Monday, January 12, 2009

Chicken Salad a la Low Cholestoral

One of the best things about this blog is that it's encouraging me to innovate. I admit to being too rigid when I cook. I have a tendency to stick to the written instructions no matter what, which sometimes leads to disaster.

Take Sunday before last. I decided to make Pad Thai, a dish that my daughter and wife love. The recipe said to soak the rice noodles in water until they softened instead of boil them. Beset as I usually am by boiled noodles turning into a clump shaped like a mini-football, I decided to give it a try. The recipe said soak 15 minutes after which time the noodles were still the consistency of pick up sticks. I waited and waited and waited. After half an hour the noodles were somewhat pliable, so I forged ahead, reasoning that they would soften during the stir fry.

If only it were true. The noodles were still crunchy as a granola bar by the time the dish was done. My wife and daughter passed in favor of the leftover Indian food in the fridge.

So in the spirit of experimentation, I am venturing into the realm of mayonnaise-less chicken salad (that damn cholestoral thing again). On the advice of the doctor, I've been buying cooked chickens at the store and making sandwiches out of the white meat. Not bad, but a little boring and bland. What could I do for chicken salad without mayonnaise? I asked myself.

Recalling a Jamie Oliver roast chicken recipe using whole grain mustard (I like Jamie's food, although I find him somewhat creepy), I cut up a chicken breast, mixed in about a tablespoon of whole grain mustard and added about a third of a rib of celery. A little salt and pepper and it was done. I took a bite. Not bad. The chicken had a pleasantly tangy taste and the celery added a nice crunch. I made it again this morning using a whole chicken breast and it turned out well.

Here's a basic recipe. If readers try it, let me know how it comes it and whether they have any suggestions:

One cooked chicken breast, shredded
Two to three tablespoons of whole grain mustard
One half a celery rib chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

1 comment:

  1. Personally I couldn't stand a sandwich without the CREAMMMMINESS of mayo or something very similar. You can buy fat-free mayo but I've never tasted it. You can Galso oogle fat-free mayo recipes; they seem to involve fat-free sour cream and/or yogurt, sometimes mixed with store-bought FFM.

    ReplyDelete