Lunch · Dinner · Japanese

Teriyaki chicken rice bowls

Name: Teriyaki chicken rice bowls
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 300g Basmati rice; 200g Frozen edamame beans; 20g Fresh ginger; 2 cloves Garlic; 4 tbsp Soy sauce; 2 tbsp Clear honey; 600g Chicken thigh fillets; 1 tbsp Sesame seeds; 1 tbsp Vegetable oil; 2 Carrots; 1 Cucumber; 4 Spring onions

Glossy soy and honey chicken on rice, with cold crunchy veg on the side to keep it honest.

Start to finish: 45 min
Hands-on: 45 min
In the fridge: 1 day
Freezes: Yes

Contains gluten, sesame, soya

Ingredients

4 portions

300gBasmati rice
200gFrozen edamame beans
20gFresh ginger
2 clovesGarlic
4 tbspSoy sauce
2 tbspClear honey
600gChicken thigh fillets
1 tbspSesame seeds
1 tbspVegetable oil
2Carrots
1Cucumber
4Spring onions

Plus salt, pepper and water.

Method

1
Rinse the rice and put it in a pan with 450ml cold water and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, cover and cook on the lowest heat for 10 minutes. Take it off the heat, scatter the frozen edamame over the top, put the lid back on and leave for 5 minutes.
20 min, mostly hands-off
2
Fork everything through and spread it thinly on a tray so it cools fast. It needs to be in the fridge within an hour of cooking.
15 min, mostly hands-off
3
Meanwhile, grate the ginger and garlic into a jug and stir in the soy sauce, honey and 3 tablespoons of water.
4
Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Toast the sesame seeds in a large dry frying pan until golden, then tip them out.
5
Add the oil to the pan and fry the chicken over a high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, turning now and then, until browned all over and cooked through.
6
Pour in the sauce and let it bubble for 2 to 3 minutes, turning the chicken, until the sauce is thick and glossy and clings to every piece. Take off the heat and leave to cool.
7
Cut the carrots into matchsticks or coarsely grate them. Halve the cucumber lengthways, scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon and slice it. Slice the spring onions.
8
Pack the rice and chicken into tubs and scatter over the spring onions and sesame seeds. Put the carrot and cucumber in small pots or bags so they stay cold and crunchy. Lid and fridge, and freeze any tubs you will not eat tomorrow, minus the raw veg.

On the day

Set the raw veg aside, then microwave the rice and chicken for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring halfway, until piping hot all the way through. Reheat rice only once. Pile the cold veg on top. Defrost frozen tubs overnight in the fridge.

Cook’s tip

Hold the sauce back until the chicken is cooked through. Honey burns quickly, so it only wants the last few minutes in the pan.