Heritage Pork Dinners & Pig Butchery at Mozza's Scuola di Pizza

When I read Jonathan Gold's review of Nancy Silverton's new pop-up restaurant, Scuola di Pizza, I knew I had to try it. Why? Meat, Nancy Silverton, Mozza and family-style, Italian food. Need I say more?

Then, I read that Heritage Berkshire pigs are currently the theme of their Saturday Mangiare in Famiglia dinners and I nearly knocked over my phone reaching for it to make a reservation. August was all booked but luckily, September was still open and even better, there was a Pig Butchery Intro Class two days before my dinner and we'd be butchering the pig for that upcoming dinner.

Silly question. Of course I signed up for both.

I'll post a few pictures from the Pig Butchery but not most since it's probably a bit too graphic for some. I did post pictures of a whole uncooked pig last year but seeing a whole pig versus a pig being butchered is a different thing.

The Tools

There were six of us in the class and Chad Colby, the Mozza chef who led the class and oversees the pork dinners, made sure that we understood what we were in for before class began. It wasn't a hands-on class (sharp knives, legal-reasons, etc.) but since it was such a small class, we were seated right in front of Chad and the pig and got to see an up-close demo of how to butcher a pig from head to tail.

Future Bacon

It was amazing to see Chad use every part of our Red Wattle Pig. Red Wattles have very high-quality fat so every bit was saved for rendering or cooking. The only things that were thrown away were the glands. The internal organs came pre-packaged from the farm due to health reasons and sadly, because FDA forbids it, there was no pig blood so no blood sausage or the likes. The class was a little over 3 hours (they fed us plenty of Pizzeria Mozza throughout) and I learned a lot and took copious notes. I'm more confident now in cooking with a pork shoulder and one day, I might even tackle a whole hind leg.

Rib Chops

Red Wattle pigs are raised humanely without any genetic modifications. In other words, they roam free and forage for most of their food and they aren't given stimulants and hormones and that's why they are classified as Heritage pigs. As Chad butchered the pig, I could see the meat was marbled evenly with fat and the meat gave off a beautiful and succulent shine. Because the meat is of such high-quality, cooking it doesn't require much head-scratching. You can easily season it with coarse salt, fresh ground-pepper, some fennel seed and olive oil and a hot pan or grill will do the hard work for you. One of the best parts of the class was Chad cooking all the "butcher's scraps" (aka delicious parts that you don't serve or sell because they don't look pretty) this way and serving it to us.

Salumi e Pate Nostrano

Two days later, I got to enjoy the Red Wattle and I was in heaven. The dinners are served family-style (thus the name Mangiare in Famiglia) and a long table fits 22 people. First up was this charcuterie plate with a variety of coppa, liver pate, headcheese, prosciutto and ciccioli zucca made from the pig's head, shoulder, neck and liver and cooked with the pig's fat. The headcheese was my favorite; I couldn't get enough of it.

Salsiccia Fresca (aka Sausage) with Broccolini

Again, delicious and a perfect pairing. This was when a tiny bell started to ring in the very back of my head. A tiny bell that wanted to remind not to eat too much because there was a lot more good food coming. Tip: Don't eat too much of that famous Nancy Silverton focaccia bread; they're good but super filling. Haha.

Soffiata (Souffle?) with Pork Ragu and Parmigiano-Reggiano

Holy moly this was good. I've had Mario Batali's pork lasagna and I think the pork in that and the pork ragu in this are very similar. The top was full of cheesy pillowy goodness and the pork ragu was to die for.

Arrostito Spalla de Maiale

This roast pork shoulder was amazing. In class, Chad cut off almost two inches of fat and saved it for rendering. That left about an inch of fat that completely wrapped and protected the shoulder while it roasted in the oven for nine hours at 225 degrees. Chad says it's difficult to find a pork shoulder in the supermarket that has enough fat to keep the meat moist because so much fat is trimmed off. Plus, few regular markets will carry meat as good as this. But it's not impossible. Find a good butcher and do a special order or buy extra fat to wrap around your pork shoulder.

