Chicken Satay Stir Fry With Orange-Scented Jasmine Rice

Ingredients:

• 3 3/4 cups water
• Zest of 2 oranges
• 2 cups jasmine rice, rinsed
• 2 tablespoons canola oil or safflower oil
• 1 1/2-1 3/4 pounds chicken breast tenders, sliced on an angle into bite-size pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded, quartered and sliced
• 1 cup store-bought shredded carrots or 2 medium carrots, cut into matchsticks
• 6 scallions, cut on an angle into 2-inch pieces
• 1 cup snow peas (a couple of handfuls)

For the satay sauce:

• 4 rounded tablespoons chunky peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons Tamari (dark soy sauce)
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 1-inch piece of ginger root, peeled and minced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 orange, juiced

Garnish:

• 2 ounces chopped peanuts or nut topping (1/4 cup), available on the baking aisle
• 2-3 tablespoons cilantro leaves or flat leaf parsley, chopped, for garnish
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, chopped

Method:

1. Heat the water with the orange zest to boiling. Add the rice, return to a boil, then stir. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to simmer. Cook the rice until tender, about 18 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
2. For the stir fry, heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the chicken, garlic and onion and stir fry for 3 minutes. Add the remaining veggies and stir fry for 5 minutes more.
3. Heat all the ingredients for the sauce together in a small pot over low heat, stirring the sauce until all the ingredients are combined.
4. Transfer the stir fry to a large platter and pour the sauce evenly over the chicken and vegetables. Sprinkle the platter with the chopped nuts, cilantro and basil. Serve the jasmine rice in a separate dish using an ice cream scoop to serve the rice – it makes perfect, pretty, round portions of rice on the dinner plates.
5. Serves 6