Red Kale and Sweet Potato Rice Bowls with BBQ Chicken
Try this Red Kale and Sweet Potato Rice Bowls with BBQ Chicken recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Red Kale and Sweet Potato Rice Bowls with BBQ Chicken recipe, or contribute your own.
- 2 garlic cloves
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 1 large red onion
- 3 boneless chicken breasts (or thighs if you like darker meat) – don’t use thinly sliced
- 1 cup tessemae’s bbq sauce
- 2 ripe avocados
- 1 large bunch of kale
- 1/2 up low sodium chicken broth
- Carbohydrate 23.70845625 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 18.01485 g
- Fiber 8.90118730194867 g
- Protein 3.2914 g
- Saturated Fat 2.594973 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (191g)
- Sodium 63.1796432291667 mg
- Sugar 14.8072689480513 g
- Trans Fat 1.040793 g
- Calories 254 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle half of the olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet and spread around with a brush to coat the surface of the pan, where the chicken will be placed.
- Place the chicken thighs (or breasts) skin down on the pan and roast for 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and brush the BBQ sauce all over the tops of the chicken. Using a spatula, carefully flip the chicken (careful not to tear the skin) and then brush the sauce over the other side. Bake for 7 more minutes and then remove from the oven again, brush with more sauce and then bake another 7 minutes.
- While the chicken cooks: peel and spiralize the sweet potato, using Blade C. Place the noodles into a food processor and pulse until rice-like and set aside. Then, cube the insides of the avocados. Then, thinly slice the onions. Then, mince the garlic. Then, chop the kale into at least 4 cups.
- Remove from the oven again, brush with more sauce and then increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees. Roast for another 5 minutes or until sauce beings to brown around the edges and chicken is cooked through (no longer pink on the inside.) Remove the chicken from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes and then slice into ½â€ strips.
- Once you remove the chicken for the final time, place a large skillet over medium heat and add in the rest of the olive oil. Once oil heats, add in the onions and let cook 2-3 minutes or until translucent. Then, add in the garlic and let cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Then, add in the sweet potato rice and broth. Let cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes and then add in the kale, season with salt and pepper and cook another 5 minutes, or until kale is wilted and sweet potato rice is cooked and softened but not mushy (taste test occasionally.) Stir in the avocado and let cook for about 2 minutes or until heated through.
- Divide the rice into bowls and top with BBQ chicken slices.
Starchy root vegetables require precise moisture management during thermal processing or they turn into a dense puree. Sweet potato noodles pulsed into a rice-like texture contain enough internal moisture to steam themselves when confined in a hot skillet with chicken broth. Cooking this vegetable base over medium heat for precisely two to three minutes activates the natural starches just enough to soften the cell walls without collapsing the grain structure entirely.
Small kitchens demand efficient workflow management, particularly when combining roasted proteins with pan-sautéed grains and greens. Roasting the chicken breasts or thighs at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for the initial twenty-five minutes renders the exterior fat down before any sugary barbecue sauce is applied. Brushing the sauce on gradually prevents the sugars from scorching under high dry heat. Allowing the cooked meat to rest undisturbed for five minutes permits the muscle fibers to relax and reabsorb moisture before slicing.
Freezing components with high water content requires intentional separation to prevent structural degradation upon thawing. Avocado cubes and fresh red kale do not survive the freezing process well due to cellular rupture from ice crystal formation. Separate the cooked sweet potato rice and the roasted barbecue chicken into airtight glass containers for refrigeration up to four days. Add freshly diced avocado and raw red kale at the final assembly stage just before serving to preserve optimal texture and color.
