Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Water shortage less of an issue and smoked duck meat

Baked Mexican Chicken with Potatoes and Parsnip Wedges
Food Diary (September 28, 2011)
Breakfast: Rolled oat sourdough with cheese
Lunch: Baked Mexican Chicken with Potatoes and Parsnip Wedges
Dinner: Pasta and cauliflower
Baking/sweets:

The baked chicken was supposed to be crispy but it wasn’t, though it was still delicious. I marinated the chicken overnight in brine and then coated with batter made from rice flour and taco seasoning. I was expecting rice flour to produce an ultra crispy crust. Lesson learnt, perhaps it would have produced better results if combined with plain flour. And the crust was not supposed to look like a dried riverbed.

I last had KFC or fried chicken about 3 years ago. There is no KFC in Sweden and the only restaurant I saw that sold fried chicken is located in Malmö, a city about 5 hours train ride from Stockholm. I didn't try the chicken there. Burgers and most other ‘American’ food is easily available but not fried chicken. I haven’t been able to solve the mystery on why this is the case.

Today's Favourite Photo
Smoked Duck Meat



Today’s Favourite Blog
There has been discussion on water shortage, however recent report says that major river systems in the developing world have enough water to meet food-production needs this century. Ten river basins in Asia, Latin America and Africa were studied. 

There is certainly enough water, the issue is one of inefficient use and unfair distribution rather than scarcity. In Africa only 4 percent of available water is captured for food and livestock. Huge amounts of rainwater are lost or unused, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. In large parts of Asia and Latin America researchers found production to be at least 10 percent below potential.

Well at least there some good news. China was not specifically mentioned, perhaps it comes under Asia. I learnt sometime ago that China will face a significant water crisis in future. Lets hope this new positive research allays all concerns.

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10 comments:

  1. I'm eyeing the roasted parsnips. Yum! The "riverbed" look is pretty, you could also call it the "cobblestoned" effect .... more gourmet-ish.
    With all the flooding in China lately, you'd think a water shortage wouldn't be a problem.

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  2. Haha ... I meant "cobbled stone" ... or maybe in this case "stoned" might be appropriate :D

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  3. I've recently tried Korean fried chicken at a Korean food court and it was fantastic! It wasn't greasy with globs of fat underneath the skin like KFC. The meat was moist and the sticky, sweet, spicy sauce it was tossed in made it awesome!

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  4. Oh I thought that mottled effect was deliberate on the chicken-it looks like tiger bread!

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  5. I wouldn't mind your chicken not being crunchy ;-) It looks perfect for my lunch!
    It's exactly the same with KFC in Switzerland. In France it's also very rare, so the last time I had it was in Hungary two years ago (ok, it's the only fast food chain I actually like and when I saw it I couldn't resist a small sandwich...).

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  6. ping: wish I thought of it earlier - cobbled stone baked chicken sounds impressive and complicated to make. Too late now:(

    lifeisfull: that sounds awesome

    Lorraine: tiger bread chicken - that sounds good!

    Sissi: I didn't realise there was no KFC in Switzerland either. Maybe you like it even more since there is no KFC where you are. I miss KFC for that reason and after having a serve of delicious greasy chicken I am happy to take a long break:)

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  7. Even though your breading didn't turn out as you'd hoped, I'd still take your version over KFC any day! Full of preservatives and is just asking for a stomach ache. Your meal looks so delicious.

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  8. i think the chicken looks pretty unique! :)

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  9. Caroline: thank you

    Sylvia: thank you, unique is good!

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  10. What I usually do with a crispy chicken is mix normal flour and corn starch 2:1 ratio, it gives a nice crispy breading.

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