Easy Japanese Garlic Fried Rice Recipe

Deliciously garlic flavor and packed with protein, what’s not to love about this Japanese garlic fried rice!

This Japanese Garlic Fried Rice (also known as Wafu style fried rice) is a perfect pre-workout meal, especially for those of you who don’t particularly enjoy protein shakes like me. It's full of delicious garlic flavor with chewy rice and juicy chicken -- a perfect combination.

How I Made This Low Calorie via the Fitsian Method

This recipe doesn't have any calorie bomb ingredients, but given the sheer variety of ingredients needed to make this dish, it's important to mindfully portion the higher calorie ingredients. Here are some the key portioning tips I made:

• Only used 1 serving of brown rice at about 160 calories
• Used 3oz Chicken thigh at about 140 calories
• Infused rice with dashi for a low calorie flavor boost
• Added 1 egg for a delicious creamy texture and additional protein

Tips and Tricks for Making the Fried Rice

Optimize the Texture and Flavor Of The Rice By Making Beforehand 

This recipe calls for 1 serving of brown rice, which is ¼ cup uncooked. You can also opt for other types of rice if you'd like. They key to optimizing the texture of the rice is to make it a day or two in advance and keeping it in the fridge overnight. Otherwise, the rice can be overly moist and soggy. You can also make bigger portions of rice to prep for various recipes throughout the week to save time.

Infuse The Rice With Dashi for a Flavor Boost

For a flavor boost you'll love, add in a sprinkle of dashi stock powder in the rice mixture before cooking. This will infused the rice with a delicious umami dashi flavor.

What Other Proteins Can I Use?

Shrimp, beef, or even doubling down on mushrooms can make this a delicious, hearty meal. This recipe is super versatile and would go well with any protein!

If you liked this recipe, check out the following:

• Top 10 Favorite Low Calorie Fried Rice Recipes for more healthy and low calorie fried rice recipe
• Protein Squared Recipes collection for more protein packed recipes
• 30 Healthy Japanese Recipes for more low calorie and high protein Japanese recipe ideas

Ingredients

Dashi Rice

• 1 serving Brown rice
• 1 teaspoon Dashi stock powder (for cooking rice)

Chicken and Marinade

• 4 oz Chicken thigh (skinless, boneless)
• Salt, pepper, and paprika (To season)

Fried Rice Stir Fry

• Cooking oil spray
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon Onions (Chopped)
• Sprinkle of corn
• 1-2 Mushrooms
• 1 teaspoon Soy Sauce
• 1 teaspoon Mirin
• 1 Egg
• 1 scallion (For garnish)

Putting It All Together

1. Make 1 serving of brown rice (¼ cup uncooked) with a sprinkle of dashi stock powder mixed in with the water used to make the rice. This boosts the flavor of the rice immensely.
2. Cut 1 chicken thigh into bite sized pieces and season with salt, pepper and paprika, mirin and soy sauce.
3. In a skillet, spray cooking oil and begin to sauté the minced garlic, onion, mushrooms, and corn for about 2-3 minutes.
4. When the vegetables and chicken are done cooking, mix in the rice and stir thoroughly. Once mixed through, crack in an egg and mix in with the rice.
5. Garnish with green onions and enjoy your Japanese garlic fried rice!