The entire pork shoulder was hand-shredded and tossed with a salad and a light vinaigrette. I could eat this salad every day. The pork was only seasoned with salt and pepper but the slow roasting made it fork-tender and finding pieces of meat with some fat on it was like finding nuggets of gold. At this point, that tiny bell was ringing on top of my head but there was meat; I happily forged on.

Rib Chops

Oh my god. These were the rib chops from class! Grilled to medium (light pink center) with salt, pepper, wild fennel seed and olive oil, every bite of this pork chop and the thin layer of fat on the edge was like eating pork gold. I was really full from the pork shoulder already but the rib chops were too good to pass up.

Piggy Coconut Almond Biscotti

A cute, crunchy prelude to our last course.

Trio of Gelato and Sorbet

A sweet way to end the night with chocolate gelato, raspberry sorbet and yogurt. The gelato was a chocolate lover's dream and the yogurt was surprisingly good and I couldn't get enough of it.

I had a great time in both the class and dinner. I highly recommend the class if you're interested in understanding where your meat comes from, how it's brought to you, understanding cuts of meat and how to cook it or just for fun and learning. I enjoyed meeting people at the family dinner too; it's fun to meet some like-minded people who are passionate about good food and meat. Coolia and I were lucky enough to sit next to two couples who were vinophiles and one of them works at the Wine Hotel in Los Angeles. He brought different red and white wines to pair with each course and they shared every wine with us and they were all amazing. Half of what he brought is very hard to find but I look forward to paying a visit to the Wine Hotel.

Currently, Scuola di Pizza serves dinners on Fridays and Saturdays (they served lunch on Sundays last month) but the schedule changes month-to-month and the themes change too. Other times, the space doubles as an intimate classroom for pizza, cheese and wine classes and of course, the pig butchery class. Check out the schedule on the Mozza2Go website.

Scuola di Pizza

6610 Melrose Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90038

(323) 297-1130

Tip: The Mangiare in Famiglia dinner is $75/pp and the pig butchery is $150/pp. If you attend both the pork dinner and the the pig butchery class, you get $50 off the pig butchery class.

Farmers Market Welcomes Me to My New Hood

It's a bit of a culture shock to go from Palms/Culver City to Sherman Oaks but I'm making the adjustment, albeit a slow adjustment. Food is a must for me in acclimating to a neighborhood and so far, I'm really happy to find authentic Vietnamese pho at Pho So 1 (you don't have this on the Westside), delicious but cheap $9 lamb shawarma plates at Pita Kitchen and the rich pork Tonkatsu ramen at Jinya Ramen.

My happy find today is the Studio City Farmers Market. I missed having easy access to several weekend farmers markets in Mar Vista and Santa Monica and finding the Studio City market helped me feel a bit more at home today. It's a pretty good-size market with a variety of vendors selling fresh produce, eggs, honey, mushrooms, fresh pasta, seafood, breads, jewelry and clothing. It's also a great place to grab breakfast or lunch; I was really tempted to eat there but my hands were full of ingredients for the lunch and dinner that I was going to cook as soon as I got home.

My bounty from the Studio City Farmers Market! I had one of these peaches right away when I got home. Man, it was juicy, sweet and tasted like Summer and most importantly, it smelled like a ripe peach!

The Yang Farmstand had these beautiful baby bok choys, eggplants, carrots, garlic and green onions. The rest I got at from different vendors.

I'm super excited about this fresh bucatini pasta and can't wait to cook it with some tiger prawns and a homemade tomato sauce tonight.

This bakery has really good bread. All natural and no preservatives and the bread is fresh and soft like a pillow. I was there too late and missed out on the cinnamon raisin bread but I put this one to good use for lunch today. Must try their rosemary, garlic and potato varieties next time.

I present you a BET. Bacon - Egg - Tomato.

Truth is I forgot to buy lettuce but substituting with an overeasy egg with the yolk running over the fresh heirloom tomato and the whole wheat honey bread made this sandwich a winner. Dan and I eat like Kings.

