| Cooking Hints from Food Network Kitchens: Super Stocks -- Panko Bread Crumbs |
|
|
|
advertisement
|
Food Network Kitchens Question: My chicken stock congeals after I've strained it and cooled it in the refrigerator. What am I doing wrong? -- Kathy Answer: You're not doing any wrong, Kathy, in fact, you're doing everything right! The fact that your chicken stock congeals is a very good thing. As you probably know, the key to a successful stock is using the right bones or bony parts. In the case of chicken stock, use bones from an older, larger stewing chicken as it will give more flavor, richness and character. Wings, feet and carcasses all work great too. The reason stocks are simmered for hours is to extract the flavor and natural gelatin from the bones. This gelatin will give your stock richness, flavor and body ... it will also cause your stock to congeal when chilled. A highly gelatinous stock will no doubt be very flavorful and can be used to fortify and enrich other sauces or, if reduced down, seasoned and jazzed up (by adding a little current jelly, for example), can be its own sauce for over chicken, fish or rice. Question: What are "panko" breadcrumbs? Where can you get them and how are they made? -- Hank Answer: Panko breadcrumbs are the superhero of breadcrumbs. It is not rice (like some people think). The ingredient list reads as follows: bleached wheat flour, dextrose, partially hydrogenated soybean oil and palm oil, yeast and salt. Originally from Japan (they are often referred to as Japanese-style breadcrumbs), panko breadcrumbs are larger, flakier and lighter. They endow any breaded item with several advantages -- they brown better, do not get soggy on the inside and stay crunchier on the outside. They are beautiful, and I highly recommend using them to create deliciously crunchy fried foods or even super-crisp breaded chicken cutlets. I have even seen them with a touch of honey flavor, which would be great for regular cooking, but particularly with desserts. Note: While they are very light and crisp, they're not seasoned. Therefore, you need to either season them yourself or highly season the item being breaded. Remember also that if you're deep frying, seasoning the outside breading will infuse the frying oil with those flavors -- so if you're frying something savory and then you want to fry something sweet, you'll want to change the frying oil. A panko breadcrumb starts life out as a traditional yeast-raised bread dough. Instead of oven baking, however, quicker cooking methods (microwaves or electrical resistance) are used. Using this alternative cooking method, the result is bread with little or no crust. The Japanese-style crumbs have a more elongated shape and also exhibit a porous structure that results in a tender/crisp texture. Panko breadcrumbs are sold at most Asian markets and you can even buy them off the Internet from specialty Asian food sites. (Got a question for the culinary experts at Food Network? Send inquiries to Ask Food Network Kitchens via e-mail askfn@foodtv.com or by writing Food Network P.O. BOX 1180, Radio City Station, New York, N.Y. 10101-1180. Due to the volume of inquiries, questions will only be answered in columns. For more information, visit www.foodtv.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)
| 
