Do you want a surprising change to the usual meals that you prepare at home? Then a lemon chicken rice dish is an easy and flavorful option. Lemon is not just an ingredient to use when you want to add a sunny taste to your tea or water. This citrus fruit can transform a standard chicken and rice dish to an elegant entrée that will look and taste just like a professional chef was helping out in the kitchen.
Lemons are an easy way to enhance the flavors of many foods, including shrimp, fish, asparagus, desserts and salads. The use of lemons with poultry is a natural choice as these ingredients have a flavorful harmony when combined in one recipe.
For instance there are many suggestions that you can use to raise the ‘creativity’ bar using chicken for the starring role. Chicken is still very affordable and allows you to stretch your grocery dollars while providing you with a versatile protein that can be included in hundreds of recipes. Baked or broiled chicken breasts can be elevated to 5 star entrees with the addition of fresh herbs, a delicate fruit glaze or a lemon and citrus sauce.
Instead of using lemons simply as a garnish on a plate you should begin to explore the many different ways to use this fruit in your favorite entrees. There are recipes that use the zest or the juice of a lemon while others such as lemon chicken rice and broccoli make use of almost every part of this tangy fruit.
Ginger Lemon Chicken Over Rice
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds diced (skinless, boneless) chicken thighs or chicken breast
- 3 shallots-peeled and diced
- 1 tablespoon of lemon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 tablespoons of butter
- 2 red peppers seeded and sliced in long strips
- ½ cup julienne carrots
- 12 ounces of vegetable stock
- 3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons of lemon zest
- 1 ½ teaspoons of cornstarch (thickening agent)
- 1 ½ cups of fresh broccoli crowns
- 3 cups cooked jasmine rice
- 1 cup snow peas
Preparation:
Carefully wash and dry the chicken. Use the lemon-pepper to season the meat. Melt butter in a saucepan and brown chicken for 5 minutes using medium heat setting. Add the shallots, carrots, red pepper and broccoli to the saucepan and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
Add the garlic powder, veggie stock, lemon juice, cornstarch, lemon zest and ginger to a mixing bowl. Whisk together until the mixture has a smooth consistency. Pour the contents of the bowl into the saucepan with the chicken.
Adjust heat to med-high setting and cook for 2-3 minutes while stirring constantly. The stirring keeps the sauce from clumping together or scorching.
The mixture in the saucepan will thicken during the cooking process.
Add the snow peas to the saucepan and then reduce the heat to simmer.
If the sauce is thickening too fast you can use a little water or vegetable stock to adjust the consistency. Serve over jasmine rice and garnish with sliced lemons.
(Serves 4-6)
