Easy Rice Bowl with Grilled Hoisin Chicken

This healthy rice bowl recipe is easy to make with crispy steamed vegetable and topped with grilled Hoisin chicken. However this delicious bowl isn’t complete until it receives an extra drizzle of Hoisin Sauce paired with a sprinkling of crushed peanuts.

And this tasty rice bowl is so easy to prepare! And there is no stir frying. With a few simple steps dinner will be ready to enjoy in under an hour.

Hoisin Chicken meets Rice Bowl

Since the first time I dined at P.F.Chang’s, their lettuce wraps instantly became one of my favorite entrees. It was not long after that I began experimenting with my own version. Over the years, this dish has morphed and changed. Once I decided to share this recipe here, the wheels upstairs switched into gear again. I was reworking the recipe for a healthy version of lettuce wraps. But started thinking, why couldn’t this dish be a rice bowl? Not only would it be easier to prepare, it would certainly be easier to eat. And so it began that my Hoisin Chicken Lettuce Wraps became a Rice Bowl.

This basic Hoisin Chicken recipe allows the option of making a simple and healthy bowl with rice. In addition, the same mixture easily transforms into lettuce wraps. Serve Hoisin Chicken lettuce wraps as a meal or an appetizer.

Another family favorite is to make a pizza or flatbread from the leftover Hoisin chicken mixture. Simply sprinkle dough with 1 to 2 ounces of grated mozzarella and sprinkle with leftover chicken mixture. After baking drizzle with a few teaspoons of sauce.

The Chicken

Originally this dish was prepared only with boneless chicken thighs. But as our diets have evolved into more health conscious, it only seems natural that thigh meat would be exchanged for breast meat. Boneless chicken breasts whole or thin cutlets are the perfect exchange. However, if calories are not a concern for you, the breast meat may certainly be exchanged with thigh meat.

The chicken marinades in as little as 30 minutes. By the time the vegetables are prepared, the chicken is ready to grill.

Also cooking techniques are worth noting. During mild weather months, outdoor grilling makes this dish quick and easy with little clean up. However, Hoisin Chicken will grill up nicely in a cast iron pan. Whether cooked on the stove top or baked in the oven, the chicken cooks up in as little as ten minutes. However, I would suggest spraying the pan with Bak Klene ZT as the sugar in the hoisin sauce will stick and burn.

The Vegetables

Snap Peas, Celery, Scallion and Cilantro

Using a minimum of vegetables helps to keep this dish simple. Celery, scallion, snap peas and cilantro are the key players here. The celery and sugar snap peas both bring flavor and crunchy texture. For added color and flavor, try adding sliced carrots for variation.

• Cut the celery and scallion into slices.
• Peel carrot and cut into slices.
• Roughly chop the cilantro OR pluck the leaves from stems and use whole torn leaves.
• Steam Snap Peas in microwave for 1 minute.
• If using carrots, steam in microwave for 30 seconds at a time, until tender.
• Chill snap peas to halt cooking.

For quick and easy assembly, the snap peas are steamed in the microwave. Simply toss them into a glass pyrex and steam for one minute. This is just enough time to remove the starchy flavor but retain the crunch. Immediately pop them into the fridge for 10 minutes to chill and chop them into bite size pieces. If adding carrots to the vegetable mixture, simply steam in microwave for 30 seconds at a time, just until tender.

The Rice

Rice is a personal preference. While my personal preference is white rice, it is important that you choose your favorite. Cooking rice seems to be straight forward. But here are a few things to keep in mind. First of all, rice cooks at a 1:2 ratio. This means, a cup of rice will cook in 2 cups of water. Another key component is making sure the cooking pot is of adequate size as rice will expand 3 to 1. A cup of raw rice produces 3 cups of cooked. If the cooking utensil is too small, the rice will become gummy. Generally, I cook 1 cup of rice in a 2 1/2 quart sauce pan. If making a larger quantity, I use a 4 1/2 quart sauce pan. Here a few simple steps to help achieve fluffy rice.

How to Cook Perfect Rice

1. Bring 2 cups of water or broth to boil in a covered saucepan.
2. Once the water begins to boil, remove the pan from heat source and add one cup of raw rice and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
3. Bring pan contents back up to a low boil and briefly stir to combine ingredients.
4. Cover pan and reduce heat source to simmer.
5. Set timer for 15 minutes.
6. Leave the pot alone, do not lift lid to check progress until 15 minutes are up.
7. Once the rice has cooked for 15 minutes, lift lid to check that all liquid has been absorbed. If there is liquid remaining in pan continue to cook for 1 to 2 minutes more. But if the rice just looks shiny with slight wetness, immediately remove the pan from heat source or turn off. Replace lid and wait 5 minutes more.
8. After 5 minutes, remove lid and fluff rice with a fork. Replace lid to keep rice warm until ready to serve.

This method has always produced fluffy perfect rice for me. Brown rice uses the same method. However, the cooking time is 35-40 minutes.

Over the years, I have tried a number of different brands of rice. Lundberg Family Farms has become one of my favorites.

Weight Watchers and Waist Watchers……………

A 1 1/2 Cup serving of Hoisin Chicken Filling served over a 1/2 cup of rice is 6 WW Smart Points or 355 calories.

Three (3) Lettuce Wraps served with 1/2 cup of filling in each is 1 serving or 3 WW Smart Points. If served with 1/2 cup of rice each serving is 6 WW Smart Points.

Buon Appetito!

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