Spicy Garlic Chicken and Green Beans

What constitutes as "comfort food" in our house is probably different than in a lot of homes.  We don't eat a lot of red meat, in fact we probably buy it once every few months; so normal "American comfort food" is not OUR comfort food. Our staples are chicken and fish. When we want comfort food, we typically turn to asian influenced dishes. Our family favorite is my own Spicy Garlic Chicken and Green Beans served over rice.

It's pretty easy and I apologize for my lack of good measurements... I kinda just throw the ingredients in a pan.

Here is what you'll need: Chicken that is cut into bite sized pieces (I use one chicken breast for the four of us or 5-6 tenders), a cooking oil (I use olive oil most of the time but have used canola and vegetable in the past... just whatever you have on hand), sesame oil, red pepper flakes, lots of garlic, soy sauce, green beans, and rice.  Before I made this for the post, I realized I didn't have any sesame oil. If you have everything besides this, then don't run out and get it as barely any is used and its just fine without. Also, I find the sight of raw chicken anything but appetizing, so you will NOT find any pictures of it here. 

I always cut up the chicken and mince the garlic first. Then I start the rice. If I am using Jasmine rice, then I cook it up with 2 parts water and 1 part rice. If I am using Basmati rice, then I cook it up with 1.5 parts water and 1 part rice. For our little family, I cook up 1 cup of uncooked rice and it feeds us all and leaves enough leftovers for the hubs for lunch the next day. Once the rice has been started, I heat up the oil, a little sesame oil, and garlic (I use about 1.5tbsp) in a deep pan. Make sure you reserve some minced garlic for later. After a few minutes, I add some soy sauce and red pepper flakes. Adjust the amount of red pepper flakes to your own taste (I used about 4 shakes of the bottle), and as with the garlic, you'll probably want to add some at the end, so keep that in mind. 

Once the flavors have begun to meld and are fragrant, add in the chicken and cook. You'll want to steam the green beans as well. I am terrible at steaming vegetables, so just steam them how you normally steam them. Once the chicken is cooked and the green beans are steamed, throw the green beans into the same pan as the chicken and toss together.  Add a little bit more oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, and red pepper flakes. If you want a thicker sauce, then mix a tablespoon of cornstarch with some water and pour it in, stir, and cook a little bit longer.

When everything is done, plate it up! I scoop some rice into the middle of the plate, and top it with a scoop of chicken and green beans and then drizzle some more of the sauce on top.

Enjoy! I know my family does!! Well... Budboy likes the rice, the sauce, and sometimes the chicken. He still has an aversion to anything green. ;)


Until next time!

~Monica