Paducah is one of the most progressive towns in western Kentucky. But even though we have pretty cool restaurants and a lot of menu choices, the area lacks one main thing: Chinese delivery. When it’s a minimum of 10 minutes to the closest take-out place and temperatures are dropping after dark, sometimes it just seems like a better idea to stay home. So in the interest of keeping things easy, here is a quick way to make simple Chinese food in your own apartment.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 can of sliced water chestnuts

1 can of baby corn

1 can bean sprouts

2 cups of white rice

2 cups of water

5 tbspn. of olive oil

1 cup of teriyaki sauce

2 eggs

1 packet of Sun Bird fried rice

seasoning

SNbS

1. Rice: In a small pot, bring two cups of water to a boil. Add in two cups of rice. Stir. Let sit on heat, constantly stirring, for one minute. Then, remove from heat and cover with a lid.

2. Chicken: With a knife, slice chicken into cubes. Put 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a medium pan and put burner on high heat. Add chicken into pan, stiring with a spatula until each piece is white on all sides.

3. Vegetables: Add in water chestnuts, baby corn, bean sprouts, seasoning and 1⁄2 cup of teriyaki. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium and cover pan.

4. Frying: In a separate pan, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and put heat on high. Add rice, and stir fry. Use constant movement. Some rice will begin to turn golden brown, but continue to stir it. Once rice starts popping in the pan, lower heat.

5. Combine: Pour chicken, vegetables and teriyaki into the pan with the rice. Stir with spatula. Rice should turn brown. Add remaining teriyaki to the pan. Lower heat.

6. Egg: Rinse the pan that had the chicken and vegetables in it. Once pan is clean and dry, put on high heat and crack two eggs into the pan. Scramble, and make sure to chop the egg into pieces as you go. Add to pan with rice and mix.

7. Shut off burners and let rice cool, covered, for five minutes. Serve.

Do it yourself!

Total cost: $16.80

Total cooking time: 23 minutes.

Hints: Fried rice is very easily personalized. You can add or remove ingredients as you wish, and most of the Chinese-inspired vegetables are in the same section of the supermarket. For something a little more exotic, use shrimp instead of chicken.