robglazebrook.com

I’ve been in a cooking mood recently, so I’ve been spending more time than usual in the kitchen. I’m a big fan of Chinese food, and I ended up making sweet and sour chicken twice last week. It turned out so well last time that I decided to up the ante and try something a little more difficult. Tonight I decided to prepare sesame chicken. I learned lots of things in the process.

First, I learned that sesame chicken is not very healthy. The sauce, which the recipe suggested was sufficient for four servings, contained 1 3/4 cups of sugar. That’s more sugar than I’ve had since… well, Easter. Bad example. But still, it’s a lot of sugar.

Then, I learned that boiling soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar together in a pan makes a horrendous stink. I made the mistake of inhaling directly over the pan only once; regardless, I don’t think I have nose hair anymore. Justin said it smelled like the biohazardous materials they stick in the autoclave at work.

Next, I learned that it’s not a good idea to bread chicken by hand and then toss it into the deep fat fryer. The oil is now a nice milky color. It’s actually a great color for coffee… just not so great for oil. I’m seeing if it will settle, but I’m not thinking it’s going to.

Then, I learned the difference between caramelized and over-caramelized. I also learned that one should pay attention to a sauce when it’s on the verge of caramelization, and not wander off for a few minutes to cut chicken into bite-sized chunks. When I came back, the sauce had tripled in size and changed color from a light brown to a deep, rich brown. It had also gone from slightly soupy to thick ‘n’ hearty.

Finally, I learned that one should learn from one’s mistakes. Instead of chalking the meal up to a loss, I dumped the chicken in a bowl, scraped the caramelized sauce on top, and stirred like mad. The sauce took approximately three seconds to go from quasi-elastic to hard enough to bend my spoon. I was left with a ball of chicken that tasted a bit like burnt rock candy. Yes, I tried it. I even sprinkled it with sesame seeds and put as much as I could get back out of the bowl in the middle of my plate of rice. :)

Now I’m in the process of learning just how hard it is to get rock-hard sugar off an assortment of cooking utensils. I’m hoping a prolonged soak will make my job easier. As such, there’s a bowl of caramel chicken soaking in the sink downstairs. I’m thinking I should stick to sweet and sour in the future.