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Chicken Teriyaki Power Bowl with Brown Rice and Broccoli

Juicy chicken in a glossy homemade teriyaki sauce, served over brown rice with broccoli and carrots. Making the sauce yourself takes two minutes and uses reduced-salt tamari, so you control the salt and sugar.

Dinner

50

Serves 4

A bowl of brown rice with glossy teriyaki chicken, steamed broccoli and carrots, topped with sesame seeds and spring onions

Ingredients

  • For the teriyaki sauce
  • 4 tbsp (60ml) reduced-salt tamari (labelled gluten-free), or reduced-salt soy sauce (not gluten-free)
  • 1½ tbsp (30g) runny honey
  • 1 tbsp (15ml) rice vinegar
  • 2 cloves garlic (about 8g), finely grated
  • A 3cm/1¼in piece of fresh ginger (about 15g), finely grated
  • 2 tsp (6g) cornflour (cornstarch) mixed with 3 tbsp (45ml) cold water
  • For the bowls
  • 240g/8½oz/1¼ cups brown rice
  • 500g/1lb 2oz skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 3cm/1¼in pieces
  • 1 tbsp (15ml) neutral oil, such as rapeseed oil (canola oil)
  • 300g/10½oz broccoli, cut into small florets
  • 2 medium carrots (about 150g/5oz), cut into thin batons or ribbons
  • 2 spring onions (scallions, about 30g/1oz), thinly sliced
  • 1 tbsp (8g) sesame seeds (buy ready-toasted, or toast in a dry pan for 2 minutes)

Method

  1. Rinse the rice and cook it in a large pan with about 1.5 litres/6 cups of boiling water for 25 to 30 minutes, until tender. Drain and keep covered. No salt is needed, as the sauce is salty enough.
  2. Meanwhile, mix the tamari, honey, rice vinegar, garlic and ginger in a jug. Mix the cornflour with the cold water in a cup until smooth.
  3. About 12 minutes before the rice is ready, heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok (about 28cm/11in) over a medium-high heat. Add the chicken in a single layer, in two batches if it does not fit, and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, turning, until golden on all sides and cooked through, with no pink in the middle. If you have a thermometer, the thickest piece should reach 75C/167F.
  4. Turn the heat down to medium, pour in the sauce and let it bubble for 1 minute. Stir the cornflour mixture again, add it to the pan and stir for 1 to 2 minutes, until the sauce thickens and turns glossy and coats the chicken.
  5. While the sauce thickens, steam the broccoli and carrots over a pan of simmering water for 4 to 5 minutes, until just tender with a little bite. If you have no steamer, boil them for 3 minutes and drain.
  6. Divide the rice between 4 bowls and top with the chicken and its sauce, the broccoli and the carrots. Scatter over the spring onions and sesame seeds.
  7. For meal prep, cool the rice within an hour, keep it in the fridge and eat it within 24 hours, reheating it only once until steaming hot. The chicken and vegetables keep in the fridge for up to 2 days; reheat until piping hot. The cooked chicken in its sauce freezes for up to 3 months.

Why it works

A bowl has about 38g of protein and 493 calories, including the brown rice. Chicken breast is one of the leanest protein sources, and with a full portion of broccoli and carrots, this is a complete meal in one bowl.

Why make your own teriyaki sauce. Bottled teriyaki sauces are often high in sugar and salt. This version uses reduced-salt tamari and 1½ tbsp of honey shared between four, about 7g of honey each. The cornflour is what makes the sauce glossy and helps it cling to the chicken.

Why brown rice. Brown rice keeps its bran, so it has more fibre and nutrients than white rice. With about 60g of carbohydrate a bowl it is not tagged for blood sugar; use less rice and more broccoli if that matters to you.

Gluten-free, with one check. Ordinary soy sauce is made with wheat. Use tamari labelled gluten-free if you need the dish to be gluten-free.

Fresh ginger and garlic give the sauce its flavour. For a quicker chicken dinner, try the 15-minute chicken and broccoli stir-fry, or for a vegan bowl, the crispy sesame tofu with broccoli.