Chicken Chow Mein for Breakfast

Chicken Chow Mein for Breakfast

It is true. This blog is about chicken chow mein for breakfast. It’s not just for dinner anymore! Chicken chow mein is for breakfast too. But seriously, it is also about a tip to save time and some money

Back in my Florida days, shopping at the Publix Super Markets, I saw in the meat section small packages of diced ham sold in 8-ounce packages and labeled as “recipe ready” packages. As such they were just the right size to make lunch and served ham salad sandwiches, or to make a wonderful ham and cheese omelet. No need to buy a 10 pound piece ham when you’re only going to use a handful to start.

So, that brings me today. We buy our chicken in the multi-piece pack from the big-box stores and I repackage when we get home into smaller portions. A lot of the times the chicken breast will have rough edges or pieces of the tenderloin still attached. I trim those small pieces of chicken and place them in a separate bag. And presto, I have recipe ready chicken.

Place the diced pieces of the raw meat on a plastic film or parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Cover with a sheet of plastic film and place in the freezer until fully frozen. Remove the cookie sheet and place the frozen meat chunks into a Zip-Lock freezer storage bag for short term storage or into a Vacu-Seal bag for long term storage. Freezing them before bagging keeps them from sticking together; it is easy to grab a cup or handful as you need them. Observe safe food handling procedures.

I used a bit of that recipe ready chicken to make my chow Mein this morning for breakfast. Normally, my preferred breakfast is a serving of hash browns (I like to make my own but I usually make too much so I use the little already cooked prepared hash brown patties), and egg, and usually one strip of the pre-cooked bacon (that saves a lot of frying time) and sometimes they slice of buttered toast with a little dab of jam. As I said it’s my preferred usual but sometimes a little difference is appreciated.

I just happened to have in the refrigerator a bag of bean sprouts and some Chinese Peapod’s. There is a long story about those but that is for another day.

In short order I assembled all the goodies to make my chow Mein. I sliced up some celery, a bit of roasted red pepper, a small onion, some sliced baby carrots, a clove of garlic and went to work. I use my five dollar Walmart wok. The thin steel heats quickly on the ceramic stovetop so the stovetop doesn’t get too hot. I preheated, added a bit of canola oil, watched it smoke, and tossed in my chicken. I stir-fried until the chicken was browned but not quite cooked all the way through. To save a bit of time I directly added the vegetables but held back the bean sprouts and pea pods. I stir-fried the vegetables until the celery was just tender. I then added the sprouts and pea pods along with a few mushrooms that had been cooked the day before, mushrooms that I put on just about everything else. While that was cooking, I made a slurry of a rounded teaspoon of chicken base, a quarter cup of water, and a few drops a sesame oil, and a good sprinkle of soy sauce with a tablespoon of added cornstarch. I seasoned with salt, pepper, and some MSG.

Also while I was cooking, I boiled up a package of Ramen noodles. I added the flavoring packet to the water. When they were cooked through I drained noodles into a colander. When bean sprouts were just tender, I added the slurry and stir-fried until the sauce thickened.  I put the drained noodles on a plate and then ladled on half of the stir-fried mixture (the other half will be breakfast tomorrow). However tomorrow, I will use a bowl instead of a plate because it is easier that way with chopsticks.

I enjoyed those two chow mein breakfasts but I would never have made the batch if I did not have the diced chicken in a convenient, ready to use small portion. I plan on keeping a supply of diced, ready to use small portions of chicken as well as some beef and even make my own diced ham handy-pack for the freezer. I never know when the impulse to experiment in the kitchen will come but I will be ready when the urge strikes.

Just remember, with the possible exception of the ham, the meats, chicken and beef are raw and all precautions need be observed when handling, preparing, freezing and storing the raw meats to prevent contamination and the possibility of causing a food-borne illness.

Using my stash of Recipe-Ready chicken pieces, I had fun cleaning out the refrigerator and was rewarded for my efforts with some delicious meals. Best wishes from Tennessee, home of chicken chow mein for breakfast!