You will need:
1 tbsp chicken bouillon
1 cup jasmine brown rice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp minced garlic (you can lower this amount, if you don't love garlic, or add more if you adore it)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (this can be omitted if you don't like spice, or just do a tiny sprinkling, if you want a little spice)
1/8 tsp salt (you don't need much the soy sauce has you covered)
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 zucchini
1/2 cup mushrooms (I prefer button or baby portabellos)
4 oz chicken breast
I will start with the rice. I happen to have a small rice cooker that I use to cook my rice, (I just find that it's really consistent, and does a great job, plus it's inexpensive). I typically will cook 1 cup of jasmine brown rice in 1.5 cups of water. Coming from an Asian family, I am picky about rice, very very picky. Something I do not like about brown rice is how toothsome it is. I don't like the chewy texture of it. I believe that the jasmine brown rice naturally isn't as chewy in texture as regular long grain brown rice, but I do something that helps counter that. I soak the rice in water for at least an hour up to 24 hours! When you're ready to cook it remove the water, (I use a strainer), and then place the rice in the rice cooker. Add the 1.5 cup of water to cook it in. For extra flavor you can also add some salt, or in my case, I like to add chicken bouillon. I usually put a little less than 1 tbsp. Let that cook. It typically takes about 20-30 minutes to fully cook for me.
Now for the stir fry,you can use ANY veggies that you prefer, I just happen to love the combo of zucchinis with mushrooms. In a pan, heat the olive oil. Toss in the garlic. Cut the zucchini into bite size pieces, (I like to half them long-ways, half them long-ways again, and then cut into the small pieces). If your mushrooms are whole, you can leave them as is, or you can slice those up too. I do suggest that if your zucchini pieces are quite large, then you should quarter your half your mushrooms, so they're approximately the same size. I then slice the chicken into thin bite size pieces as well. I toss all of those in the pan, and then put a tiny splash of sesame oil (a little goes a LONG way), and a splash of low sodium soy sauce. I then sprinkle a little bit of salt and a lot of cayenne pepper (you may omit the cayenne pepper if you don't like spicy, and you can forego the salt, if you have sodium related issues). Let everything saute together and in about 7-10 minutes you will have an incredibly delicious meal! Remember, the rice does take longer to cook, so time yourself accordingly.
The rice always provides me with leftovers, so for my serving size I measure 1/2 cup fully cooked rice to eat with my dinner. The actual chicken stir fry is meant for a single serving, so if you're cooking for another person, then multiply by 2, if you're cooking for 3 people, multiply by 3, and so on.
Seriously this tastes so good, and it's an incredibly well balanced meal. It's a lot of food, and it leaves you feeling really full as well!