Teriyaki Chicken and Coconut Rice
Mastering the art of comfort meals makes me a happy cook in the kitchen. For me, a comfort meal is when my taste buds are satisfied with something rich and something that usually involves carbs. But, I also don’t want to feel guilty for eating completely unhealthy. So, what’s a good option? Stir-fry! It involves a rich sauce and either noodles or rice that are comforting, but also lean meat and fresh veggies that are healthy.
Teriyaki sauce is easy to make and tastes great with just about any kind of stir-fry. It works well over rice or noodles and compliments chicken, shrimp, beef, or pork. The flavors are just right…a little pungent and a little sweet. It’s convenient to grab a pre-made bottle of teriyaki sauce from the grocery store, but if you keep the right ingredients on hand (which also come in handy for other stir-fries and marinades), you can cut out some of the mystery ingredients and sugar overload.
In this recipe, I bake the chicken in the teriyaki sauce which keeps the chicken tender. I also use the sauce when sauteing the vegetables. Depending on how strong of teriyaki flavor you want, you can adjust the amount of sauce you use.
And, I LOVE coconut rice. The coconut flavor is subtle so it doesn’t overpower the rice, but it’s prominent enough that you still taste it. Jasmine rice already has a buttery, light flavor so it tastes delicious with the coconut milk and the sweet teriyaki sauce.
I made this recipe for one, but you can easily increase the ingredients to make it for two. It also makes great leftovers if you are packing a lunch the next day. In that case, you may want to double it.
Teriyaki Chicken and Coconut Rice Recipe
Makes 1 serving; easily doubles for 2
Ingredients
Main
- 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 1 red bell pepper, julienned or thinly sliced
- 1-2 carrots, julienned or thinly sliced (or use pre-shredded carrots, about 1/2 cup)
- 1 tsp coconut oil
Teriyaki Sauce
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
- 1 Tbsp water
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp white sugar
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 2 Tbsp orange juice (use either fresh or bottled)
Rice
- 1/2 cup jasmine rice
- 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1/8 tsp kosher salt
- 3/4 cup coconut milk (about 1/2 of a can)
- 1/4 cup water
Directions
Chicken and Sauce
- Preheat the oven to 425.
- Prepare the chicken breast by placing it between two pieces of plastic wrap or in a plastic bag. Pound the chicken with a handheld meat tenderizer or a can from the pantry until the chicken is an even thickness across the breast (about 1/4 inch). This will help the chicken breast cook evenly.
- Peel and mince 1 clove of garlic and 1/2 tsp ginger.
- In a small saucepan add the garlic and ginger, 1 Tbsp water, 1 tsp cornstarch, 1 Tbsp white sugar, 1 Tbsp honey, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1 tsp fish sauce and 2 Tbsp orange juice. (If you have a fresh orange on hand use fresh squeezed, otherwise bottled/boxed orange juice works fine.)
- In the saucepan, whisk the ingredients together over medium heat. Cook for about 3-4 minutes until it begins to bubble and the sauce thickens. Stir the sauce often so it does not stick to the pan.
- Line a baking sheet with foil. Place the chicken breast on the baking sheet, and spoon a hefty amount of the teriyaki sauce onto both sides of the chicken breast.
- Cook the chicken in the oven for 25 minutes. While it cooks, spoon additional sauce on top of the chicken every 10 minutes.
Rice and Vegetables
- Place a 1/2 cup of jasmine rice in a colander, and rinse it under water to remove excess starch from the outside of the rice. (If your colander’s holes are too large for the rice, you can skip this step and the rice will still turn out.)
- In a second saucepan, heat 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil over medium heat.
- Add the rice to the saucepan, and stir to coat it in the oil. Add 1/8 tsp kosher salt, 1/4 cup water and 3/4 cup of coconut milk. (Gently stir the can of coconut milk before adding it to the rice.)
- Place the lid on the saucepan, and bring it to a boil. Then reduce the temperature to low, and cook the rice (covered) for about 8-10 minutes until all of the liquid is absorbed.
- While the rice and chicken cook, prepare the vegetables. Remove the stem and seeds from a red bell pepper. Slice the pepper into thin, julienne-style strips. (I cut off the end of the pepper where it curves to make it easier to cut uniform slices.)
- Peel and thinly slice a carrot into thin, julienne-style strips. (Or use the pre-shredded carrots.)
- In a small skillet, heat 1 tsp of coconut oil over medium heat.
- Add the red bell pepper, carrots, and 1-2 spoonfuls of the teriyaki sauce.
- Cook the vegetables for 3-4 minutes until they are softened.
- Spoon the cooked rice onto a plate and top with the vegetables and cooked chicken.
This teriyaki sauce works with other vegetables as well. In this recipe I only used carrots and bell pepper, but you can load on more vegetables. You may also consider using the sauce as a marinade for the meat. If you do that, don’t forget to make sure you cook any of the sauce that has been contaminated with raw meat.
Use the Extra Ingredients
This recipe uses about a 1/2 can of coconut milk for the rice. You can increase the rice to 1 cup and use 2 cups of the coconut milk which is just about 1 can (supplement with a little water if you need to). Save extra rice for the next day or double the rest of the ingredients and make 2 servings. Extra coconut milk also tastes great in coffee or oatmeal.
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