Garlic Fried Brown Rice w/ Chicken

I'll be honest here: fried rice is not my favorite dish.  It just seems that despite adding vegetables, sauces, and texture via frying, it doesn't pack a whole lot more flavor than regular steamed rice.

That's why if I'm going to have fried rice, it better have an element to it that really gives it a punch of flavor.  Kimchi fried rice, for example, achieves a tangy and spicy twist on the original that makes it far more interesting.

Garlic fried rice is another variation that can really elevate the dish beyond its plain origins, but if you promise garlic, you really need to deliver on that flavor.  I had my first really satisfying version of this dish several years ago at the now-defunct Buddha's Belly in Santa Monica.  Not only was the rice infused with a thoroughly garlicky flavor, but it also had whole cloves, softened to sweet perfection, that really drove the garlic theme home.

That was the inspiration I went with when creating this dish.  It'll use about a whole head of garlic, but you can feel free to keep the smaller pieces whole and chop up the big ones - while I like having some whole cloves in there, you don't want the flavor to be overwhelming, especially if they're so big that they don't cook through and soften up.  Frozen peas and carrots are the perfect size and shape for a dish like this, and dark soy sauce adds some great color (but a little goes a long way, so be careful).  Serve with chili sauce to add another dimension to the dish.

Garlic Fried Brown Rice w/ Chicken:
1 chicken breast, diced
2 green onions, white and green parts separated and sliced
1 cup frozen peas and carrots, defrosted
2 eggs
1 cup dried brown rice, prepared
10 cloves garlic, peeled and trimmed (keep whole)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp mirin
1 tbsp sesame oil

Steam brown rice in pot or rice steamer.  When done, leave uncovered while you prepare the other ingredients - it's best if it gets a little dried out.

Heat a small nonstick pan over medium-low heat.  Beat eggs together in a bowl, and add to pan.  Allow eggs to coat bottom of pan and solidify a little before touching - we want them to be similar to a thin pancake.  Do your best to flip them when the bottom is solid (it's okay if they break up a little bit here as we will be breaking them up later anyway).

Heat a wok or large frying pan over high heat.  When wok starts to smoke, add sesame oil to coat, then add whole garlic, minced garlic, and green onion.  Fry for  10-20 seconds, until garlic is fragrant and starts to turn brown.  Add chicken and stir fry until browned, 2-3 min.

Add vegetables and stir until they begin to soften.  Add rice and stir until rice begins to stick to pan and form crispy edges.  Add egg, both soy sauces, and mirin, and mix thoroughly.  Cook for additional 1-2 minutes, then serve immediately.