Stir-Fried Chicken and Crispy Rice Bowls
Published Sep 17, 2024
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If lots of texture is your jam, Stir-Fried Chicken and Crispy Rice Bowls need to be on your menu. Crispy rice (made in the oven, so hands off!), savory chicken, tons of fresh herbs, and plenty of sauce make these a favorite in my house, and hopefully they will be in yours.
Bowl meals have so much going for them. Prep the separate components ahead of time if you’re a meal prep sort of person. Or, if you’ve got different preferences in your household, just set everything out separately and have everyone build their own bowl just the way they like it.
What You’ll Love About these Bowls
- Gluten-free friendly
- Maximum crunch
- Totally customizable (see below)
- Packed with flavor
Variations
- Sub another protein for the chicken. Crumbled tofu, ground beef (use lean), or ground pork would all be great.
- Add other toppings. This is especially great if you’re setting everything out in DIY bowl style. Add sliced avocado, shelled edamame, chopped cashews or peanuts, or fried shallots / onions.
- Mix up the sauce. It’s key that this bowl is saucy, but what that sauce looks like is totally up to you. Grab a favorite store-bought sauce or set out a few options.
- Make it gluten-free. Just make sure your sauces are all gluten-free. Use gf tamari for soy sauce and check your gochujang sauce and Thai Chili sauce.
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How to Make Chicken and Crispy Rice Bowls
- Crisp up that rice. There are lots of ways to make crispy rice, but this recipe has you crisp it up hands-off in the oven. Stir in some oil and Gochujang sauce for flavor, spread the rice out on a sheet pan, and bake it, stirring occasionally, for 30-40 minutes at 400°F.
- Stir-Fry the chicken. Cook the chicken in a skillet or wok until cooked through. Add a simple stir-fry sauce and cook everything together until coated.
- Make bang bang sauce. This is just mayo mixed with Sweet Thai Chili Sauce and some extra Gochujang Sauce (optional, but just if you want some extra spice). This is the perfect creamy topping for the bowls.
- Slice some cucumbers.
- Set everything out and build your bowls!
More Asian-Inspired Bowl Ideas
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Stir-Fried Chicken and Crispy Rice Bowls
With crispy rice, savory stir-fried chicken, lots of fresh herbs, and a sweet and spicy bang bang sauce on top, these bowls have it all. Make all of the components separately and mix them together in a bowl when you’re ready to serve.
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Half Sheet Pan
- Parchment Paper
- Wok or Large Skillet
Ingredients
For the crispy rice:
- 4 cups cooked rice
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1-2 tablespoons Gochujang sauce (see note)
For the Stir-Fry Chicken:
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 pound ground chicken
For the bowls:
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons sweet Thai chili sauce
- 1 tablespoon Gochujang sauce (optional; just if you’d like a little more spice in the sauce)
- 3 cups loosely packed fresh herbs (such as cilantro, basil, green onions, mint)
- 8 ounces cucumber, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F / 204°C.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the rice, 3 tablespoons oil, and up to 2 tablespoons of Gochujang sauce. (Note: If you’re sensitive to spice, add a little at a time and taste as you go. Some of these are more spicy than others.) Stir everything together until the rice grains are evenly coated.
- Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper (you can skip this if your pan is nonstick) and spread the rice out on the pan.
- Bake the rice, stirring it every 15 minutes, until it is crispy, 30 to 40 minutes total. (Note: For textural contrast, I actually like some of the rice to still be tender while most of the grains are very crunchy, but you can go all the way to 40 minutes if you want lots of crunch.)
- While the rice cooks, in a large skillet or wok, heat 1 tablespoon of cooking oil over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook it, stirring often, until cooked through. While the chicken cooks, whisk together the water, soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, and cornstarch until smooth. Pour this sauce over the chicken and cook everything together until most of the sauce has been absorbed. Set the chicken aside.
- Whisk together the mayonnaise and Sweet Thai Chili Sauce. Taste it and add the 1 tablespoon of Gochujang sauce if you’d like a bit more spice.
- Assemble the bowls. Divide the herbs, chicken, crispy rice, and cucumbers between serving bowls. Drizzle them liberally with the mayo-Sweet Thai Chili Sauce.
- Serve immediately with a knife, fork, and spoon. I like to slice everything up together and then eat it with a spoon.
Notes
Gochujang sauce – Make sure that you use Gochujang sauce which is a mix of ingredients, not the spicier more concentrated “Gochujang paste”.
Variations: – If you want these to be a bit more hearty, try adding a fried egg on top, chopped peanuts, or crispy shallots or onions.
Nutrition
Calories: 728kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 21g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 446mg | Potassium: 556mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 5154IU | Vitamin C: 84mg | Calcium: 120mg | Iron: 4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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