Easy Teriyaki Chicken Skewers and Garlic Fried Rice

 Do moms ever get a day off? Unfortunately no, because somehow we always have something on our minds or something on our to-do lists. It was Labor Day this past weekend, and a lot of people have the day off. But for many, we have families and friends that we need to take care of. Sometimes, we need easy meals that we don’t have to spend too much mental energy preparing. I love that I can just use a bottled teriyaki sauce and it tastes delicious already! Plus who doesn’t like garlic and transforming leftover rice into something amazing? It really is a blessing to have family and friends to take care of. I’m thankful for them and thankful that I can show my love by feeding them well.

Easy Teriyaki Chicken Skewers and Garlic Fried Rice

Ingredients:

For the chicken skewers:

2 lbs boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite size chunks

4 bamboo skewers (I had to cut mine in half to fit in my pan- so it’s 8 half skewers)

toasted sesame seed (Optional)

1/3 cup teriyaki sauce (I used Mr. Yoshida’s Marinade and Cooking Sauce from Costco; You can use any bottled teriyaki sauce, but first taste it, and make sure it’s not too salty. If it is too salty, add some honey or sugar to taste.)

2-3 teaspoons canola oil, or other neutral oil

2 lemon wedges, optional

For the fried rice:

4 cups leftover cooked rice (leftover rice is best because it is drier)

3 cloves garlic, minced (if you like it really garlicky, feel free to add more)

1 small onion, diced

1 small bunch of garlic chives, chopped finely

1 red pepper, diced

1 teaspoon chicken flavor bouillon powder (I used knorr brand)

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon sugar, optional

Salt, to taste

1 tablespoon canola oil, or other neutral oil

Directions:

Thread chicken onto skewers. (Don’t squish the meat together otherwise it may not cook when it is touching too closely.)

Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Coat the pan evenly with a little oil. 

Place chicken skewers in pan. If they don’t all fit, you may have to cook the rest in a separate pan.

Cook chicken skewers about 3 minutes on each side until almost cooked through.

Brush chicken with teriyaki sauce on all sides.

While your chicken skewers are cooking, heat up the leftover rice for a minute in the microwave. This will just help speed things up a bit, but it is optional.

Continue to turn chicken and baste chicken with more sauce until fully cooked. Sauce will thicken around the chicken. If sauce looks like it is turning really dark, turn down the heat and make sure the sauce does not burn.

Transfer chicken skewers to a plate and sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on them. Serve with lemon wedges (You can squeeze lemon juice over the chicken before serving if desired.)

Heat a wok over medium high heat, and add one tablespoon of oil. Add the onion and red pepper and stir fry for 1-2 minutes.

Add the minced garlic and stir fry for 30 seconds.

Add the rice and stir fry for 2 minutes. Use a metal spatula to break up any rice clumps.

Add the chicken powder, soy sauce, and sugar to the rice. Continue to stir fry, making sure the rice grains are not clumped together. Taste and add salt if desired. 

Add the chopped garlic chives and stir fry for 20-30 seconds until well distributed.

Transfer to a serving bowl. Ready to enjoy!

Mr. Yoshida’s marinade and cooking sauce is great for chicken! I’ve also used it for salmon.

My husband introduced me to Knorr Chicken Flavor Bouillon powder. You can basically put it in anything to add extra flavor. If you don’t want to use it, you can cook your rice in chicken broth to add that chicken flavor beforehand.