And a mixture of fish sauce, tamari, and a little sugar soaks right into the grains creating that so-loved umami flavor of fried rice. Cook, relax, and enjoy!

What you’ll need:
1 cup jasmine rice
2 Persian cucumbers
1 lime
2 large cloves garlic
1 small yellow onion
1½ oz fresh basil
1 long red chile
8 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 Tbsp tamari
1 Tbsp fish sauce
¼ tsp white pepper
sugar
coarse salt
vegetable or safflower oil

Equipment:
small saucepan
rimmed baking sheet
large skillet

Recipe steps:

1. Cook rice
   Place rice in a small saucepan and cover with cold water. Use your hands to swish around the grains, pour out cloudy water, and repeat until water runs clear. Add 1¼ cup water to saucepan, bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, and cover. Cook until rice is tender and water absorbed, about 15 minutes. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet to cool.

2. Make sweet-sour cucumber
   Thinly slice cucumber on the bias. To a medium bowl, add cucumber, 1 teaspoon sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, and juice from half of the lime. Toss well to combine and set aside.

3. Prep ingredients
   Peel and finely chop garlic and onion. Pick basil leaves from sprigs and thinly slice chile. Cut chicken into ½–1-inch pieces. Whisk tamari, fish sauce, 1 tablespoon water, and ½ teaspoon sugar in a small bowl until sugar is dissolved.

4. Cook chicken
   Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add garlic and onion and sauté until golden and fragrant, 2–3 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon oil to skillet then add chicken, season with salt, and sauté until cooked through and browned, 3–4 minutes.

5. Fry rice
   Return onions and garlic to skillet. Add rice, red chile (only as much as desired depending on heat preference), white pepper, and tamari sauce. Toss rice, scraping the bottom of the pan, until ingredients are combined, about 1 minute.

6. Serve
   Add basil (reserve a few leaves for garnish if desired) and toss until leaves are wilted, about 1 minute. Season to taste with salt. Cut remaining lime half into wedges. Serve fried rice with cucumbers and lime wedges for squeezing over. Enjoy!

See what else is cooking this week!