The Peruvian Aji sauce is something that I enjoy making in large batches. I introduced it on my page in my Peruvian ceviche recipe and now I am using up more of it in this recipe! If you like a little spicy kick to your food, you are going to want to add this recipe to your meal plan. Join me in making this Aji Chicken with Broccoli and Rice dish, a classic with a Peruvian kick! This recipe is great any night of the week, but you are going to want to make extra as this is a great meal prep recipe. Additionally if you are counting macros I am sure you can tell, this will be an easy recipe to adjust to fit your goals!
Aji Chicken with Broccoli and Rice
Ingredients
Aji Verde Sauce (Peruvian Green Sauce)
- 60 g Jalapenos (about 2 peppers)
- 4 oz Ricotta Cheese (about ½ cup)
- 15 g Fresh Garlic (about 3 coves)
- 1 tsp White Wine Vinegar
- 2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Lime juiced
- 90 g Mayo, Olive Oil (about ¾ peppers)
- 2 tbsp Cilantro
Chicken with Broccoli and Rice
- 16 oz Water (about 2 cups)
- 180 g Jasmine Rice (about 1 cup)
- 24 oz Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Breast (about 3 large breasts)
- ¼ tsp Black Pepper
- ¼ tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 315 g Broccoli cut to smaller bite sized pieces, (about 1 head)
- ½ tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 30 g Red Onion shaved, (about ¼ onion)
- ½ tsp White Sesame Seed
- ¼ tsp Red Pepper Flake
Instructions
Aji Verde Sauce (Peruvian Green Sauce)
- Combine all above ingredients into a blender.
- Turn your blender on, starting at the lowest setting for 20 seconds, then every 20 seconds increase the speed on the blender to the next setting. Working your way to high. Blend until all ingredients are evenly incorporated and there are no longer large chuncks of cilantro.
- Check the sauce for taste, adding:• More jalapenos if you would like it a little spicier• More ricotta if it is a little too spoicy
- Place in the refridgerator for a minimum of 30 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken. The sauce will continue to develope flavor as it sits in the fridge. The sauce will keep in the fidge for 7-10 days.
Chicken with Broccoli and Rice
- Cook the rice by: Bringing 2 cup of water to boil. Once the water is boiling, add the rice, cover with a lid, and turn heat down to low. Simmer for 20 minutes then remove from heat. Keep covered for an additional 10 minutes.
- While the rice is cooking heat a large stove top pan to medium heat, while the pan is heating season the chicken breast on both sides, using black pepper and garlic powder. Once the pan is hot, add the extra virgin olive oil to the pan.
- Place the chicken immediately in the pan, leave it there on medium heat for 2 minutes, then flip to the other side and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Both sides should start to become golden brown, but the center will still look uncooked…if not golden, give each side another minute…your pan wasn’t hot enough. Then turn the heat to low and cover the chicken with a lid. Let it cook for about’ 8‘ minutes, then flip and cover again for additional’ 8‘ minutes.
- After’ 8‘ minutes on each side covered, the chicken should be done. But this does depend on the size of the chicken breast…these times are based on a’ 8‘ oz breast.My rule of thumb is, once covered, cook the chicken for 1 minute per ounce per side. I find that this deliveres a perfect juicy chicken breast every time.It is always best to check the internal temperature of chicken before serving.
- While the chicken is cooking work on your broccoli. Heat a medium sauce pot with about 1 inch of water at the bottom, to a boil. Place steamer basket in the sauce pot, making sure water level is below the bottom of the basket. Put the broccoli into of the steamer basket, cover with the lid and cook for 8 minutes. Once done, the broccoli should still have a little crisp to it. Drain the water and remove the steamer basket. Add the butter to the pot and toss the broccoli in the butter until the butter is mealted and covering the broccoli.
- Once the chicken is done cooking remove it from the pan. Using a knife and fork shred the chicken. Clean the juices from the pan the chicken was cooked in and add the chicken back in the pan, with ½ cup of Aji sauce. Toss the chicken in the sauce and cover with a lid, on low heat while you wait for the broccoli and rice to finish cooking.
- Once the rice is done plate your rice, topping with your steamed/buttered broccoli. Then add your aji chicken to the plate. Garnish with a few shavings of red onion, and season with sesame seed and red pepper flake.
- Serve and Enjoy! Or, portion out into your meal prep containers.
Nutrition
QUESTION:
- Are you trying to get better at meal planning?
