This is an easy low calorie chicken stir fry recipe with red rice, beans and crunchy peanuts. A nutritious high protein power bowl with lots of flavor and essential nutrients!
About the recipe
Succulent stir-fried chicken cubes with red rice, a simple soy sauce seasoning and crunchy peanuts can never go wrong. In this easy protein bowl recipe, the combination of red rice, adzuki beans, and vegetables like purple cabbage and carrots transform lean protein like chicken breast into a wholesome meal that is delicious and healthy.
Reasons you’ll love this low calorie chicken stir fry
The red color in food is almost always appetizing. Also, the anthocyanins in red and purple-colored foods are responsible for their antioxidant properties, in addition to being powerhouses of vitamins and minerals. Add to that a lean protein like chicken, and you get a completely balanced meal in a bowl.
This stir-fried chicken recipe is one of my favorites since it is nutty, crunchy and meaty all at the same time. It is a perfect power bowl recipe providing protein, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins and minerals and antioxidants.
Also, I love this chicken red rice recipe because it is very simple to cook and the ratio of nutritional value to effort is quite high. Exactly like better-than-takeout sesame chicken!
Ingredients
Protein: Chicken breast chopped into bite-sized pieces. You may want to use this hack to tenderize the chicken before stir-frying. It is the velvetting chicken technique I use in recipes like panko chicken breasts.
Red rice: I’ve used jasmine red rice here, but any kind of red or brown rice can be used.
Beans: Any type of beans can be used here: black beans, kidney beans, white beans or chickpeas. I’ve used adzuki beans that are smaller than the better-known kidney beans and take less time to cook. They can be replaced with kidney beans if you have the luxury of time, or just use the canned version.
Vegetables: If purple cabbage is unavailable, you can use regular cabbage but again, visually it won’t have as much of an impact. Also, the purple one has a nice crunch to it and added health benefits too, so it’s worth hunting for it. Also, if you can get hold of purple carrots, nothing like it. More purple, more goodness!
Low sodium soy sauce: Use dark soy sauce if you like more of the soy flavor. Did you know that dark soy sauce has more flavor but less salt when compared to the same amount of light soy sauce? Well, now you know!
Other flavoring ingredients include scallion, red chilies, soy sauce and peanut oil.
Finally, roasted and chopped peanuts to top it off for the crunch and more protein.
How to cook stir fried chicken and red rice
(You can find the exact measurements and instructions in the printable recipe card at the end of this page.)
The stir-frying technique requires you to keep all the ingredients ready before lighting the stovetop. No scrambling around the kitchen with the stove on (that’s me, most of the time). This stir-fried chicken recipe made me realize the benefits of being well organized!
Cook the red rice and adzuki beans separately as per package instructions. You can find step-by-step INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO COOK AND PREP RED RICE here.
Heat the peanut oil in a wok or a deep pan on medium-high flame and add the white part of the scallion, chili pepper and chopped chicken pieces one-by-one in the same order and stir-fry until all the chicken pieces turn white.
Now add the purple cabbage, red rice, beans and soy sauce stir-frying for a couple of minutes after adding each. Finally, add the grated carrots and scallion greens and stir for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let it stand for a few minutes for the flavors to blend. Transfer to a serving platter and don’t forget to sprinkle roasted peanuts before enjoying your low calorie chicken stir fry.
This stir-fried chicken with red rice tastes amazing as a complete meal on its own. You can also add more flavor and nutrition by serving it with a side like honey garlic tofu or bok choy tofu stir fry.
The vegetarian stir-fried red rice with Thai flavors is yet another simple recipe with red rice you’ll love. Love white rice, but don’t want to feel guilty? Try this pomegranate curd rice.
Other easy chicken recipes you’ll love
- marinated sesame chicken stir fry
- 5 ingredient easy chicken curry
- lemon coriander chicken
- lemon balsamic chicken with rosemary sauce
- keto cauliflower rice biryani with chicken
- chicken keema kababs
- Chicken mince curry.
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Low Calorie Chicken Stir fry Recipe with Red Rice
Ingredients
- 500 grams chicken breast
- 1/2 cup red rice
- 1/2 cup adzuki beans dry
- 1/4 cup shredded purple cabbage
- 1 grated carrot
- 1/4 cup finely chopped white part of scallion
- 1/4 cup finely chopped scallion greens
- 2 bird's eye red chilies deseeded and minced
- 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp peanut oil
- 2 tbsp roasted and chopped peanuts
- pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
- Cook the red rice and adzuki beans separately as per package instructions. Spread out the cooked rice and beans on a plate or tray and let it cool.
- Chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Heat the peanut oil in a wok or a deep pan, keep the flame at medium-high and stir-fry the white bits of chopped scallion and red chili pepper.
- After a couple of minutes, add the chicken and stir-fry for 10 minutes until all the pieces are slighly browned.
- Next add the purple cabbage, stir-fry for 5 minutes, then add the rice, beans, soy sauce, salt and pepper and stir for 5 minutes until blended well.
- Finally stir in the grated carrots and scallion greens, stir for 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let it stand for 10 minutes for the flavors to blend. Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with roasted and chopped peanuts and scallion greens.
Notes
- The stir-frying technique requires you to keep all the ingredients ready before lighting the stove.
- You can find step-by-step instructions to cook and prepare red rice in the recipe for red fried rice with Thai flavors.
- Canned adzuki beans or kidney beans can be used instead of dried ones.
- If purple cabbage is unavailable, you can use regular cabbage. But the red cabbage has a nice crunch to it, so it’s worth hunting.
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