Surviving Weddings, Simchas and holidays and oh yes, cooking chicken breasts

There are many hints, tricks, views, theories, attitudes and philosophies behind losing weight and keeping it off.  Today I would like to discuss the philosophy of NEVER COMING TO A MEAL HUNGRY and by inference how to survive the food wars found at weddings, simchas and holidays.   I have to tell you that I used to believe in the unshakable truth that:

1)   You came to the table hungry (starving!) and that you ate until the serving plates could no longer be re-re-refilled and your own plate was shiny and clean (once again).

2)   And bizarrely, if you had no leftover food at the end of such a meal, it was a sign that you DID NOT MAKE ENOUGH FOOD to begin with.  The theory behind this bit of insanity was that you needed to make masses, mountains and canyons of food that would more than match the substantial appetites of the number of diners invited.  Therefore if food was leftover it meant that there was enough food (impossible!).  The idea that any dish was leftover because it did not taste good is simply not part of the Jewish psyche and therefore ridiculous.

Now I believe, understand, have put into practice and therefore have made it one of my everyday actions: I NEVER come to the table hungry.  Let me repeat that: I never come to the table hungry. This means that I always have three meals a day and usually two snack/very light meals. Heck, I never used to eat breakfast, so three meals a day is light years, eons away, from how I used to eat!

I make sure I have breakfast and lunch even on Fridays when Shabbat comes in early!  We sit down and eat a sandwich (light, whole wheat bread, good Dijon mustard, fresh spinach or lettuce, tomatoes and pickles (me, not Sid) and 100 grams of low fat, thinly sliced turkey pastrama *.  Insanely low in points and WHEN EATEN S-L-O-W-L-Y - very satisfying.  We make the time to prepare a light meal and then sit down at the kitchen table and eat it. 

We try never to come to any table starving.  The trick is in the portion sizes.  Don't come to the table hungry, but also don't come to the table full.  It's a balancing act.

Since we began our journey, we have added on light lunches before big meals on Erev Shabbat, before Purim Seuda, Erev Pessach (a stir fry of pastrama and vegetables and spices) and even a fruit and an energy bar when we were on the run.

If we are going away for Shabbat, we either eat before we leave or in the car.  We do not enter someone else's home famished.

Now, let's get to this week's recipe.  I want to continue to talk about chicken, this time chicken breasts.

Yochi's Chicken Breast Salad

Yochi's Chicken Breast Salad

Hints and Tips:

·        This recipe includes salad dressing.  I never make salad dressings and I never add them to vegetable salads, let alone chicken salad recipes, but this dressing a MUST for this dish!

·        Soaking the chicken breasts in a marinate all night or a few hours before starting to prepare this dish is nice, but not required.  I want life to be easy, not make it any harder than it already is.

·        You must work with a wok or any wide deep frying pan to make sure the chicken comes out cooked, light and moist.

·        Always cook with wooden spoons.  These utensils do not have sharp edges and will not cut up or mush your food.

·        Working with raw meat/chicken and vegetables:  This is a very important: ALWAYS keep and cut raw meat separate from raw vegetables.  This means you should cut the raw meat and then place it in a bowl.  If you only have one cutting board, wash it (and your knife) very well in very hot water and soap before cutting the vegetables on it.

·        This is not a dish that can be warmed up and eaten the next day.  I do make enough for an additional meal, (usually the next day) but I serve it room-temperature.  Just take it out of the fridge an hour or so before you are ready to eat.  It will not be as tasty the next day.

·        I buy chicken breasts once or twice a month.  I have the butcher prepare the breasts as schnitzel (deboned, sliced and banged down) and then have the schnitzel packaged in bags of 2-serving portions each (about 150-250 grams for two slices of breast).  These servings are wrapped in plastic wrap, which I then put in individual plastic bags that can be easily taken out of the freezer and either defrosted in the fridge or in the micro.

·        When adding water to sauces - instead of oil – add only a tablespoon at a time, mix and then check the consistency.  It is very easy to end up with a watery, unappealing mess.  Work carefully and check the consistency.  You can always add more water. You cannot remove water!

