Nutrition Tip: Korean BBQ Inspired Rice Bowls

A quick, easy, and flavorful meal that will fuel performance

As a member of the ISSN, I can't stress enough the fact that proper fuel is a key to performance. Not to be cliche, but there's a reason you can't put regular gas in a Ferrari. However, often times people think that healthy and nutritious food has to be bland and boring. Plain grilled chicken, rice, and lame steamed veggies is not what eating fro fuel is. Eating well can and should be flavorful and fun.

These Korean BBQ chicken rice bowls are a favorite of mine due to how nutritious, flavorful and easier they are. The ingredient listed made 4 bowls, prep time is about 10-15 minutes and cook time is about 10 minutes. They are also easy to meal prep. Add a portion to an air tight container and put the cabbage, carrot, and cucumber in a separate container or plastic bag. Heat up the chicken and rice in the microwave and then add the vegetables on top as you normally would.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups soy sauce

• 1/2 cups citrus juice (orange or lemon juice)

• 1/4 cup maple syrup

• 2 tbsp sesame oil

• 3-4 tbsp minced garlic

• Red chili flakes (amount depends on spice preference)

• Black pepper

• 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs

• 1/2 a large cucumber

• Shredded cabbage

• Shredded carrot

*can use cole slaw mix as a substitute

• 4 cups white rice

• Sriracha sauce

Instructions

Marinade

1. In a large bowl add the soy sauce, citrus juice, maple syrup, sesame oil, minced garlic, red chili flakes, and ground black pepper. Mix. The amounts do not need to be exact and are rough estimates so if you think you need/ want more citrus for example, add a splash.

2. After trimming off excess fat from the chicken thighs, add them to the bowl. Mix and cover for 30 minutes to overnight. The longer the better.

Prep

1. Take your cucumber and cut it into 2-3 inch cylinders. Then get each cylinder in half length wise and julienne the cucumber (cut it into thin strips). This is probably not the proper way to julienne a cucumber, but I'm a strength coach and sport nutritionist, not Gordon Ramsay

2. If your cabbage and carrots are not pre-shredded, do that now. I would recommend buying already shredded carrots and cabbage to save time and effort.

Cooking

1. Add the package recommended amount of water to a pot and bring it to a simmer/light boil for the rice. Wash the rice and add it to the pot once it has reached the simmer. Cook as long as the package suggests or until it has absorbed all the water and is fluffy yet firm.

2. The chicken and rice can cook at the same time. Preheat the grill and set it to medium-high heat. Once the grill has reached temp, place the chicken on the grill. Try to move it as little as possible in order to get good charring and grill marks. The meat will release itself from the grates once the side is finished cooking. when this happens flip it. Keep an eye on them as every thigh varies in size and will cook at different speeds. Each thigh should take 3-5 minutes per sides to cook. Use a meat thermometer to make sure your chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Dice chicken when finished cooking.

Assembly

1. In a bowl, add 2 cups of cooked rice

2. Add 2 cut up thighs worth of chicken to one side of the bowl. On the other side place the cabbage and shredded carrot in one corner and the cucumber in the other.

3. Drizzle with sriracha and enjoy.

Macros

Each bowl is about 700 calories and contains about 85g of carbs, 35-40g of protein, and about 20g of fat. They make for a quick and easy nutritious lunch or dinner.