Homemade Chicken Fried Rice

As I type this, I have a bowl of still-hot homemade chicken fried rice balancing on my knee.  I have never attempted fried rice, I had always left that to the professionals.  Until tonight, that is.  Although mine isn't exactly like what you would get at a Chinese food restaurant (I used way less oil and I didn't attempt that fried egg mixed in thing.  It kinda weirded me out to scramble up an egg into my rice, so I left it out) I really am digging my take on this take-out favorite.  It was very easy to make (even if you have Small Boston Kitchen like mine) and would be fantastic to make if you're having a big group of people over.  Make some some wonton soup (on my to-make list) or egg roles (ditto) and follow it up with some fortune cookies and you've got yourself a party.  

Mmmm, the flavors here are just so exciting!  Sweet carrots and corn, soft shiitake mushrooms, crunchy water chestnuts coated in a salty soy sauce.  I've already caught myself running back to the stove for a refill and am already thinking about how wonderful this will taste at lunch tomorrow.  Yuuuum.

Chicken Fried Rice

This makes a lot.  Certainly enough to feed a family of 5 or 6 (or more maybe?)  

- 2 chicken breasts 

- 3 carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks

- 1 package of shiitake mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced

- 4 oz water chestnuts, thinly sliced

- A large handful of frozen corn 

- 4-5 green onion stalks, cut all the way through the white part

- 1 -2 cloves of garlic, minced

- About 2-3 cups cooked rice (either brown or white)

- About a cup of low-sodium soy sauce

- About a tsp of fresh grated ginger

- About a tbs of spicy Chinese mustard or Dijon mustard

- Fresh ground pepper to taste

Bake the chicken at 400 degrees until it is cooked through.  Let the chicken rest and then shred the meat or cut it into bite-sized pieces.  Set aside.  In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, mustard and ginger and mix thoroughly.  Set aside.  In a pot, add a little vegetable oil and heat it up until it gets really hot.  Add the minced garlic and heat it until it softens (keep a close eye on it because garlic can go from delicious to burnt in no time).  Add the mushroom and fry them until they soften.  Next, add the carrots and fry them until they just start to lose their bite.  Add the water chestnuts next and continue stirring.  At this point, add the rice to the pot and start to combine the vegetables with the rice and slowly stir in the sauce.  Toss in the chicken and corn, stirring rapidly while the hot heat works through the rice.  Finally, add the green onions and serve immediately.