BROWN RICE, CHICKEN & CHINESE BROCCOLI

This is a very simple dish, inspired by my husband saying that he wanted 'chicken, brown rice and broccoli' for dinner. I had bought some Gai Lan (Chinese broccoli) from a farmers market on the weekend which I absolutely love with oyster sauce and soy sauce. Gai lan has thick green stems and dark green leaves, both of which can be eaten. You can certainly fry the chicken breast with 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil or sesame oil and 1 finely chopped garlic clove, however I prefer poaching chicken as it uses no oil and does not dry out, hence this is the method I used in the recipe below. 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 chicken breasts, even in size (around 450-500g in total)
• 1 large garlic clove, peeled & sliced 
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 head of broccoli, florets and stalk chopped into even pieces
• 1 bunch of Gai lan (Chinese broccoli), ends of stalks removed (these are too tough to eat) and stalks and leaves separated 
• Optional - 1/4 cup green shallots, finely chopped, to serve 

Sauce

• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 tablespoon sushi vinegar or mirin
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

COOKING 

1. Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water, add the chicken breasts, garlic and soy sauce. Bring to the boil, covered, then simmer for 10 minutes. After this time turn off the stove and leave the chicken to sit for 5 minutes, before removing the chicken and placing it on a chopping board to cool for 5 minutes before shredding it. 

2. Meanwhile, add the brown rice to another medium or small saucepan with 2 cups of water and bring to the boil, covered. Reduce to a simmer, still covered, and cook for 15-18 minutes or until the rice is tender and the water has been absorbed. 

3. Prepare the sauce by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl or cup/mug. Add a few tablespoons of water to thin out the sauce and stir vigorously to remove any lumps. 

4. In a third saucepan (or if not available wait until the chicken or rice is finished to use that saucepan), fill with around 10cm of water and bring to the boil, covered. Once boiled add the gai lan stalks and the broccoli, as these take longer to cook than the leaves. When the stems have become bright green, or have been cooking for 2 minutes, add the leaves to the water and cook for 1-2 minutes or until the leaves are wilted. Remove from heat and drain the vegetables until cold water in a colander. Roughly chop the gai lan leaves. 

Combine the chicken, rice, sauce and vegetables in a large serving bowl, stirring well. Divide into 4 serving bowls and top with finely chopped green shallots, if desired. 

Serves / 4

Total Preparation time / 10 minutes 

Total Cooking time / around 30 minutes 

x Emily 

BROWN FRIED RICE

This brown fried rice can be vegetarian or not, with the addition of bacon. I like to mix up the ingredients and use whatever I have in fridge, such as the vegetables in the ingredients list below or  Chinese cabbage, red cabbage, buk choy, broccoli, etc. I remember my mother used to put little dices of ham into our fried rice when we were younger, probably so my brothers would see the meat and not get freaked out that they were eating a meat-free dish. The optional bacon in this dish is for my fiancee Chris, who can't seem to go one meal without meat! The flavour of the egg, bacon (if using), various vegetables and lime juice should be enough for you to not need to use extra soy sauce/tamari, but if you are craving more flavour add a dash of ground black pepper to your rice! 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 4 eggs, preferably free range, lightly beaten
• Optional - 100g bacon, fat removed, roughly chopped
• 1 small red chilli, deseeded & finely chopped or 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes 
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• 1 cup peas 
• 1 large zucchini, roughly chopped 
• 1 large carrot, roughly chopped 
• 1 medium green capsicum, roughly chopped 
• 2 tablespoons reduced salt soy sauce or tamari 
• 1 large lime, cut into 4 wedges 

COOKING 

1. Pour the rice into a medium saucepan and add 2 1/4 cups of water. Bring to the boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer, covered, for around 15 minutes, or until the water has been absorbed and the rice is tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool. 

2. While the rice is cooking, add 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil to a wok and swirl to coat over medium heat. Add beaten eggs with 1 tablespoon water to the wok and let cook for 2-3 minutes on one side, or until the outside of the omelette is set. Flip the thin omelette over and cook on the other side until just cooked through. Remove from heat and allow to cool then chop the fried egg roughly into small pieces. 

3. If not adding bacon, skip this step. Once the omelette has been removed from the wok, add the bacon to the wok and stir for a few minutes until slightly brown. Remove from heat. 

4. Keep the wok over medium heat and add 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, making sure to swirl the oil to coat as much of the bottom and sides of the wok as possible. Add the chilli and spring onion and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the peas, zucchini, carrot and capsicum to the pan, stir-frying for 3-4 minutes or until the vegetables are bright in colour and warmed through. (If at any point the vegetables stick to the wok, add a splash of water- try to do this instead of adding more oil). Add the cooked rice to the pan, followed by the soy sauce and the chopped egg pieces (and the cooked bacon if using), stirring well to combine all ingredients. Serve warm, with lime juice drizzled on top. 

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes

Total Cooking time / 20 minutes 

x Emily 

BAKED BROWN RICE with PUMPKIN MASH

This is one of my favourite recipes in the entire Michelle Bridges program. It is wholesome, filling and packed to the brim with goodness. I love pumpkin and broccoli together and here is no exception. I have altered the recipe slightly by adding and changing a few ingredients. Just a splash of almond milk will do to bring out the sweetness of the pumpkin in the mash. I have added garlic and removed ginger as I am a sucker for garlic and soy sauce together. The extra egg on top of the brown rice assists in helping the loaf to hold its shape (which it does extremely well). Definitely a recipe I will make again and again and many more times after that.  

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup brown rice (150g)
• 1 head of broccoli (around 150g) cut into florets and stalk roughly chopped
• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
• 3 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
• 300g pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and cut into 2cm pieces
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk
• 30g baby spinach 
• 60g avocado, scooped into small pieces

Cooking 

1. Place the rice and 2 cups of water (500ml) in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil, covered. Once boiled reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, for 25 minutes or until the rice is absorbed. Add the broccoli florets on top of the rice for the last 5 minutes of cooking. Remove from heat. 

2. Whilst the rice is cooking, grease a loaf tin (with a base of approx. 20cm x 10cm) with oil and line the base and sides with baking paper. Once the rice is almost cooked preheat a fan-force oven to 180 degrees celsius. 

3. Remove the broccoli from the rice and finely chop. Transfer the rice to a large bowl to cool. 

4. Combine the broccoli, garlic, 2 teaspoons of the soy sauce, 1 egg and ground black pepper with the rice, stirring well. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, smoothing the surface with a wet tablespoon. Pour the other egg on top and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the top is just golden. Remove from the oven and let stand for a minimum of 5 minutes to cool. 

5. Whilst the loaf is cooking, bring the pumpkin pieces and enough water to cover them to boil over high heat. Continue cooking for 5 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender. Remove from the stove, drain the pumpkin and mash until smooth, adding the almond milk as you mash. 

6. Toss the baby spinach, avocado and 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce in a small bowl as a side salad. 

7. Once the rice loaf has cooled slightly, carefully remove it from the tin and cut into 4 slices. Drizzle the 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce remaining over the top of the loaf. Serve 2 slices of brown rice loaf with half of the pumpkin mash and half of the salad. 

Serves / 2 

Total Preparation time / 10 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 65 minutes 

Approx. calories / 515 per serve

x Emily