The idea that a low-calorie dinner can’t be tasty or filling is truly ludicrous, but just in case someone in your life is still peddling that nonsense, sit them down and serve them up a plate of this delicious Chinese chicken fried rice. Even when you add the sesame marinade it comes in under 500 calories per serving, and given that each serving also contains 44g of protein you can be sure you’ll be full afterwards as well.
It takes about 50-55 minutes to prep and cook the recipe, which comes from The Ultimate Performance Cookbook by Nick Mitchell (£14.40) – a book full of tasty meals that are all under the 500-calorie mark.
Ingredients (Serves Two)
- 2 chicken breasts, in sesame marinade (ingredients below)
- 2 eggs
- 150g cooked brown rice (uncooked weight 75g)
- 2 spring onions, sliced
- ½tsp garlic powder or 1 clove of garlic, grated
- 10ml sesame oil
- ½tsp soy sauce
- 100g petit pois
- 1 red pepper, diced
- Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Sesame marinade
- 2tbsp sesame seeds
- 3tbsp soy sauce
- 2tbsp sesame oil
- 1tsp Szechuan peppercorns
- 1tsp Chinese five spice
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 100ml water
See related
- Low-Calorie Dinner Recipe: Turkey Meatballs With Tagliatelle, Chilli And Tomato
- 5 High-Protein Recipes To Help Improve Your Diet
- 3 Mouth-Watering High-Protein Meal Recipes
Method
- Cook the brown rice in a pan for 30-35 minutes. Cover with a lid for the final five to ten minutes, then drain.
- At the same time, roast the marinated chicken in the oven at 170°C for 25 minutes.
- Heat the sesame oil in a wok or frying pan.
- Add the spring onions, red pepper and garlic, and gently sauté.
- Pull apart the chicken with two forks and add to the pan. Add the cooked and drained rice, and stir, keeping the heat low. Season to taste.
- Push the mixed rice to one side of the wok and crack the egg into the remaining space.
- Allow the whites to cook as though making an omelette, then stir into the mixture so it separates like scrambled eggs.
- Season again, add the petit pois and continue stirring until cooked. Serve with stir-fried green vegetables such as tenderstem broccoli and sugar snap peas.
Nutritional Info
Chicken fried rice: 418 calories, 43g protein, 14g fat, 30g carbohydrates
Sesame marinade: 40 calories, 1g protein, 4g fat, 0.3g carbohydrates
Buy The Ultimate Performance Cookbook on Amazon | £14.40
