Main Course Recipes

Cooking chicken on the stovetop – what seasonings to use?

I like to throw chicken stir fry on the stovetop for a quick meal – I don't add anything to it…I just want to eat the chicken. What kind of seasonings can I add to the chicken? Right now I just add salt and pepper and it's pretty bland :-\…help!

Marinate it in Italian salad dressing! Simple, fast and tastes great!!

(Also try the salad dressing on grilled shrimp)

What is the best really authentic commercially available jerk chicken rub or sauce?

I remember eating jerk chicken from street venders in Jamaica and it was always awesome, I have tried the rubs and sauces available here in my small town and even some home recipes but none of them capture the real taste. Does anyone know where I can buy online some or at a major market brand?

If you want to use store bought then WalkersWood Traditional Jamaican Jerk Seasoning or Marinade is probably the closest to the real thing.

Below is a link to one site that sells it =) but you should be able to find it in a Caribbean food store also.

How do I make my chicken moist, juicy, delicious, and most importantly, taste like real chicken?

The natural flavor of chicken is in the skin. However, skin is high in fat and I am on a low fat diet. If I cook chicken without the skin, the meat would taste bland. If I cook chicken with the skin on, the fat in the skin would get soaked into the meat. What should I do? I much prefer chicken's natural flavor rather than some commercial flavorings.

There is a measurable amount of fat in the skin. HOWEVER, if you cook the chicken with the skin on it, the meat doesn't "absorb" the fat. You take in the fat if you eat the skin as well as the drippings without straining the fat out of it.

Remember to remove the pockets of fat in the carcass of the bird prior to cooking to help keep the fat down. After roasting, use a fat separator (which are widely available) to cleanse the drippings for a healthier sauce or gravy. And don't eat the skin!

One more thing, going back to your core question; how to get a more flavoursome chicken. Really, it's about the quality of the meat which means you have to pay out for the good, organic corn-fed free-range chicken to find the flavours you remember that chicken was suppose to taste like, which is missing now in the age of forced growth battery birds.

Cheers