Bourbon Chicken and Jasmine Rice - Plus the Apron Giveaway Winner!

I have had this recipe bookmarked for a while now, ever since I saw it over on Melanie's blog. I love these kinds of recipes and, while Melanie has several delicious looking chicken dishes on her blog, this one looked fast. Really fast. I have to admit that when it comes to meal planning, I am not always as much of a planner as I wish I was. Most of our meals end up being eaten later than intended because I had no plan in mind and started something that was going to take a while.

I am happy to say that this meal was started and eaten, all within 45 minutes. All I had to plan ahead was to at least make sure I had the ingredients and had some chicken thawed.

I modified the recipe only a little, mainly because of what I had on hand and what I thought I would like. I only had myself and Aidan to feed this to today, and didn't really plan on a lot of leftovers, so I decreased the amount of chicken I made, but I didn't change the amount of sauce since I wanted a little extra to go on the rice.

Now speaking of the rice, I have to admit, that I don't actually make rice often, because I never have that great of results. That has all changed today. I'm never looking back. It was simple to make and the rice tasted wonderful and had a perfect fluffy texture - even without being drowned with sauce of some kind.

The other change I made to the recipe was to add some chopped bell pepper for color and a little extra flavor. Overall, these are both recipes I know I will be making often from now on.

This made the perfect fast and tasty meal and was even kid friendly. If your kids don't like spice though, I would suggest cutting back on the red pepper flake a bit though since it was a little too hot for Aidan.

Perfect Steamed Jasmine Rice

Adapted from My Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts

4 tablespoons oil (for pan-frying)

2 T cornstarch (for dusting)
1 large red bell pepper or 6 assorted color baby bell peppers, cut into bite size pieces (or 1/2 inch)

Sauce:

1 garlic clove (minced)

1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, chopped

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

¼ cup apple juice

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoon ketchup

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

½ cup water

1/3 cup soy sauce

Cut chicken breasts into small bite-sized pieces, and dust them lightly with cornstarch. Heat oil in large frying pan and fry chicken bits in batches until lightly browned over medium-high heat. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels and set aside. Leave the remaining oil in the pan and add the bell pepper pieces to the pan. Saute for 5 minutes til soft.

In a blender combine all sauce ingredients and blend for about 10-15 seconds. Strain the mixture into the frying pan and bring to a boil. Add chicken bits back to the pan, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until sauce has thickened and reduced almost completely to thick glaze over chicken and peppers. Serve over hot steamed rice.

Perfect Steamed Jasmine Rice
Source: Tyler Florence's Real Kitchen

Serves 4 - Makes 3 1/2 cups

1 cup jasmine rice
2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter (optional)

Rinse the rice in a colander until the water runs clear to remove some of the starch. Let the rice drain. Put the rice, water, and salt in a medium pot and place over medium heat. When the water begins to boil, stir it once; then cover tightly and lower the heat. Simmer the rice for 15 minutes without lifting the lid - it is wise to set a timer. After 15 minutes take the cover off to check the rice. The water should be absorbed and rice cooked but firm. Fluff the cooked grains with a fork so they separate, but do not stir with a spoon or the rice will become gummy. Add the butter and toss gently. Serve hot.

Winner!

AND THE WINNER OF THE BLOOM-N-BLUSH GIVEAWAY IS....

doughmesstic said...
I follow you on Twitter! (of course!)
March 15, 2009 3:38 PM

Woo hoo! Thanks so much to everyone that entered. Don't forget, you can still get free shipping through April 30th on orders from Bloom-n-Blush!