- Do you find yourself eating the same recipes every few weeks?
- Are you having trouble finding recipes for meal prep?
- Or are you counting macros?
If you are bored of eating the same recipes every week and answered yes to any of these question, then you are going to want to check out my notes below. Tips on how you can incorporate this Aji Chicken with Broccoli and Rice recipe into your meal plan and meal prep. If you are counting macros I have also included notes on how you can easily adjust the protein, carbs, and fats to meet your macro requirements.
NOTES FOR MEAL PLANNING:
Meal planning doesn’t have to be hard or take a lot of time. In fact, meal planning can be fun when you are provided with easy new recipes each week. Meal Planning can also help save money, prevent food waste, and save you time.
The best things about this recipe is: it adds a little spice to your life, tastes phenomenal reheated, and can be adjusted to fit just about any macro goals.
NOTES FOR MEAL PREP:
When meal prepping recipes it is important to think about the best way to store and reheat your finished meals:
FRIDGE STORAGE:
Storing this Aji Chicken with Broccoli and Rice in the fridge will last 5-7 days.
There are a few ways you can choose to store this recipe in your fridge:
- You can store as one large meal or as individual servings. I always prefer individual servings. This allows me to only reheat the number of servings that will be eaten.
- However, if you know you will eat the entire recipe when it is time to be reheated, go ahead and store it as one large serving.
For fridge storage you can use zip lock bags, plastic containers, or glass food containers. I prefer to use glass container, as this allows me to reheat and eat the recipe right out of the same container. Which in turn saves me time, dirty dishes, and makes clean up easier. It also save on waste: either tossing out the used zip lock bags, or eventually having to replace the plastic containers.
Be sure to allow the recipe to cool completely before closing the container or placing in the fridge. If you close the container or place the recipe in the fridge before it has cooled you could have built up condensation within your container, thus watering down the recipe.
TIPS FOR RE-HEATING AFTER BEING IN THE FRIDGE:
- If reheating as an individual serving, loosely cover the dish with the lid or a damp paper towel. The lid or paper towel will help trap in the moisture of the recipe. Microwave for 90-120 seconds, stirring half way thru.
- If reheating as a one large meal, I recommend reheating on the stove, in a large pan, at medium low heat. Stir everything together so that the aji sauce is mixed in with all of the ingredients, and not just the chicken. Cook for 5-7 minutes until the recipe is warmed thru. This will ensure the best flavor, consistency, and really bring the recipe back to life.
- However, you can also microwave the entire recipe, this will take about the same time as the stove top, and might dry the recipe out a little. Microwave for 5-7 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
FREEZER STORAGE:
I am not a big fan of cooked rice going into the freezer, I find that it never really re-heats the way that you want it to, unless it is covered in sauce.
For this recipe I do not recommend freezing, in doing so your would need to use a lot of the Aji sauce, which could make the dish extremely spicy.
NOTES FOR COUNTING MACROS:
PROTEIN:
The majority of the protein in this Aji Chicken with Broccoli and Rice comes from the chicken. You can easily adjust the amount of chicken without changing the flavor of this recipe too much.
- For every 1 ounce of chicken you can increase or decrease the protein macro by 8.8 grams.
So go ahead, add as much or as little protein as you would like to this recipe.
CARBOHYDRATE:
Rice is the main source of carbohydrate in this recipe. Adjusting the amount of rice either increases or decreases the amount of carbs.
- For every 1/4 cup (45g) of jasmine rice you increase or decrease the carbs by 36 grams.
This Aji Chicken with Broccoli and Rice has a well balanced portion of fat. Having 10.4 grams of fat per serving.
However, if you are looking to increase or decrease the amount of fat in this recipe the easiest way would be to adjust the amount of the Peruvian Aji Sauce used.
- For every 1 tablespoon of of Aji there is 2.6 grams of fat. This recipe has a total of 8 tablespoons: 20.8 grams of fat, 5.2 grams per serving.
You could remove the Aji altogether making this a classic chicken with broccoli and rice dish. Or you could increase the amount of Aji, adding more overtop of the entire recipe. This sauce is so good, you will love to have it mixed in with the rice and broccoli.
Incorporate additional fat however you see fit!
When making adjustments to the macros in this Aji Chicken with Broccoli and Rice recipe, you will want to keep in mind the number of servings you are making.
Looking for another Peruvian inspired recipe to use up more of that Aji Sauce?
Check out my Peruvian Red Snapper Ceviche