Cooking: Water and Chicken Essay

Cooking has been my specialty since I was a child. This is one of my strongest talents. I can cook a variety of recipes from my local Ethiopian cuisines to the modern American recipes. Some of the foods I can boast off are â€Å"injera†, a local food of Ethiopians and spicy chicken sandwich but today I want to prepare chicken breast ready to be fried or baked. This is called simmering. Simmering is cooking the chicken with chicken broth or water. This makes the chicken tender and soft, ready to be fried. Firstly, rinse each chicken breast. If the breasts are frozen, allow them to fully defrost before boiling. The chicken breast can also be defrosted in the microwave, in the refrigerator, or by soaking it in a bowl of cold water. After defrosting the chicken is soaked in salt water it take the slimly taste out of it. Most Africans do this before cooking any poultry and dairy products After defrosting; fill a pot with water or chicken broth. The broth will be a better choice since it has a lot of flavoring. Place the chicken breasts in the pot, making sure that each piece is fully submerged under water or broth. Add more water or broth if necessary. Do not add more water or broth if not needed or this tends to make the chicken softer and even watery in extreme cases. If you want this to cook faster, cut the breasts into halves or in quarters. This is also a good way to ensure that the inside of the breast thoroughly cooks. Thirdly, place the pot on the stove. Bring water or broth with chicken to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. The temperature must be right; this it must be too hot or lower. Cover the pot and allow the chicken to cook until the insides are no longer pink. Cook time will vary depending on the size and type of breast. Chicken breast can be skinless or boneless, either way; they should be cook for about thirty minutes. After thirty minutes, remove pot from the source of heat carefully to avoid getting burn. Drain liquid from the pot, and transfer breasts to a plate. Chicken should be white in color and be easily pulled apart with hands or a fork. At this point they are ready to be fried; baked or even eaten. Chicken that is boiled in only water can be very bland tasting. Adding vegetables and/or broth to the pot, and season your chicken with various cooking sauces and spices will give it some nice, warm taste. This is the most perfect time for to fry the chicken. Deep frying is my preferred choice but other methods include pan-frying or even baking. Either ways the chicken is well-prepared and ready to be eaten. The fryer should be a deep fryer so the chicken can be completely submerged in the fryer. Flour is used to coat the skin of the chicken; this gives the chicken its crispy coating and a fine layer of skin. Vegetable oil or olive oil is the best choice for frying. After the fryer is heated to the right temperature, the chicken is gently lowered into the pot to prevent the oil splashing around and causing burns. It takes of 30 minutes and above to get the chicken fully and wholly fried; during this time a watchful eye must be kept on it so it doesn’t burn. After this, they are ready to be served. They can be eaten with almost anything from stir-fries, fajitas to salads.