Ingredients:

1.   Chicken breasts (about  ~250 grams is enough for between two and four portions depending on the amount of fresh vegetables used)

2.   Marinate for chicken before cooking (very optional): 1-2 tablespoons of soy sauce and some water

3.   Chicken sauce:

·        2 table spoons teriyaki sauce

·        2 table spoons sweet chili sauce

·        water

4.   Sliced onions and/or green onions (can be stir fried with the chicken and/or added to the salad)

5.   Spinach or lettuce (very fresh, firm leaves)

6.   Tomatoes (I always prefer cherry tomatoes; there is virtually no waste and I use all the less-than-perfect tomatoes for soups and sauces)

7.   Cucumbers (I never peel cucumber, unless I am making sushi)

8.   Optional salad items: orange slices, carrots

9.   For the salad dressing:

·        mayonnaise (any low fat version)

·        Dijon mustard

·        Balsamic vinegar

·        Spices: garlic powder, freshly ground pepper, paprika

·        Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

·        water

10.                PAM

How to work:

1.   Slice the defrosted chicken breasts into thin, pinky-sized slices.

2.   If you want to leave the slices in marinate for a few hours or overnight, simply mix the soy sauce and water and pour over the sliced chicken breasts.  I stopped doing this and the chicken is fine and I cut out preparation time. 

In any case, if you insist on the marinate stage: when you are ready to cook the chicken, take the chicken slices out of the marinate and put into the hot wok.  Do not save or reuse this marinate, throw it out immediately.

3.   Place the wok on the largest flame on your stove and turn up the heat.  Spray with a shpritz of PAM. 

4.   Add the chicken so that the slices cover the wok without over lapping or touching and allow each piece to be individually cooked. 

If you have too many slices and/or your pan is too small for all the slices, cook in batches.  Remove each batch to cook a fresh batch and then once all the chicken is cooked, return all the chicken to the pan.

5.   Continuously toss the chicken with a wooden spoon to nearly-brown on all sides.

6.   Once the chicken if fully cooked, you can add sliced onions/green onions to the wok and stir fry them along with the chicken. (You can also add sliced onions to the fresh salad.) The amount of onion is totally up to you.

How to slice an onion (I know everyone is born with this innate knowledge!):  Cut the ends off the onion and peel the outer, "dirty" skin.  Slice the onion in half from top to bottom.  Then continue to slice the onion – top to bottom – into consistently thinner slices.

7.   Next mix the chicken sauce in a separate bowl: 2 table spoons teriyaki sauce, 2 table spoons sweet chili sauce and enough water to make a loose sauce. Add only a few drops of water at a time until you get a loose medium brown sauce. 

8.   Pour the sauce over the chicken (and onions).  Cook the sauce until it thickens, but does not evaporate.  You must constantly stir the chicken or it will burn and/or dry out.  If the sauce gets too thick, add a bit more water.

9.   Once the chicken is cooked, take the wok off the flame and allow to cool.

10.                In a separate (large) bowl, slice the vegetables into thin, but large slices: fresh onions, spinach or lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and optional salad items.

11.                Toss together.

12.                In a small bowl mix the salad dressing ingredients: mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, spices and water. This should be a watery sauce.

13.                Next add the chicken (and onion) and its sauce to the salad bowl and mix gently.

14.                Pour the salad dressing over the entire dish and toss well.  Serve immediately!

* I  am calling it "pastrama" and not pastrami, because pastrami to me is a sliced meat - real meat, not made of chicken or turkey (what was it made of??), that was sliced hot and included in a deli sandwich of immense proportions (that no human mouth to could open wide enough to bite off a chunk). Pastrama is made of turkey meat and comes in a low fat, thinly sliced version.  Pastrami is New York and unhealthy.  Pastrama is Israeli and healthy!

Enjoy!  Do you have any questions? Any comments?  Write me or facebook me!  B'TeyAvon!