Asian-styled Orange Chicken with Brown Rice

How many of you could relate to me where we are ALWAYS constantly complaining that we are hungry, or that we are always craving for something to munch on? or at least I do. Sometimes I wonder, why and how do I get hungry so easily? do I have a cow stomach? LOL. Anyways, so last week, as I was feeling hungry after reaching home from my university at 2.30pm, I decided to make a phone call to my mum to ask if she can pack my lunch and unfortunately, she told me no, as she won’t be home till 7pm (sigh). So I ransacked the refrigerator and found a few oranges at the fruit section where my mum bought from the supermarket and started thinking what dish could I prepare using oranges?

Yup, you are right. Asian styled orange chicken with brown rice as you can see from the picture and title above. Yes, you may have eaten this from a hawker store and it cost around Rm8-9 (at least that’s the price I knew from Medan (Rock Cafe). But do you know that you can create this dish yourself at home? especially for Malaysians or in general, Asians who are living overseas in a western country and are missing on these Asian-style dishes. Some of you may have the thought ‘Nah, it’s too troublesome, I’d rather go out and pack one myself‘. Whenever we think of this dish, we started to think of complicated ingredients or preparation. But I’m here to prove you wrong. The preparations were simple, and the ingredients needed are just a few.

Ingredients per serving:

• 1/3 cups of brown rice
• 1 chicken breast fillet
• 1/3 cups of freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/4 cups of red onions
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 7-8 strips of ginger
• 1 tablespoon of low-sodium light soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch

Preparations :

1. Rub a pinch of salt and black pepper on both side of the chicken breast fillet.
2. Turn on medium heat on a pan, put 2 tablespoons of olive/vegetable oil and sear your chicken breast fillet until golden brown on both sides.
3. Use a toothpick inserted near the centre to check if the inside is cooked or not if it comes out clean, it is ready.
4. Remove the chicken breast fillet from the pan and start adding one tablespoon of olive oil, with the garlic, ginger, and onions until fragrant.
5. Add the orange juice and soy sauce. Because we used light soy sauce, salt is not needed.
6. mix the cornstarch in some water until dissolved and pour into the pan.
7. The sauce will start to thicken and pour over the chicken with the brown rice.

 

Look how simple and easy it is to prepare! I went crazy with the amount of garlic and onions (because that’s my favourite) hence, you can cut down on the amount mentioned. Anyway, for this dish, I used freshly squeezed orange juice. As the oranges I used were very sweet, I didn’t need to add any sweetener. But if yours weren’t as sweet, you can add a teaspoon of honey to enhance its flavour. Besides, as I used low-sodium soy sauce, hence, salt are not needed in this recipe.

This meal brings many health benefits to your body as well. How? With the 3 main ingredients used – chicken,which is the best source for providing our body with extra energy as it is high in protein. Whilst brown rice contains the load of fibre. You really shall give a try on brown rice as it’s the perfect match for lean chicken and any vegetables of your choice and orange which is packed with loads of fibre and high vitamin C which helps in burning fats.

Trust me when I tell you that it tasted better than it looked. Do try it out and taste it for yourself! (: