Cilantro Rice Cakes

I almost passed by this recipe since it sounded so simple.  Simply combining freshly cooked brown rice with chopped cilantro, forming it into cakes and sauteeing in olive oil.  I was absolutely amazed at how the rice was transformed by this process.  We have been eating a lot of brown rice lately since we are avoiding anything containing gluten, so this recipe offered up a nice little change.  The cilantro is a strong flavor, which we happen to love.  If you are not a cilantro fan, you can just substitute parsley.  The light crunch on the outside of these cakes added a nice texture change.

I served these with a chicken stir fry containing chicken, red and green pepper strips, onion slices and broccoli florets.  I used olive oil for stir fry and finished it with arrowroot dissolved in coconut aminos.  Everything went together really well.

By the way, our dairy addition for today was our usual shake for breakfast made with kefir instead of coconut milk.

Cilantro Rice Cakes
Makes 4 servings (8 cakes total)

1 cup brown rice
1 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cups water
salt
1/2 cup cilantro, washed and chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil

Bring the chicken broth and water to a boil, then add the rice, lower the heat and cover.  Cook them until the grains get very soft and burst, adding water as needed. At the end of their cooking time, stir in the chopped cilantro. Give the rice a vigorous stir and you’ll start to tell when it’s all sticking together that it’s ready to be shaped into cakes.

Shape the rice cakes easily by pressing the cilantro rice into a quarter cup measure and tapping the bottom of it so they fall out in the right shape. Heat the oil over medium heat and cook them in batches. Fry them for just a few minutes on each side, until golden brown.

While the rice was cooking, I prepared all the components for the stir fry.

Chicken Stir Fry
Makes 2-3 servings

2 chicken breast halves, sliced thinly
1/2 onion, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1/2 green pepper, sliced
Broccoli florets
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons coconut aminos
1/2 teaspoon arrowroot

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat.  Add chicken and stir fry until just barely cooked through.  Remove chicken, heat additional tablespoon oil and add vegetables, stirring frequently until vegetables are crisp-tender.  Dissolve arrowroot in coconut aminos and set aside.  Return the chicken to the skillet, stir in the coconut amino mixture and stir for a minute or so.

 
Slightly adapted from Fledgling Foodie

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