Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Recipe: White Cut Chicken (Bak Chit Gai) 白切雞






My Chinese grandmother used to make this for Saturday Night family dinners along with Soy Sauce Chicken. White cut chicken is a dish where the whole chicken is gently poached in a flavored liquid so that the end result is a moist and tender chicken. The chicken is served with a ginger scallion dipping sauce and white rice.

I went to Costco today and bought chicken (89¢/pound), Chinatown to buy scallions (3 for $1) and ginger. I always have a bottle of Kadoya Brand dark sesame oil in the pantry as well as rice so I didn't have to spend much for a dinner serving four.

You can find several recipes on the internet but I like this one adapted from The Wisdom Of The Chinese Kitchen by Grace Young. I personally like to use a sharp chef's knife to finely slice the scallions and finely mince the ginger to give a smoother sauce. I suppose you can use a mini food processor to do the job but the taste/texture will be slightly different.

I make the rice while the chicken is cooling during the 20 minutes.

Ingredients

One 3-4 pound chicken
5 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 thumb sized piece of ginger
4 cloves of garlic (peeled)
4 quarts ice water

1 tablespoon sesame oil

3 tablespoons finely shredded green onions (scallions)
3 tablespoons finely shredded ginger
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions

  • Remove any fat pockets from the chicken. Rub chicken with 2 teaspoons kosher salt. Rinse the chicken under cold water and allow to drain on a rack.
  • In a pot large enough to hold the chicken, bring 3 quarts cold water, ginger garlic, and 2 teaspoons salt to a boil over high heat covered. Careful add the chicken, breast side up, adding more boiling water if necessary to completely cover the chicken. Return to a rolling boil and boil vigorously over high heat, uncovered, for 5 minutes, removing any scum that rises to the surface. Cover pot and let sit off heat for 20 minutes.
  • Uncover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. When the broth returns to a rolling boil, boil vigorously uncovered for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Using two heavy spoons, carefully transfer the chicken to a colander in the sink (the chicken should register 170 degrees when tested with a meat thermometer at the meatiest part of the thigh, but not touching the bone. If not, return to the pot and simmer several more minutes). Slowly pour ice water over the chicken in the colander. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Rub the warm chicken with the sesame oil. Allow chicken to cool slightly before using a meat cleaver to chop it into bite sized pieces, reserving any chicken juices (or disjoint into serving pieces). Reserve the chicken broth for making soups.
  • Place the scallions, ginger, and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt into a small heatproof dish. In a small skillet, heat the vegetable oil until hot but not smoking. Carefully pour the hot oil over the scallions and ginger. The oil will make a crackling noise as it hits the scallions and ginger. Serve chicken warm or room temperature with the scallion-ginger sauce.
Serves 4 to 6.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Great food prices at Costco

I'm thankful for the Costcos that are in Queens and Brooklyn and now there's one opening in Manhattan! You have to be a member to shop there since it is a bulk warehouse but joining is a pretty easy process. The prices are phenomenal and most times are much cheaper than if you bought the same item in the supermarket!

Whole chickens are sold at 89¢ per pound and in pairs so you can buy two chickens packaged together for about $7. I like to roast one and make the other into chicken soup or cut them both into pieces and use them that way. It's MUCH cheaper to cut them up yourself than buying them already cut for you. I believe everyone should learn knife skills since you can not always rely on someone else cutting up the Thanksgiving turkey! I have a video posted here to show you how to cut up a whole chicken.

Bananas are $1.32 for a 3 pound bag which is a bargain when you consider that in the supermarkets they usually go for $1.99/pound or 25¢ each at the street vendors. A 3 pound bag usually has about 7-9 bananas depending on the size.

Frozen fruits and berries are sold in big resealable bags which is great to have in the freezer to make smoothies and to have when fresh is out of season. They range about $8 for a 4-6 pound bag.

Milk and eggs here are at prices that would stun you! A package of 18 large eggs is $2.59. At supermarkets a dozen is about that price.

