Asian Rice & Vegetable Bowl

The new February issue of Real Simple has a section on "Your New Healthy-Eating Plan." It's a really good article. They show a diagram of what your plate should look like: half of your plate should contain vegetables & fruits; one-quarter should be lean protein, & the last quarter, whole grains. Then they list the 30 healthiest foods & give examples of how to eat/prepare them & they show 4 examples of a balanced meal. This dish is one of those 4 examples.

Asian Rice & Vegetable Bowl with Eggs & Chili Sauce

Adapted from Real Simple

Serves 4 skinny people. Serves 2 hungry Baldwins.

Ingredients:

2 cups long grain, instant brown rice

1/3 cup Thai sweet chili sauce

4 tsp Sriracha sauce

3/4 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 bunch broccoli, cut into florets

2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced

2 carrots, peeled & cut into thin strips

2 tbsp plus 1 tbsp canola oil

4 large eggs

2 pork loin chops

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees & chop all of your veggies. Place the broccoli, bell peppers & carrots on a large rimmed baking sheet; toss with 2 tbsp of the canola oil. Roast, tossing once, until tender, 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the rice according to the package directions. In a small bowl, combine the sweet chili sauce, Sriracha, sesame oil & vinegar. Set aside.

Cut the pork loin chops in half & then cut into 1" square chunks. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat & cook the pork until done, about 5 to 8 minutes. Set aside.

Heat the remaining tsp of canola oil in the same cast iron skillet over medium heat. Crack the eggs into the skillet & cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Serve the vegetables & eggs over the rice & drizzle with the sauce.

Kim's Notes:

The original recipe calls for short grain (non-instant) brown rice. I couldn't find this, so I used long grain, instant brown rice. It tasted fine, I just had to adjust the timing of everything. Also, because John doesn't understand how it's dinner when there's no meat, I added 2 pork loin chops.

John & I both loved this dish & gobbled up all 4 servings. The sauce that you drizzle over the top is so good! The perfect mix of sweet & spicy, but not too spicy. And the egg... I've concluded that I'll eat anything served over rice & topped with a fried egg. We're definitely making this again. Highly recommend this recipe. Also, highly recommend picking up the February issue of Real Simple.