Monday, February 9, 2009

The Easiest Chicken Recipes for Novice Cooks

By KC Kudra

Many people worry about using raw chicken to make chicken recipes and it is true that there are a few things to learn about handling raw chicken. As long as you follow basic hygiene rules, however, you will be fine. You should always wash your hands after handling raw chicken and clean all the surfaces the raw chicken has touched.

Raw chicken should be stored in the refrigerator in its plastic wrap. It should not touch any other foods and it is best to keep raw meat, poultry, and fish on the lowest shelf so it does not drip on to anything else. Chicken needs to be cooked all the way through and not have any pink bits left inside. As long as you follow these basic rules, there is no reason not to start making tasty chicken recipes today!

Chicken does not cost much and is widely available. It is a low fat health food. Perhaps deep fried chicken is not as healthy as grilled chicken salad or chicken baked in a tomato sauce but chicken is wonderfully versatile and you can cook it in many different ways and pair it with hundreds of different ingredients.

Easy Chicken Dishes to Start With

If you are new to chicken cookery, you might like to start with an easy boneless chicken recipe. Boneless chicken recipes tend to be straightforward. You might like to slice some chicken breasts and vegetables and stir-fry them. Add some sauce and you have a delicious dinner. You can make a wonderful Asian stir-fry by using boneless chicken pieces, thinly sliced vegetables and adding soy sauce and sesame oil at the end. You can throw in some nuts and raisins too if you like.

You can make an Asian style stir fry by using boneless chicken slices, vegetables sliced thinly on the diagonal and adding some soy sauce and sesame oil at the last minute. Baked chicken recipes are also simple to put together and you can brown a boneless, skinless chicken breast, pour over some sauce or even a can of soup, and bake it in the oven. Poached chicken recipes and grilled chicken recipes are also easy unless you are making a complicated sauce or marinade. As long as you make sure your chicken cooks for the right amount of time, it should come out fine.

Undercooked chicken, which is pink inside, is dangerous to eat because of the risk of salmonella and overcooked chicken is stringy and dry. The best way to see if your chicken is cooked is to cut into it at the thickest part to see if the meat is white all the way through and the juices are clear. If so, the chicken is ready.

As you become more confident with chicken recipes, you can have a go at slightly trickier chicken dishes. The chicken casserole recipes which once confused you will be something you can make your own by varying the ingredients, herbs and flavors.

You can also try your hand at making a roast chicken dinner with all the trimmings when you have had some experience with easy chicken recipes.

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