Oh, don't forget to compliment your BET with a soda from Galco's. I love Cheerwine; it's like Cherry Dr. Pepper but way better.

So, I am starting to adjust to my new hood. It is an easy 20 minute zip to Highland Park to satisfy my taco cravings whereas it took me 40 minutes from Palms before and it is relatively easy to get to K-town (Korean BBQ!) and Downtown. If you ever find yourself in the area, give my finds a try. I also welcome recommendations. If it weren't for a friend's recommendation, I wouldn't have found Pita Kitchen. Now, if only Father's Office and Sasabune would open on this side of town...

Studio City Farmers Market

12052 Ventura Pl
Los Angeles, CA 91604

Sundays - 8am to 1pm

Free parking behind the Chase Bank or the nearby CBS Studios

Oysters for Breakfast!

I would like to have a weekly date with Rob at Carlsbad Aquafarms. (Sorry, Dan.)

I've been suffering very bad neck pain for the past 10 days but my date with Rob (Rob's oysters to be specific) helped transport me to a painless and delicious world this morning. The oysters were fresh, buttery and plump and they're at a price that can't be beat! They're $2 each shucked so you can enjoy it onsite or $10 a dozen for you to take home and shuck it yourself.

These babies are so fresh you can eat it plain or with just a squirt of lemon. The buttery goodness of the sea is still lingering in my mouth. Mmmm.

Carlsbad Aquafarms is at the Santa Monica Wednesday Farmers Market (8am to 1:30pm) and also the Hollywood Sunday Farmers Market (8am to 1pm). You'd be hard-pressed to find such delicious oysters anywhere else in this town for such a great price. They carry a variety of oysters (Luna, Blondes, etc.), clams, mussels and even red ogo.

So, what are you waiting for? If you love oysters, treat yourself and head to Santa Monica now!

LA Street Food Fest - Still Needs Improvement

Summer fun has been keeping me super busy but here I am finally with a quick post on today's LA Street Food Fest at the Pasadena Rose Bowl.

Cool swag from the food fest.

My boyfriend and I arrived at 5:15pm and the long line to get in was already starting to snake around the huge parking lot. Doors opened at 5:30pm and we were through the gates by 5:45pm. Not bad. However, the organization of the event could really be improved.

After getting our tickets scanned for entrance, we had to go into another long, unorganized line for wristbands for the open beer/cocktail bar and tequila tasting. The ice cream vendors and cocktail bar were right by the entrance while the beer, tequila and rest of the 50+ food vendors were on the stadium field that had to be accessed by walking through a tunnel and down a long flight of stadium stairs. The separation of the two area ruined the event flow. The tequila tasting and food vendors like the super popular Grilled Cheese Truck were located on the top floor of the stadium making the access also inconvenient. Food vendors were lined around the perimeter of the stadium field and the lines were loooooong with average waits at 15 minutes per vendor. Some waits were much longer for popular vendors like Dogzilla or vendors who weren't as well organized with food prep, but to be fair, the event organizers had most of the food vendors to do their preparation and cooking outside of the stadium. They had to run up the stadium stairs to get out to their food and run back down the stairs to serve their food to folks on the field. Not very good planning and foresight on the event planning side; I felt sorry for the food vendors.

The event encouraged people to bring picnic blankets and many people laid them in the center of the field but because waits for food was so long, many people (including me and my boyfriend) were busy waiting in separate lines so many blankets were unused and taking up scarce field space. We were constantly jumping around blankets, bumping into people and avoiding the occasional stroller (yes, strollers were not allowed but some still found their way in).

There must have been more than 5,000 people there. Long lines everywhere.

