NATIONAL BREAKFAST MONTH
Here we are again talking about Breakfasts. Since September is ‘National Breakfast Month’ this is a good format to use – Breakfast is the most important meal of the day – simply because you are breaking a long fast between the last meal of the day before and the first meal of the current day. Your body, like your car, needs fuel to run on and your brain especially needs that fuel to keep you thinking straight. In the last blog I talked about Western Style Breakfasts – that is the Breakfast as we know it in American and also in parts of Europe.
Pictured above is Pineapple and Pork Fried Rice – this would make a good and healthy breakfast for any culture so try having an Asian Style Breakfast sometime if you have leftovers.
Today I am going to be talking about Asian Breakfasts. People in Asia, for the most part, do not have special foods that they eat for Breakfast. Usually it is food left over from the day before. However, in China, Congee, a porridge made from Rice is the preferred Breakfast. Usually leftovers of vegetables, fruit or meat are added to the Congee. Interestingly, the last time we were in Thailand our Hotel served a Breakfast Buffet every morning. Since a considerable number of Chinese people visit Thailand, along with Westerners, the Hotel served a Chinese Breakfast. Congee with a large number of different items that could be added to it. They also served a Western Breakfast. I always have a habit of observing what other people are eating and I noticed that the Chinese guests were eating the Western Style Breakfast. I who always eat a Western Style Breakfast at home was eating the Congee or the Chinese Breakfast. I guess people all over the world do like a little variety in their food.
Japanese people usually eat whatever is left over from the night before as do the people of Thailand. Even though Breakfast Foods per se are not common among the Thai people there are plenty of restaurants in Thailand that do serve a Western Style Breakfast. That being said, if you are Thai you probably have Rice along with perhaps some Pork or whatever happens to be available. When my Sons and Daughter- in – Law were here visiting, my Thai Daughter – in – Law fell in love with Breakfast Jacks. She also loves to make a Thai Omelet which isn’t necessarily eaten for Breakfast. A Thai Omelet is similar to Egg Foo Young but is still different. It is quite delicious and can be eaten for any meal of the day.
Chicken Fried Rice
Kauai Fried Rice
More Fried Rice Photos just to the left. The top one is Chicken-Fried Rice – a good way to use up leftover Chicken and the one on the bottom is Fried Rice I made when we were in Kauai. There is a strong Asian influence in modern Hawaiian Food and Rice is frequently eaten for any meal.
For Western Breakfast Ideas please see the previous post ‘Breakfast’ in this Blog.
Categories: Asian, Breakfast Ideas, Main, National Food Days Tags: Asian, Breakfast, Congee, Eggs, National Food Days, Pineapple, Rice, Tropical, Western Breakfast
CULINARY MAKEOVERS #9 – ROAST CHICKEN DIVERSIONS
There is almost always something you can convert one dish to when you get tired of eating it
and roast chicken is no exception. When making a roast chicken I always purchase a large one because the larger ones are plumper and usually juicier. As most people chicken breast can be dry but when there is sufficient fat to moisten it, it makes much more palatable. Since there are usually only two of us eating, a large roast chicken is much more than we can eat at one meal or even two. After our last roast chicken meal, I was able to make a salad and two pot pies plus I used the carcass to make
broth. The bones of a roasted chicken make a much more flavorful broth than an uncooked chicken carcass.
Diversion # 1: Two days after our Roast Chicken dinner I made an Asian Chicken Salad with the remainder of the breast portion of the chicken. The salad consisted of the chicken, Savoy cabbage, (Napa would be better but there was none available) bamboo shoots, red bell pepper and green onions. After slicing the chicken into bite-sized portions, I shredded the Cabbage, diced the Bell Pepper and sliced the Green Onions. I also julienned 2 carrots and a yellow zuchinni. The thin vegetables add a nice touch to a salad. In a sauté pan I heated some Peanut Oil and added one minced clove of Garlic. Then I added the Cabbage just to slightly wilt it and tenderize it along with the bamboo shoots, sliced Ginger and sliced Chicken. A small amount of Soy Sauce and a bit of Sesame Oil was added as well. The entire mixture was put into a salad bowl and was tossed with some Asian Salad Dressing (ginger and sesame oil based) Be sure to remove the Ginger slices before serving. This was meal #2 from the Roast Chicken with the Roast Chicken being meal #1.
Julienned Carrots and Zuchinni
Roast Chicken Diversion #1 - Asian Chicken Salad
Diversion # 2: The next thing I did with the remaining chicken was to remove all the meat from the bones and cut it into bite-sized pieces. Since I had made gravy with the roast chicken I utilized that for the Chicken Pot Pies. The remaining fat was skimmed off the top of the gravy. The gravy was put into a 2 quart saucepan along with some water that was used to rinse out the gravy bowl. While the Gravy was heating, I peeled and cut up two small potatoes and a couple of Carrots. The Potatoes were added to the heated Gravy mixture and cooked until almost fork tender. Then the Carrots were added along with the Chicken. I had some leftover peas in the refrigerator so added those too. This mixture was
then set aside to cool. Once it was cool enough to refrigerate I put it into the refrigerator for use the next day. To make the pot pies, the chicken mixture was put into two individual deep dish pie dishes and covered with a crust. The crust can be frozen puff pastry or you can make your own pie crust. A rough
puff pastry (see recipe at http://www.sylveeeskitchen.com/recipes/baked-goods/rough-puff-pastry/) is nice to use. Since there were only two pies and didn’t want to make a pie crust just for that, I used puff pastry that I keep in my freezer.
Diversion # 3: The remaining Chicken Carcass was put into a 6 quart Stockpot along with an Onion (peel left on), some Fennel leaves, celery and carrots. If you have a parsnip, it would be good too. I
covered all the ingredients with cold water and put it on the stove on high heat. When the boiling point was reached I reduced the heat to a simmer and allowed the mixture to cook until the liquid was reduced by half. The result is a very rich and flavorful broth. Once the stock was cook enough to handle, it was poured through a colander into a clean bowl and then ladled into two quart containers, labeled and frozen for future use.
So, from one chicken that cost $7.00 we had three meals plus chicken broth for another use
such as soup or anything that may call for chicken broth as an ingredient. Makeovers are fun and engage your creative streak! Try it sometime!
Categories: Cooking for Everyone, Dinner Ideas, Leftovers, Lunch Ideas, Main, Salads Tags: Asian, Broth, Chicken, family dinner, Leftovers, Pot Pies, Salad
