My Birthday Dinner

Today was my 58th Birthday, and this is what I had for dinner.  Looks delicious and I can vouch for it that it sure was!

Dr. Tae Yun Kim has encouraged all of us Jung Suwon warriors to focus on our health this year, and that of course starts with a healthy diet.

This above warrior feast has all the good stuff in it – a mixture of veggies: brussels sprouts, broccoli, onions, garlic, red bell peppers, yellow bell peppers and mushrooms.  Of course you can use a medley of whatever you have on hand, or whatever you like.

I started by sauteing the tofu with the onions and garlic first, added some gluten-free soy sauce, and added the rest of the veggies.  I added a little water too, and covered and let it simmer for about 5 minutes, then topped it with 2 very fresh eggs and covered until the eggs were done – in this case done meant still a little runny inside.

If you either can’t have tofu or simply don’t like it, you could easily substitute boneless chicken for it, just make sure you cook it all the way through.  Or, to change it all up, you could use any meat you have left over from another meal.

Dr.  Tae Yun Kim has been encouraging my self-imposed weight loss – I set a new Year goal to get back down to 130 lbs, my ideal weight – and I enjoyed this meal without rice – although it would have been superb with some brown rice, or even noodles, for sure.

Go ahead and try it out – let me know if you like it!

 

 

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Jung SuWon warrior cry – I want chicken for dinner!

I love a simple, roasted, moist chicken.  The only thing is, who has the time to “babysit” a chicken while it’s in the oven?  Especially for dinner, when you are off at Jung SuWon training, working up an appetite.  And, what do you do to prevent this chicken from drying out? 

I asked Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim about this and here is her “secret.”  First, you put the chicken in a roasting pan.  Then, you cut up some very cold butter into 1/4 inch thick slices (works best actually if you cut the butter in slices, then freeze it, then use it).  Have some crushed garlic on hand, as well as some fresh sprigs of rosemary, salt and pepper.  With your hands, gently lift the skin away from the breast of the chicken, and put in the slices of butter, crushed garlic that you have mixed with salt and pepper, and some of the rosemary.  So in effect, you are putting all this UNDER the skin.  In addition, put a little of the salt, pepper and garlic paste on the outside of the chicken.  Pour some good white wine into the pan, about 2 inches high, add a couple handful mushrooms. Put some rosemary into the chicken cavity, along with some garlic.  Now cover it all up very tightly either with a lid or with aluminum foil, put in preheated oven, 350 degrees.  Since I usually get a couple large sized chickens for this, it takes about 2 hours to cook them. 

So you got plenty of time to come home after class, take off the lid or foil, and let the chicken brown and crispy, which will take about 15 – minutes.  You will enjoy a wonderfully moist and delicious chicken!  The butter, and the steam created through the wine, will ensure that the chicken doesn’t dry out. 

If you have a timer, you can set it before you leave, just in case you end up in a class where we sparr longer than we expect…….

To make it really easy on yourself, start the rice cooker before you go, and voila!  When you come home you got a nice dinner ready – add a salad and you’ll be all set. 

PS: should you have an leftovers – which is doubtful – they are most excellent in a chicken salad the next day!  Or add the leftover to the pasta salad in the recipe I posted earlier.

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