Fighting Food Waste and Leftover Chicken Recipes
This week on The Culinary Exchange we have focused on food waste. Our first post on the subject is a bit shocking as the statistics show that we waste an immense amount of food. It is quite a shame that we waste so much, not only because there are many others who can’t get enough food to eat, but because with very little effort we can save a lot of food. Plus, so much waste is ultimately unsustainable. The energy and resource that goes into food production is finite and we need to do everything we can to make sure that these resources are not being squandered. We need only understand what is happening with the bees to understand how the food available will change radically when these resources are restricted or gone.
One area brimming with opportunity is the creation of apps that aim to end food waste. Take programs like Feeding Forward. With Feeding Forward, a business with extra food can request a pick up through the app. Feeding Forward’s drivers pick up the food and deliver it to the shelter in need. When the food is served, photos are taken and sent to the donating business to show the positive impact they are having. Feeding Forward claim to have saved almost 700,000 pounds of food.
While Feeding Forward is helping organisations, there are also apps that help you get more neighbourly with your leftovers, like Leftover Swap. Using this app, users upload what leftovers they have to offer while their neighbours do the same. Everyone can see what leftovers are available, then let the meeting, swapping and community building begin – not to mention the food savings!
Of course, it does not have to be this complicated either. We can simply have a supply of recipes into which our previously cooked foods fit nicely. For example, leftover rice is perfect for fried rice. And tons of other leftovers, like chicken, can be used in the fried rice, making it one of the best leftover chicken recipes ever. Chicken is the perfect leftover as it is very versatile. In truth, you don’t need any special leftover chicken recipes to be successful using that leftover chicken, but if you would prefer a supply of leftover chicken recipes, no problem. Below are three chicken recipes that do equally well with leftover chicken. Simply replace the raw chicken and steps for cooking the chicken with the leftover chicken and enjoy. These tasty recipes are a great way of reducing food waste and eating well!
- 1 lb of skinless, boneless chicken breasts or leftover chicken meat
- salt and pepper
- vegetable oil
- 1/4 lb of green cabbage (purchased shredded cabbage is fine)
- 1/4 lb of napa cabbage (purchased shredded cabbage is fine)
- 3 medium carrots
- 3 green onions
- 2 avocado
- 2 grapefruit
- 2 orange
- 2 lime
- 1 small bunch of cilantro
- 3 tbsp of sesame seeds
- pomegranate seeds
- 1 lime
- 2 tbsp brown or demerera sugar
- 2 tbsp of fish sauce
- 1 tsp of soy sauce
- 1 tsp of sesame oil
- 1 - 1 inch piece of fresh ginger
- 1 clove of garlic
- Pre-heat the oven to 400F.
- Drizzle the chicken with vegetable oil.
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Bake on a baking tray sprayed with non-stick spray for 20-25 minutes or until an instant read thermometer reads 165F when inserted into the thickest part of the breast.
- Remove the chicken from the oven. Let cool.
- Cut the chicken breast into small cubes. Set aside.
- In a small, dry sauté pan, gently heat the sesame seeds until they are golden brown.
- Clean the green and napa cabbage. Shred the green cabbage finely. Chop the napa cabbage into small pieces.
- Wash and peel the carrots. Using a box grater, shred the carrots into fine shreds.
- Clean the green onions. Slice the green onion thinly.
- Peel the avocado and remove the seed. Cube the avocado.
- Segment the citrus. Trim the ends of the citrus fruit just deep enough so the fruit starts to show and the pith is exposed.
- Using a sharp knife, a slicing or paring knife will work fine, carefully make one cut from end to end, following the shape of the fruit, cutting only deep enough to remove the skin and pith.
- Continue peeling and removing the pith by running the knife blade from end to end using the exposed pith as a guide. By doing this, less fruit will be wasted.
- Continue peeling until the whole fruit is skin and pith free. The sections of the fruit will be clearly visible.
- Holding the peeled fruit in hand by the fruits ends, carefully cut between the exposed membranes removing the sections. It is best to slice the sections out over a bowl as there will be a lot of juice.
- After the sections are removed, squeeze the membrane and collect the remaining juice.
- Clean the cilantro. Remove the leaves of cilantro from the stems.
- In a large bowl, mix the chicken, cabbages, carrot avocado, citrus segments and cilantro leaves. Toss gently.
- Juice the lime into a small bowl.
- Using a fine rasp, grate the ginger until you have about 1 tbsp.
- Chop the garlic clove finely.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the fresh lime juice, brown or demerera sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, fresh ginger and garlic.
- Drizzle the salad with enough of the dressing to coat, but not enough to drown it. Sprinkle on some sesame seeds and pomegranate seeds.
- Serve cold or at room temperature.
- For a spicy note, add slices of red chilli.
- Another great topping is cashew nuts.
- 16 cups water
- ½ cup salt
- A handful of basil leaves or other favorite herb.
- 10 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 4 chicken breasts
- mayonnaise
- 1 jar of sun dried Tomato in oil
- 1 Jar of artichoke hearts
- 1 lemon
- salt and pepper
- In a large pot, mix water and salt until salt is fully dissolved. Add garlic and basil. Put a steamer basket in the pot.
- Add the chicken breasts and let soak for 30 minutes.
- Bring the water to a simmer. When the temperature of the water reads 170F on an instant read thermometer, reduce the heat to low. The idea is to maintain the water temperature at 170F until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165F
- When the chicken in done remove it from the water and let cool. Slice the chicken breasts into chunks.
- Dice artichoke and sun dried tomato. To your desired taste, add the artichoke and sun dried tomato to the chicken.
- Add just enough mayonnaise to bind the ingredients.
- Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with crusty bread and a nice soup!
- This is a great leftover chicken recipe, too. Simply omit the poaching if you have leftover chicken and mix the chicken right into the mayonnaise.
- 1 tbsp of your favorite green curry paste
- 1 stalk of lemon grass
- 1 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs
- 1/2 lb green beans
- 1/2 lb shitake mushrooms
- 2 cans coconut milk (if you prefer a drier curry, use 1 can)
- 1 tbsp of fish sauce plus more
- 1 lime
- 3 green onions
- 1 big bunch of cilantro
- unsalted peanuts
- vegetable oil
- salt and pepper
- With the back of a heavy knife or a meat mallet, bruise the stalk of lemon grass.
- Dice the chicken.
- Slice the mushrooms. Trim the beans
- Cut the green onion into thirds.
- Using a rasp, zest the lime. Cut the lime in half.
- Chop the cilantro.
- In a large saute pan, heat 3 tbsp vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the curry paste and lemon grass. Cook 2 minutes.
- Add the chicken and cook until it is almost completely cooked through.
- Add the coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Add the fish sauce and lime zest. Stir well and let simmer 15 minutes.
- Add the beans and cook 5 minutes.
- Add the juice of half the lime.
- Taste for seasoning. Adjust the taste with curry paste, fish sauce, lime juice, and salt and pepper to your liking.
- Serve the curry on rice topped with peanuts and chopped cilantro.
- If you want to use leftover chicken meat, simply chop the chicken add it at the same place in the recipe the raw chicken would be added, heat the meat through, then continue with the recipe.
I hope enjoy and reduce food waste, too!
Keep Eating! Keep Innovating!
How do you use your leftover chicken? Have any recipes to share? Let us know all about it in the comments or on Facebook.
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Feeding Forward is now Copia (http://gocopia.com/letterCEO)
Thanks for the shoutout