Asian Marinated Chicken with Corn and Basil Faux-Fried Rice

Take a  mere few minutes one morning to marinate the chicken, and enjoy a mouth-watering Asian-style dinner that very evening.

My Secret Recipe Club assignment this month is the blog Cookaholic Wife, hosted by Nicole.  Nicole is a 30-something from Maryland who uses her blog as an outlet for her desire to "cook, bake, enjoy."  Her recipes are eclectic, running the gamut from healthy to decadent, and everything in between. 

I enjoyed searching through her recipes, looking for something inspiring to do with otherwise good l' boring chicken.  Well, this Thai-Chinese fusion chicken recipe certainly inspired me!

Rice combined with corn, and seasoned with soy sauce and chopped basil.  Nicole tweaked a recipe found in a Cooking Light magazine by swapping chicken thighs for breasts.  I tweaked her version by swapping a few ingredients due to availability of what was in my fridge and pantry, and adjusting the cooking procedure due to my not owning an oven-proof skillet.  No flavor was sacrificed, and less time over a hot cooktop.  Win-win!

Asian Marinated Chicken with Corn and Basil Faux-Fried Rice
Adapted from: Cookaholic Wife
Yield:  4 Servings

Chicken:
1 chicken, cut into eighths
2 scallions (green parts only), thinly sliced
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbl. olive oil, for greasing

Rice:
1 cup white enriched rice
2 cups water
1 Tbl. . olive oil
1 scallion (green part only), thinly sliced
1 cup corn kernels (if frozen, defrosted)
1 Tbl. soy sauce
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh basil, chopped
1 lime

Place the chicken in a sealable food-grade plastic bag. Add the green onion, soy sauce, mirin and garlic to the bag. Seal, then pop into the fridge to marinate at least 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375F.  Grease a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil.

Remove chicken from bag, allowing excess marinade to drain; discard marinade.  Arrange chicken on prepared baking sheet in a single layer.

Place in preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until chicken is browned and cooked through (when pierced with the tip of a knife, the juices run clear).

Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a 1-quart saucepan.  Add combine rice; stir and cover.  Bring to a simmer.  Allow to simmer for 15-16 minutes or until rice has absorbed the water.  Immediately remove from heat; uncover and allow to cool while chicken finishes baking.

Heat olive oil in medium-sized skillet over medium heat.  Add the green onions, stirring constantly for a few seconds, then add cooked rice, corn and soy sauce. Saute for 5 minutes or until corn is heated, rice is lightly toasted and the soy sauce is evenly distributed.

Remove skillet from heat; stir in chopped basil. Divide the rice among 4 plates, topping chicken. Squeeze the lime juice over the chicken and rice.  Serve immediately.

Important note! Because this post is participating in a blog hop, some of the recipes below might not be kosher. 

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