Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowls

The by-product of not making a meal plan for this week is that I have to come up with dinners using whatever is in the house.  Plus, I was talking to a friend about Japanese food yesterday and about how much I love it.  And how I could totally live the rest of my life eating only Japanese food.    In my fantasy world, I have a teppan grill in my house.  Really.

This is what I made last night.

Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowls

- Steamed rice (If you don't have a rice cooker, you must get one.  Go.  I'll wait.)
- 1-2 crowns of broccoli, steamed (If you don't have a microwave steamer, you must get one.  Go.  Again, I will wait.)
- Shredded carrots, about 1/2 cup
- 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, diced
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- ground pepper
- 2 tbsp sesame oil (can substitute vegetable oil)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup prepared teriyaki sauce (though this is on my list of things to make from scratch....stay posted.  If buying a prepared one, my personal favorite is Mr. Yoshida's Original Gourmet Sauce.)

Cook rice.  Steam broccoli.  The rest only takes like 3 minutes. 

Soak chicken in rice vinegar a few minutes.  Heat oil on high in large skillet (Or ideally, a wok....you know....one of the things you must get.  Go. I can wait.)  Cook chicken, tossing frequently in pan.  Season with freshly ground pepper, cook until done.  Add shredded carrots and cup of water, toss and cook on high until crisp tender.  Add teriyaki and toss to coat.  Remove from heat.  (Teriyaki has a high sugar content and will scald, so you have to do this fairly quickly.)

Next time I make these, I will throw in some sugar snap peas too.  Love those. 

Layer rice, then broccoli, then chicken in bowl.  Drizzle with teriyaki sauce.