Healthy food of the week: Orange Chicken, Brown Rice and Broccoli
leftover idea: Orange Chicken Bowl
I turned on Panda Express a couple of years ago and started trying Asian cuisine from time to time. I have to admit my favorite meal is orange chicken with beef and broccoli along with brown rice. These two are among the healthiest options available at Panda Express and for those of you who get Chinese from time to time, I’m sure these two options are probably offered at your places.
The funny thing is that to make orange chicken at home, it is not difficult if you can find the ingredients in your local supermarket. I went to my neighborhood Vons after work to look up the ingredients to make an orange glazed sauce that I found online that uses maple syrup, orange zest, coconut aminos, and a few other items. However, since they didn’t sell orange zest, the attendant directed me to an aisle with Asian spices. To my surprise I found some bottles of orange sauce made by different companies, one even by Panda Express which I really wanted to try, but I opted for a gluten-free option. We’ll see how it goes.
You’ll find that when you combine orange chicken with brown rice and broccoli, you’ll have a healthy meal that’s easy to transport so you can grab it for lunch the next day.
Another cool idea I’m trying out today is a “Ready Rice” packet. This particular brand I bought at Uncle Ben’s is all natural brown brown rice that microwaves in 90 seconds. I know my parents use this option not only to save time, but since the rice cooks in its own container, cleaning up is simply throwing the bag away when it’s empty. No scrubbing, no washing, no dishes to wash. We’ll see how this compares to regular brown rice. The only downside to this rice is that a package that equals two cups of rice costs $2.29, which is quite steep compared to buying regular rice in the bag.
necessary equipment
– frying pan/chicken cooking skill
– broccoli pot
– microwave for ready rice
Ingredients
(6 servings)
– 2 pounds of boneless chicken breasts
– 1 bag of frozen broccoli (or fresh if you prefer)
– 1 bottle of Orange Sauce
– 1 bag of whole brown rice ready
seasonings salt, pepper, garlic powder and 1 tablespoon of butter
For the Leftover Orange Chicken Bowls:
– Plastic travel container
Addresses
1. The first and most important component of this meal is chicken. It’s also the part that takes the most time to prepare, so let’s take care of that first. You may choose to cut the chicken into small pieces beforehand which will save you cooking time, however it may be more difficult to flip each individual piece every 3-4 minutes of cooking time. I chose to cook the whole boneless chicken breast and then cut it into pieces. I made a long slice on the chicken to help it cook faster, but that still allowed me to easily flip the piece. Don’t forget to add any condiments you want to include. For this example we used seasoned salt, pepper, garlic powder and a pinch of oregano.
two) While the chicken is almost done, you can boil the water to use for the broccoli pieces. If desired, add a tablespoon of butter and a pinch of seasoned salt for flavor. Once the water is boiling, add the broccoli and boil for 8-10 minutes.
3) Once the chicken is almost done cooking, remove it from the pan and cut it into small pieces. Once you have all the chicken sliced and diced, place it back in the pan and add the orange sauce. Start with a small amount of sauce as it will be easier to add later if needed. Add the sauce to the chicken pieces keeping the heat on medium/low. Once you have the desired amount of sauce with the chicken pieces, let the mixture simmer for another 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4) Last but not least, for the Ready Rice bag, all that needs to be done is open the side and pull the corner back 2 inches. You don’t even need to add water. Simply place the bag upright in the center of your microwave and cook on high for 90 seconds. Surprisingly enough, the rice came out tasting perfect, not too dry and not too wet.
5) Serve an adequate portion of rice, broccoli and orange chicken. If there is any sauce left over in the pan, you may want to spoon a couple tablespoons over the chicken or rice, depending on your preference and how well you like the flavor of your food. Enjoy!
Leftover Food Idea: Now that you have all the ingredients to make a wonderful tasting orange chicken bowl, let’s go ahead and make it. What makes this meal so great for lunch is that everything is simply thrown into a plastic travel container, so there’s literally nothing else you need to do other than microwave it at work if you’d like. So mix a tablespoon of rice together with some broccoli, add some orange glazed chicken and even an extra tablespoon of sauce on top, cover and store in your fridge until tomorrow.