Good Food for Cheap Bastards, part 3.3

The Meal

The meal, as a whole, should not include the chicken entree and nothing else. If not for nutrition’s sake, then surely your wallet! Chicken on its own is expensive as an entire meal. Depending on the style of marinade, serve over rice, noodles, toasted bread, couscous, mashed potatoes, or just about any starch imaginable. Starch is cheap! (excepting maybe the couscous)

The sky’s the limit when it comes to options for cooking this deliciously flavored chicken. Grill it, steam it, turn it in to a soup! Go crazy! Just make sure you have some sort of filler as well to drag out the end of your chicken or it’ll be gone and expensive in a second.

In order to make a sauce for your meal, for whatever reason, simply add a few tablespoons of thickener to the leftover marinade that’s dirtying up your pan. If there’s not enough, add more of whatever liquid you used as a base and some milk. Stir while cooking the mixture at a fairly low heat. PROTIP: You need half as much cornstarch as flour for thickening purposes.

Recipes:

Coconut + Peanut Butter + Crushed Red Pepper = A decent Thai approximation.

Mirin + Soy Sauce + Chinese Five Spice = Tamagoyaki-style Japanese

Broth + Cavender’s + dash of Vinegar = Who cares? Delicious!