Writer: Ajarn Vee – Vee Vongsantivanich, Instructor of Western Cuisine, Dusit Thani College
Source: The Bangkok Insight (www.thebangkokinsight.com)
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As far as I have been a culinary arts instructor at Dusit Thani College for almost a decade, one of the problems that I have normally seen is the amateur culinary students having difficulties in grilling or roasting chicken. That is because chicken meat needs the right timing unless it will be uncooked or burnt (or even cooked outside with crispy skin but still raw inside). Here is the life-saving technique I have been teaching my students to avoid wasting the whole piece.
Imagine we are busy cooking other stuff and, unfortunately, the half roasted chicken turns black when we return to the stove, what will you do with it? Since the appearance does not look nice to be served, will you throw the whole away or force yourself to eat the overwhelmingly bitter crispy chicken? I would like to share an idea to reduce losses.
First of all, remove the blackened part as we had better do nothing with it. Then, check the rest if it is well-cooked. If not, grill or roast it until it is edible. After that, shred the chicken into small strips or dice it and put them in a mixing bowl. Apply a small amount of mayonnaise to moisten and agglutinate all pieces. Mayonnaise does not only add flavor to the chicken, but also recover moisture to the dry meat after the previous accident.
Following, season of your own choice. My favorite style is to add some curry powder to make the mixture yellowish. Add minced onions and small-diced capsicums of 3 colors before sprinkling salt and pepper. Use this paste as a sandwich’s filling, whether putting between buttered toasts, stuffing in split croissants, or topping on an open baguette sandwich.
If you prefer something else to sandwiches, you can use this chicken paste as a salad’s topping. Eventually, we do not have to throw away the whole mistake while saving some money and reducing food waste for the environment.
However, for the best practices, do not let it burn at the beginning.
