ChickenSituations

On new year’s day my mother went out early to visit a sick relative. She left me a whole chicken for barbecueing. I was thrilled by the idea of being given the rare chance to take charge of the kitchen (...my mom is a control freak in the kitchen). But when I faced the chicken I seemed to be clueless. The chicken can’t be barbecued whole. It should be cut into parts. And I havent cut a whole chicken into parts in my whole life. So I took courage to get the butcher knife and do the task. I was afraid at first because i did not know if i was doing it right. I inhaled deep as I swang back my armed hand and hit the joint of the thigh part. After the first cut i was able to breathe normally. It wasnt that tough I realized. And my babies turned out quite fine. I marinated them with a barbecue mix and tossed them into the grill pan. Im quite good for a first-timer.

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Tonight, I faced another chicken situation. Now mother was out to attend a wake (it’s a different person, the sick relative isn’t dead... yet). No cutting was involved this time. But I was supposed to “broil” the whole chicken, using a pot! We got no turbo broiler, that is why. But my mom is such a genius she can “broil’ using what equipment we have available. The technique is actually to wrap the marinated whole chicken in a foil and then steam the chicken 30 mins per side. Then unwrap the chicken and allow its juice to reduce and caramelize. When skin is brown, it is ready to serve. I called mama 3 times to get all these intsructions. The result is a juicy flavorful chicken. I could say it is even better than the real char- broiled chicken, whose meat has the tendency to be dry and gummy. Im just magnif for a 2nd-timer!