Is it better to eat white or dark meat? I favor the juicier, more flavorful, more tender, and harder-to-overcook sections of the chicken, such as the wings and dark flesh. Most Asians, I believe, value dark meat (I realize this is a broad generalization, but I've never encountered an Asian who didn't enjoy dark meat!)
Alia,On the other hand, it's all about the breast flesh. I had to relearn how to prepare chicken when we first started dating. I used to be only concerned with correctly roasting, stir-frying, or grilling the thigh, wing, and leg pieces, ignoring the breast, which cooks faster than its black brothas and sistahs. The breast flesh and bones were usually used to make broth anyhow.
"A vitamin called taurine, which is prevalent in dark meat from poultry, greatly reduced the risk of coronary heart disease in women with high cholesterol, according to research." Taurine may also help protect against diabetes and high blood pressure, according to experts.
"Dark chicken flesh is also nutritionally dense, including greater amounts of iron, zinc, riboflavin, thiamine, and vitamins B6 and B12 than white meat," according to Slate's The Dark Side of the Bird.
Alia still favors the breast despite the research. That's OK with me; we won't have to argue about which portion of the chicken we receive! Each of us takes a turn calling dibs on our own area.
I've produced a healthy version of General Tso's Chicken — one of Alia’s favorites – using white meat, but you can use boneless, skinless dark meat instead.
RECIPE FOR HEALTHY GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN:
Indegrients,
2 tbsp. soy sauce, 2 tbsp. sesame oil, 2 TB
2 tsp rice wine vinegar (or white vinegar)
1 teaspoon of honey
garlic, 1 to 2 tablespoons sauce de chili
3 tablespoons cornstarch, divided 1/2 cup chicken broth
1 broccoli head, chopped into tiny florets
1 pound boneless chicken meat (1-inch chunks)
black pepper, freshly ground
1 1/2 tablespoons oil (cooking)
1 to 2 garlic cloves, coarsely minced
1 teaspoon finely minced ginger (or grated on rasp grater)
4 green onion stalks, chopped
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted
Directions,
- To prepare the General Tso sauce, combine the following ingredients in a mixing bowl: Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, honey, garlic chili sauce, chicken broth, and 1 teaspoon cornstarch in a mixing bowl. Remove from the equation.
- Bring 1/2 cup water to a boil in a wok or large sauté pan over high heat. Cover the pan with broccoli. Steam broccoli for 2 minutes, or until brilliant green and crunchy-tender (just shy of cooked through.) To stop the cooking process, remove the broccoli from the pan, drain it, and rinse it with cool water. Remove the broccoli and set it aside. Drain the water from the wok or pan and thoroughly dry it. Return the wok or pan to the heat source.
- Toss the chicken with the remaining 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, salt, and pepper in a medium mixing basin.
- Preheat the wok to high. When the pan is extremely hot, drizzle in the cooking oil and stir to coat. You'll cook the chicken in a single layer to produce a good crust, allowing them plenty of room to brown. Place half of the chicken in a single layer in the pan. Allow to cook for 1-2 minutes, or until the underside of the chicken is browned, then turn and cook until the other side is browned. Remove the half-cooked chicken pieces to a dish to put aside when the chicken is halfway done. Continue to add more raw chicken to the pan to cook as you remove chicken pieces.
- Reduce the heat to medium when all of the chicken has finished cooking. Allow the pan to cool somewhat before adding the other ingredients (to avoid burning). There should be some cooking oil remaining in the pan from the chicken. Add the green onions, garlic, and ginger to the pan. Stir fry for about 30 seconds, or until aromatic. Make sure the heat isn't too high or the ingredients may burn.
- Add the General Tso's sauce to the pan and heat to a low boil. Toss the chicken and broccoli back into the pan and cook for another minute. The sauce should thicken up and the chicken should be fully cooked. Serve immediately with sesame seeds sprinkled on top.