Food

[pecunium]

Dinner: The last of the stock from the roast chicken was used tonight. Dark brown and gelid, mixed 50/50 with water to make broth. Pulverised oyster mushroom, torn nori (the local market had neither donburi, which I wanted, nor wakame, so we made do... the soup smells like makizushi).

Boil for a while and then brown some sliced chicken breast... toss in some sesame oil when you toss the meat, deglaze with a little water (I ought to have reserved some broth, but I wasn't thinking).

A dash of fish-sauce and a dimes worth of somen.

Serve with beer, or sake.

Maia will probably take milk with hers.

Comments

[don-fitch.livejournal.com]

It's good to find someone who recognizes the importance of roasting chicken -- even friers if roasting hens are not readily available or are too expensive. Being on a low-fat/cholesterol diet (*sigh*) and cooking for one, I usually roast one or two cheap friers, reserve the breast meat for eating various ways, and simmer the remainder for a few hours in just enough water to cover. The pieces of boiled meat large enough to de-bone are suitable for feeding to the neighborhood cats, or (as a rare & special treat) to my pet rats. Mind you, I generally do the roasting in the microwave, which is not ideal, but I've decided that life is too short to eat boiled chicken from choice, and am fortunate enough to be able to afford another option. Do you have any special advice for handling black-skinned "Silky" chickens (not terribly expensive, with feet attached, at the local Asian Supermarket)?

[pecunium.livejournal.com]

Nothing your cardiologist would like.

I tend to like stuffing the bird. Onions, some spices (rosemary is good, sage, fennel, dill) are all good. A coating of oil [and a browning element in the microwave](because I doubt putting butter between the skin and breast is going to be well thought of) will get crispier skin. You can dust with paprika if you like.

The feet are wonderful. Boiled they give the thick, and tasty base for those chinese sauces based on chicken. No meat, but lots of flavor. Added to a stock they are a way to make it smoother, and with a richer feel, without adding fat, because it's the cartilage being gelatinised which makes it thick, and with much less reduction.

TK

[don-fitch.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the suggestion -- I'll get a pound or so of chicken feet next trip to the Hong Kong Supermarket and do some experimenting. Certainly, using beef joint-bones in the stock made for adding to pot-roast makes for an even-more-tasty (flour-thickened) gravy. Which I did yesterday & today -- Autumn isn't _quite_ here yet, but there's enough of it in the air to motivate fixing a pot-roast. Well... that and 7-bone roast on sale at 99 cents per pound (and the relatively heart-friendly kind, not marbled with fat, at that). Hot out of the (cast-iron) kettle this evening, warmed-up tomorrow, sliced-beef sandwich the next day, then hash for a meal or so, and gravy on toast -- practically fixed for a whole week at a total cost of about ten dollars.
And thanks, also, for the Colecannon recipe which I'll probably try Real Soon Now despite the greater ease of just stirring some sauerkraut into mashed (maybe instant) potatoes.