If you are lucky to have a Costco in your neighborhood or city, join. They come in handy when you are having a large family gathering or having to feed a large group and there isn't a Walmart around.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Recipe: Broccoli Cheddar Quiche


I like to use deep dish frozen pie crusts when baking quiches. I can be sure that I won't have overflow or spillage when baking them. Since the custard base for the quiche is practically enough for two quiches, I make this one with the spinach feta, putting the vegetables in the crusts and then pouring the quiche custard over portioning it for both pie crusts.



Ingredients
  • 1 10 ounce package of frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
  • 1 medium chopped onion
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 4 eggs beaten
  • 2 cups half & half
  • 4 ounces cheddar cheese shredded (use can use packaged shredded cheese if you wish)
  • 1 frozen deep dish pie crust
Directions

1. Saute broccoli and onion in a pan with the butter until onions are tender. Set a side to cool.

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the eggs, half & half, salt & pepper.

3. Place vegetables on the bottom of the crust. Pour into the frozen pie crust just to the top ( you might have some quiche mixture left over which you can make into an omelet to preview the taste). Top with the shredded cheddar cheese.

4. Bake in the oven at 350° for 30- 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out dry. Cool for 10 minutes before serving. You can also eat this at room temperature.

I like to serve this with a small salad for lunch or a light supper.

Serves 6-8 people.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Recipe: Banana Berry Smoothie



At my local supermarkets this week, bananas are 50¢ a pound, yogurt is $1.99 a 32 oz. container and orange juice is $2.50 a half gallon. Since I always keep a bag of frozen strawberries and blue berries in my freezer, I can make a refreshing fruit smoothie for much less than it costs at a store!






Banana Berry Smoothie

Ingredients

1 banana
1 cup (6-8oz.) vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup orange juice (you can also use soy milk or skim milk)
1/2 cup frozen wild blueberries
1 1/2 cup frozen strawberries

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Makes about 4 cups (depending on the size of the banana and strawberries)

Friday, May 8, 2009

Recipe: Chicken Tostada

Cinco de Mayo has passed but you still have limes, salsa, refried beans, flour tortillas and sour cream in the refrigerator. What to do?

Here's a simple recipe for Chicken Tostadas that I learned when I first moved into the big city.
A grill pan would be handy to grill the chicken (or you can use a George Forman Grill) but a skillet will do just nicely.


Ingredients

2 chicken breasts
2 flour tortillas
1 can refried beans

For Marinade:
Juice of two limes
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon oregano
pinch of chili powder

For Dressing:
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup sour cream

  1. Whisk together marinade ingredients in a medium bowl.
  2. In a smaller bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients.
  3. Between 2 pieces of wax paper, pound the chicken breasts thin and marinate for 15 minutes in the marinade.
  4. Lightly fry the flour tortillas in a little oil and drain on paper towels.
  5. Heat up the beans as per direction on can.
  6. Remoce chicken from marinade. Grill chicken breasts until done and slice in to strips.
  7. Serve the chicken on a bed of refried beans on the tortilla. Top with a little of the dressing. Serves 2.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Reuse and Recycle

My Chinese take out restaurant uses those white and clear plastic VERSAtainer® containers when I order out. I've noticed that some other restaurants are using them as well instead of the usual paper, styrofoam, or aluminum containers that leak and you can't microwave . They come in various sizes and shapes. Rather than throwing them out, reuse and recycle them! I wash them out thoroughly and reuse them to store left overs or portion control meals that I make. Why pay for Glad®, Ziploc®, Tupperware®, or Rubbermaid® containers when these come with your take out and are for the most part FREE?

When I order soup, I also keep the various sizes of soup containers with the lids if they are in good condition. They come on handy for dry or liquid food items such as cereal, sugar, salt, soup or sauces!


Speaking of GladWare® and Ziploc® plastic containers, pre-sliced deli meats are packaged in them and sold in your local supermarkets. After you finished the deli meats, just reuse/recycle the containers! I've found that they are great for storing small items like buttons, sugar packets, paper clips, etc... They are clear with colored lids for the most part so that you can see what's inside.