As for the food and drink, in about three hours, we managed to try 4 drink vendors (Honest Tea, Izze, Singha and Bonadea) and 11 food vendors:

• Dim Sum Truck - The shrimp har gow and pork siu mai were good but you can never beat eating them fresh off a dim sum cart. The vegan corn & tofu sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf was surprisingly good without the traditional pork filling. I know - vegan and Cantonese food sounds like heresy!
• Fresh Fries - Nutella & peanut butter sweet potato fries were oh so yummy.
• Gastrobus - Of all the food we tried, the most delicious and memorable bites were from Gastrobus. The Ecuadorean Shrimp Ceviche was refreshing and the tomato, citrus juice made the shrimp dance in my mouth. They also had a Dulce de Tres Leche dessert topped with fresh pineapple and toasted coconut. That was so good I contemplated stealing the whole tray or offering them money to buy the whole thing. I can't wait to eat there again.
• Jaliscos Tacos - The beef and chicken tacos were pretty good but didn't beat my bar for tacos.
• Kabob N' Roll - They served a surprisingly moist and juicy chicken kabob.
• Komodo - This was our first stop and their beef satay did not disappoint.
• Mandoline Grill - I went back twice to catch their pork banh mi with no luck. The tofu banh mi was okay.
• Mariscos Jalisco - Delicious fried shrimp taco. The corn tortilla was lightly fried and topped with a slice of avocado and salsa. Mmmm.
• McQ's Smoke House - The bbq pork rib was a bit dry.
• Scoops - They are opening a location in Palms/Culver City soon. Yay!! Brown bread ice cream!!!
• Starry Kitchen - I was really looking forward to trying SK but they only served a fried tofu ball. It was okay; nothing surprising or impressive though.

We're not big tequila drinkers, the Singha beer was served out of bottles instead of tap so the lines were super long and we missed out on the cocktail bar because it was separated from the food vendors (ugh). We gave up on waiting in the insanely long lines for Grilled Cheese, Dogzilla and Antojitos even though we really wanted to try them because we were tired and only had 30 minutes left to check out Unique LA. If we didn't split up half the time to get food, we would have tried less food and left the event hungry.

Overall, I guess this was an improvement over their February event. That one didn't limit ticket sales and it was located in Downtown LA. I headed somewhere else as soon as I read on Buzz that the lines were out of control. I can't say that I really got my $45 worth this time. The lines were too long, bites too small and the event wasn't mapped out well for convenience and flow so it made it very hard to relax and enjoy the picnic blanket we brought, which we didn't even bother to lay out.

Thankfully I was there with Dan; he made the event much more fun and he was a trooper for putting up with the long lines with me.

Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour - Serendipity & Tributefest in Santa Clarita

Yesterday was a very serendipitous and happy day!

I lost a pair of my favorite earrings earlier this week and yesterday, someone in my apartment building left one earring taped to the mailboxes with a note looking for its owner. Me! And minutes later when I pulled my keys to open the door to my apartment, I found the other earring hanging from my keyring. Now, how lucky is that? The earrings are cheap but they're of great sentimental value as I bought them on my Hawaii trip earlier this year. This is not related to food or drink but this is how my lucky day began.

In the afternoon, Julie and her boyfriend, Dave, and I went to Tributefest in Santa Clarita and we were lucky again when another friend hooked us up with free wristbands that got us unlimited pours to the 30 beers that were on tap and that saved us $40 each. There were also over a dozen food trucks and we padded our stomachs with deliciously greasy Philly Cheesesteaks ("wit" and cheese wiz of course) from the South Philly Experience truck and shrimp dumpling and sticky rice from the Dim Sum Truck. Aeromyth (tribute to Aerosmith) was the best band of the day and after I don't know how many beers, the lead singer really did start to look a lot like Steven Tyler. I think he was actually skinnier than the real Tyler!

My favorite beer yesterday - Speakeasy's Prohibtion Ale with a nice hoppy aroma. Too bad they weren't pouring the Big Daddy IPA though. I think Julie and I drank from like 3pm to a little after 8pm but we weren't badly drunk. Slow and steady takes the cake...plus, dancing and water helps a lot.

