Honey Garlic Chicken with Broccoli and Brown Rice

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup brown rice
• 100 g brown rice
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 70 g frozen peas
• 1 broccoli
• 2 chicken breasts
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• olive oil
• black pepper
• paprika

Method

Dissolve honey and soy sauce together in a small bowl before you start cooking — this prevents the soy from spattering and lets the honey distribute evenly through the glaze once the chicken hits the pan. The pan-frying technique here is straightforward: get your oil smoking hot, then add cubed chicken breast and leave it undisturbed for the first two minutes. This creates a soy-sauce caramelised crust through the Maillard reaction; moving it around early just steams the surface. After those two minutes, stir once, then add your minced garlic and the honey-soy mixture. Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes — the glaze will thicken and cling to the chicken. You know it's done when the surface looks lacquered and a piece of chicken, when cut through the thickest part, shows no translucent meat at the bone.

While the chicken's cooking in those first two minutes, get water boiling in a separate pot. Steam your broccoli florets directly over the boiling water for 4 minutes until the stems are just tender and the florets still have a faint squeakiness when you bite them — oversteaming turns them sulphurous and grey. Meanwhile, cook your brown rice in salted water according to the packet instructions, usually 30 to 40 minutes at a bare simmer. Brown rice requires more water and time than white because the bran layer takes longer to soften.

In the final minute before plating, stir the frozen peas directly into the hot brown rice off the heat. They'll thaw in the residual warmth without turning mushy. Now combine the rice and peas with the glossy chicken in a bowl, pile the steamed broccoli on top, and crack black pepper across everything. The high-protein combination of chicken breast and brown rice holds you through the afternoon; the honey cuts the salt from the soy and keeps the glaze from becoming one-dimensional. This isn't a one-pot meal — separate cooking keeps the broccoli crisp and the rice fluffy instead of absorbing all the chicken's juices.