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Where last week’s recipe was all about the Hot & Spicy, this week we’ve got Subtle & Savory in store. This is my take on a recipe that Mom has made for years. She fixes it with white wine, were I use chicken broth, and I added the sesame oil, for that subtle Asian flavor.
Note: All photographs (Here you go, Fred!) show a half-recipe that I fixed for Mrs. Squirrel and me last Saturday. I guess, if I’m going to include pictures, that Friday’s recipe will usually reflect the prior Saturday’s dinner. This means that you may get the occasional frozen pizza recipe!
Our ingredients today are:
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4 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)
2 cups of rice (regular white rice – don’t use “minute” type rice --- ever! For anything! Blech!)
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups of low-sodium chicken broth
4 tablespoons of sesame oil
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of toasted sesame seeds
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
First we have to fry our rice. Heat your stainless steel or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the 4 cups of rice. Mix thoroughly so that all rice is coated with oil, add another tablespoon of oil, if needed. Then stir slowly until the rice is a nice toasty brown color (close to the color of a brown paper shopping bag.)
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In a large covered baking dish, mix the chicken broth, sesame oil, soy sauce. Now, the fun part! Spoon the fried rice into the chicken broth mixture… ah, nice hiss and a cloud of steam! Add the sesame seeds, and give it a stir. Then arrange the chicken breast on top of the rice. Everything will be mostly submerged under the chicken broth, with sesame seeds floating on top.
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Cover and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove the cover and bake another 20-25 minutes, until the chicken is nicely browned.
Serve with the veggie of your choice, and enjoy.
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The Squirrel shall not live by nuts alone!