On the way home, our designated driver, Dave the Enabler, took a shortcut and in my tipsy state I made a serendipitous discovery. I spotted a sign for Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour! If you read my last post about the joy and nostalgia a banana split brings me, then you'll understand when I tell you that I yelped (aka screamed with joy) when I saw the Farrell's sign. Dave immediately did a u-ey and we ended up at one of the happiest places of my childhood.

I think I was in my super enthused HungryKat mode due to the beers and the excitement of seeing Farrell's. This gift and candy display was behind the register and not exactly open to foot traffic but I asked to go in and see the giant lollipops and goodies and I was in before the staff (nice people) could say no. And yes, for Tributefest, I was rockin' the Bierbitzch tank I got from LA Beerfest a few weeks ago.


"Creating Old Time Memories for a New Generation." I think Farrell's has been using this image since its beginning in the 1960s. I really love it. Notice how they're holding each others hands with a milkshake in between them; even as a little girl, I found this image very romantic and now I especially love the 1920s era it evokes. For some reason, now it also makes me think of Chicago or New York in the 1920s. It must be the influence from reading The Devil in the White City.


There were only three of us so we didn't order any of these giant ice creams. When you order any of the three, the staff bangs a drum and sings a song or does a shout out to let everyone in the restaurant know you're a little piggie.


Amazing! Because we stopped at Farrell's, Dave revealed that he used to work at a Farrell's in Staten Island when he was 15! He talked the manager into giving me one of their signature styrofoam hats (they've been using them forever) and he got me a lovely souvenir shirt for my fake birthday. Yes, I shamelessly pretended it was my birthday yesterday so they would bring the drums and sing a song for me and give me a free birthday sundae.


Well, it's almost my birthday anyway and hey, it wasn't all free. Dave told them they had to embarrass me more than usual. I had to get up and wear this silly straw hat.


Then I had to dance the entire time they sang my birthday song and Dave has all of this on video! I will also shamelessly admit I enjoyed all of this but I will blame it on all the beer I imbibed yesterday. Thank you Julie for taking pictures while I was embarrassing myself :)


Julie ordered the Banana Split. Still delicious but they still only put one cherry on the top.

The Fake Chicken Dinner. The chicken nuggets are butterfingers, the peas are mint candy and the ice cream is supposed to be vanilla with caramel sauce to make it look like mashed potatoes but Dave chose mint ice cream.


The drum. I think they brought out the drum like five times last night for birthdays including my fake birthday. All of them were kids except me. Well, I'm a kid at heart. It was so cute to see all the kids' excited and happy faces when the staff banged the drum and had the kid stand up before they sang a special song for them. The song wasn't your standard "Happy Birthday" song; Farrell's has a few birthday songs on rotation that are fun and playful.


I love this glass ice cream lampshade. They had many glass lampshades in the restaurant but only this one had an ice cream motif.

Love....

I started my day with beer and ended it with ice cream. How perfect and how lucky am I? I want to give a shout out to our server whose name is also Katt (two ts); she was so friendly and enthusiastic and totally humored and indulged all my tipsy and nostalgic antics and let me walk all around the restaurant like a kid at Disneyland.

I was especially happy to be able to share all of it with my friends. The last six months has been full of ups and downs and yesterday was one of the happiest days I've had in a long time. May Day. Rebirth.


Farrell's
21516 Golden Triangle Road
Santa Clarita, CA 91350
(661) 253- 4386
*There used to be 130+ locations in the U.S. but when I was a kid, they started shuttering them and now there is only one other location in California located in Mission Viejo. Angelenos, don't be afraid to drive out of the LA vicinity.

The Joy of a Banana Split

One of my favorite childhood memories is my mom taking me and my two younger sisters to Baskin Robbins after school. She would order one banana split and us four girls would share that one banana split. We never complained it was not enough or that we each wanted our own. Ha, I'd like to say at that age we knew that "sharing is caring" but I think it was more that we knew our mom was managing us on a tight budget so we didn't dare to be brats.

