from the marinade) will start to burn in the pan so I make sure to scrape out the pan in between batches. Set the chicken aside when cooked through.
Next, I add the vegetables to the pan with a little extra soy sauce for flavor. I let them cook down but just enough to be crisp tender and not mushy. When the vegetables are done, I add the cooked rice (I use frozen brown rice – it’s a fantastic time saver and the flavor is the same as when you make it the long way) and chicken back to the pan. I stir it all together, let it all heat up and it’s ready to go.
I love to add something fresh (in this case some of the fresh carrot tops) to the finished dish but you can absolutely skip this part). This dish is super versatile and I usually don’t know what vegetables are going to go in to it until I am the market to see what is fresh. I will always use onion, probably carrots, and then whatever else I can find that looks good like bok choy, edamame, green peas, red bell peppers, cabbage, zucchini, etc. You can also find local produce at your market but you have to look a little harder at the stickers. If you can, shop your local farmer’s market to find those small, local producers.
I serve Two Sons Chicken Fried Rice with a little extra soy sauce; although you should be sure to taste it first as there is soy sauce in the marinade and it can get real salty real fast. I like to put the leftovers in my son’s lunches the next day or eat it cold (still delicious) for my own lunch.
This post is sponsored by Foster Farms; the opinions expressed are my own.
Ingredients
- Stir Fry Ingredients:
- 1 lb. Foster Farms Chicken Breasts or Tenders, cut in to bite sized pieces
- Marinade for the chicken (recipe below)
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1 TBSP soy sauce
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 large carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 heads baby bok choy, chopped
- You can substitute other vegetables based on what is fresh and taste preferences.
- Rice (I use frozen brown rice)
- Marinade Ingredients:
- 1 cup olive oil
- ½ cup lemon juice (approx. the juice from 2 lemons)
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup dried minced onion
- 3 tsp. crushed garlic
- 1 ¼ tsp. pepper
- 1 ½ tsp. celery salt
- ¼ tsp. fresh grated ginger
Instructions
- Whisk all marinade ingredients in a large zip top bag.
- Add chicken and marinade for at least at hour, the longer the better for more flavor.
- To make fried rice:
- Cook chicken, in batches, until cooked through.
- Be sure to clean out the pan in between batches to remove the charred onion pieces.
- Set aside.
- Add TBSP olive oil to pan.
- Add veggies and TBSP soy sauce.
- Sautee until crisp tender.
- Make rice (either stove top or microwave).
- Add rice and chicken to pan with vegetables and stir to combine. Serve in bowls with extra soy sauce, if needed.
Thank you to Foster Farms for sponsoring this post!
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Looks SO yum!
ERMIGAH – that just looks and sounds mouthwatering – can’t wait to try it out!
Thanks, Keisha! It’s SO good!