Text 979, 122 rader
Skriven 2006-04-30 11:28:23 av Glen Jamieson
     Kommentar till en text av Carol Shenkenberger
Ärende: CHICKEN 472 60430
=========================
 -=> Quoting Carol Shenkenberger to Dale Shipp <=-

 CS> on chicken, I almost never bother to debone before cooking.  I use the
 CS> bones afterwards <g>.  Then again, I probably use whole chickens as
 CS> often as thighs (my preferred meat off the bird).  On the ship, they
 CS> cut up whole birds and the thighs tend to go pretty fast. 

I bought a "Boiler hen" the other day.  At only $2.20 it was cheap,
but that wasn't my reason for choosing it.  I wanted to cook an
Indonesian dish which required long cooking before the chicken became
tender enough to eat, so that the spicy sauce could penetrate deeply
into the meat.  It was a lot of work, stirring it frequently, and
keeping the water content right, to finish up with a thick sauce, but
the dish was a resounding success, particularly the second day.  The
chili and other spice level finished up quite high, as it should with
Padang style chicken, but eaten the Indonesian way with lots of rice
and only a small amount of the meat and sauce, it was perfect.

 CS> definately go for the pre-peeled garlic.  That one is a major
 CS> timesaver and Don's Japanese Doc (the recipe one) recommended we eat as
 CS> much of it as we can so now, it's there in lots of stuff.

That is a useful pre-prep.  I wonder how it is done...  An advantage
would be that you could see if it has any nasty brown bits in it.
Don's Japanese doc has the right idea.  There is no such thing as too
much garlic!

After reading a lot of your delightful vignettes of life in Sasebo, I
can see that you and your family fit very comfortably into the society
there.  Following on from that, I have been wondering about how you
will adjust to life in USA when you return there.

As you know, I have spent considerable time working outside of my home
country, more recently on volunteer assignments.  The organisation I
work for - Australian Business Volunteers - has Internet accessible
courses to prepare volunteers for culture differences between
Australia and client countries.  These are very valuable, particularly
for those volunteers who do not have prior overseas work experience.
I presume you also have a similar training before location in such
places as Sasebo.   In addition to that kind of preparation, ABS has a
course in preparing to return to life in Australia after having worked
overseas for an extended period.

How about you?  Do you get any official preparation for adjusting to
life in USA?   This Echo would serve a very important part in that
sort of adjustment, as it enables you to become familiar with day to
day living in USA, and more importantly, gives you personal
connections and friends to associate with when you return.  From
reading your postings recently you appear to be preparing yourself
well.  Hopefully your family also.

I have known long term expatriates who have come back to Australia
with no preparation, and who have led lonely, unhappy lives for years
afterwards, but I think you will manage much better.

What I made with that old boiler chook (except the final simmering
took about 2 hours).  You could use a crockpot:

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05
 
      Title: AYAM KECAP - CHICKEN WITH SPICES & SOY SAUCE
 Categories: Mains, Chicken, Padang, Indonesian
      Yield: 4 servings
 
  1 1/2    Chickens
      3    Onions
      1 l  Water; approx
      3    Garlic cloves
      4    Chillies- red; OR
      1 tb Chilli powder
      3 tb Oil
    1/2 ts Nutmeg; ground
      6    Cloves
      1 ts Tamarind pulp
     45 ml Water
      2 tb Soy sauce, to 3 tb
           Salt
           TO SERVE/GARNISH
           Chillies- red
           Rice; boiled
 
  This is a dish that is very popular in Padang, and leftovers taste
  equally good the following day!
  
  Joint the chicken into 16 pieces. Slice the onion, and crush the
  garlic cloves. Slice the chillies. Soak the tamarind in the 45ml of
  water. Shred the chilli for the garnish.
  
  Prepare the chicken and place the pieces in a large pan with one of
  the onions. Pour over enough water to just cover. Bring to the boil
  and then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes.
  
  Grind the remaining onions, with the garlic and chillies, to a fine
  paste with a mortar/pestle. Heat a little of the oil in a wok and
  cook the paste to bring out the flavour, but do not allow to brown.
  
  When the chicken has cooked for 20 minutes, lift it out of the stock
  in the pan using a slotted spoon, and put it straight into the spicy
  mixture. Toss everything together over a fairly high heat so that the
  spices permeate the chicken pieces. Reserve 300ml of the chicken
  stock to add to the pan later.
  
  Stir in the nutmeg and cloves. Strain the tamarind and add the
  tamarind juice and the soy sauce to the chicken. Cook for a further 2
  to 3 minutes, then add the reserved stock.
  
  Taste and adjust the seasoning and cook, uncovered,  for a further 25
  to 30 minutes, till the chicken pieces are tender.
  
  Serve the chicken in a bowl, topped with shredded chilli, and eat with
  boiled rice.
  
  From: TASTE OF INDONESIA By: SALLIE MORRIS Typed by: KEVIN JCJD
  SYMONS, August 2005
 
MMMMM
 

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 * Origin: Braintap BBS Adelaide Australia (3:800/449)