Yes, we would elbow over who got more chocolate ice cream or more banana, and of course, the ultimate prize was the cherry. Whose turn was it to eat that solitary cherry on the top this time? If my memory serves me correctly, my youngest sister often got the cherry because she was the youngest and cuter than a newborn puppy. She still is cuter than a newborn puppy.

Sometimes, we would even go to Farrell's, an old-fashioned ice cream parlour in Rosemead (closed years ago and is now Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant), for a late-night banana split when my father came home from his job as a chef. Can you imagine? Three kids up at midnight eating ice cream and watching cartoons for 25 cents at Farrell's. Only Chinese parents would not be concerned about kids hyped up on sugar and bouncing off the walls way past their bedtime. Love it!

Anyway, I was telling this story to a friend recently and she had no idea what a banana split was. As the HungryKat, I had to remedy that situation right away. The next day, we hosted a Banana Split Hour at work and I showed her how to make a Banana Split and invited our co-workers to make their own. It was a lovely and delicious Friday.

Notice how my Banana Split now has three cherries :)

That weekend, I went to my aunt's house for dinner and she has three young boys (12 and 10 and 10). I showed them this picture and told them about my Banana Split party and they said they've never had a Banana Split either! Hungry(cousin)Kat to the rescue. You should know how that ends.

HungryKat Banana Splits

• Ripe Banana
• Chocolate Ice Cream
• Strawberry Ice Cream
• Vanilla Ice Cream
• Fudge (melted and no Hershey's syrup please)
• Pineapple Topping (these toppings can be bought in jars at the market)
  
• Strawberry Topping
• Whipped Cream
• Toasted crushed peanuts or pecans
• Maraschino Cherries

First, gather friends.

Split a ripe banana lengthwise and place in a mid-size bowl (there are actually Banana Split glassware you can buy). Place one scoop of chocolate, one scoop of strawberry and one scoop of vanilla ice cream in between the split banana. Top the chocolate with fudge, the vanilla with the pineapple topping and the strawberry with strawberry topping. Then squirt a generous amount of whip cream on top of each mound of ice cream. Finish with the nuts and top with three Maraschino cherries; one for each ice cream.

Last step - Smile and enjoy with friends or loved ones.

Easy Hainan Chicken Rice (海南雞飯) Recipe For Home Cooks

Hainan Chicken Rice is a simple and very satisfying dish. Tender, juicy pieces of savory chicken paired with aromatic chicken stock-infused rice is a comfort food for many Asians, specifically the Singaporeans, Malaysians, Vietnamese and of course, the Chinese where this dish originated in Hainan Island. Done right, this dish will inspire content sighs of "Mmmm" and "Ahhhh" and many rubbings of a full belly at the dinner table.

It's easy to find this dish in Chinese cafes and Southeast Asian restaurants but it's very hard to find a place that will serve a tasty version. Savoy Kitchen and Dong Nguyen (both in Alhambra) are very popular and famous for their Hainan Chicken Rice. However, I'm probably in the minority in saying that their Hainan Chicken Rice is just okay. It may be carelessness that comes with success but I often find their Hainan Chicken to be bland and the white meat too dry for what is supposed to be fresh chicken. Their rice is good but that doesn't cut if for me.

Frustrated by the lack of quality Hainan Chicken Rice, I started making it at home and a friend recently asked me how I make this dish at home. Like most people, I juggle a busy schedule between work, a gym routine (I exercise to eat and drink!) and the many fun activities that the lovely city of Los Angeles offers so I'd like to share an easy recipe I modified for cooking Hainan Chicken for the busy home cook. My way does require overnight marinating so prep today and feast tomorrow!

First, do yourself a big favor and buy a fresh chicken from the Farmers Market or a poultry shop; the Fosters 3000-mile frozen (and then defrosted) chicken will be a waste of your time and an insult to your taste buds. Being on the Westside, I prefer the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers Market or Superior Poultry in Chinatown. Try to cook the chicken the same day you buy it. You'll also need 2 bunches of green onions, a head of fresh ginger, a head of garlic and kosher or sea salt.

Wash the chicken inside and out and pat dry. The chicken gizzards, liver and heart can be discarded or saved for cooking later. Chinese poultry shops tend to leave the chicken head on so you can either ask them to chop it off for you at the shop or you can just suck it up and chop it off yourself (I do it myself). Cut 4 to 5 stalks of green onions in half - do cut the onion ends off and discard. Peel 4 cloves of garlic and cut 3 to 4 thick slices of fresh ginger.

Prep a large stockpot with water (eyeball the water level but it has to be enough to cover the whole chicken entirely) and add the green onions, garlic and ginger. Bring the water to a boil.

When the water is boiling, carefully add the whole chicken into the pot. It's very important that you have enough water to cover the chicken entirely. If you saved the gizzards, etc., now is the time to put it into the water with the chicken. Put the pot lid on and TURN OFF the fire. Let the chicken slow-cook this way for about 40 to 50 minutes (the bigger your chicken, the longer the time) and resist the temptation to constantly lift the lid. Slow-cooking ensures your chicken will be extra tender and juicy and if you use a fresh chicken, you'll really be able to taste the real essence of the chicken meat. You can check for doneness by inserting a chopstick or knife into the thigh of the chicken to see if blood runs out.

When the chicken is done, the water should still be pretty hot so be careful in removing the chicken from the pot. Let the chicken cool and sprinkle kosher or sea salt in the cavity. Then put the chicken in a ziplock bag and liberally sprinkle salt into the bag (the gizzards, etc. go into the bag too if you cooked it). Don't be shy with the salt and don't be afraid to stick your hand into the bag to make sure the salt is spread evenly all over the chicken. Seal the bag and place it in your refrigerator to marinate overnight. Tip: Some prefer a "crunchy" chicken skin so they'll bath the chicken in an ice bath for a few minutes upon removing it from the hot water. I don't eat chicken skin often so I usually skip this step out of laziness.

Do not toss the water you used to boil the chicken; that is valuable stock! Remove the green onions, ginger and garlic and save the stock, including that nice film of chicken oil on the top, and save it to cook rice the next day. Invest in a rice cooker; I cannot live without mine.

The finale!

The next day, instead of using regular water to cook your jasmine rice, use the chicken stock, add a little more salt to taste and then just press the cook button on the rice cooker. It should take about 20 minutes.

While the rice is cooking, prep the chicken and the condiments. Remove the chicken from the ziplock bag and wipe off the excess salt. Depending on your preference, you can serve the chicken cold or bring it back to room temperature before serving. I prefer my chicken slightly warm so I split the chicken in half and I boil water in a double-boiler and quick steam it for a few minutes before I chop it into smaller serving pieces. Note that lovely liver and gizzard in my picture - rich and delicious!

For the condiment, fine chop some green onions and fine-grate some fresh ginger (see my picture above) and mix in a bowl with a little kosher salt. In a small pan, heat a few tablespoons of canola oil and when hot, carefully pour the hot oil over the ginger-onion mixture. Alternatively, you can prep a garlic chili sauce by mincing some fresh garlic and chili and adding lime juice to it. Slices of cucumber and tomatoes are often served on the side as well.

There you have it. The HungryKat's easy overnight version of Hainan Chicken. With just a little planning, you can have moist, tender dark and white meat chicken with tasty, tasty chicken rice for dinner. The beauty of this dish is the simple preparation and the use of only a few flavoring ingredients to allow the essence and sweetness of the chicken meat to shine through.

There has been some debate amongst my friends and colleagues recently that Frog Claypot Rice is disgusting. I completely disagree. Next project: Cook Frog Claypot Rice the way my dad taught me when I was a child (using fresh frog of course) so look out for that post...coming soon.

It's a free country so if you don't want to cook and would rather drive, go ahead and check out Savoy and Dong Nguyen.

Savoy Kitchen

138 E. Valley Blvd.

Alhambra, 91801

(626) 308-9535

Dong Nguyen

1433 E. Valley Blvd.

Alhambra, 91801

(626) 300-8618