Eating Gluten-Free Doesn't Mean Sacrificing Great Food!
A good fried egg is one of life’s simple pleasures. And by simple, I mean it takes just a few minutes to get that egg fried. In addition to being tasty on their own, fried eggs are a key part of Huevos Rancheros (or my Quinoa and Black Bean Cakes, prepared like Huevos Rancheros) or Croque-Madames. Fried eggs are also great toppers for burgers or fried rice.
Now to the detailed ingredient list…
When my husband was recovering from knee surgery, I made him a lot of scrambled eggs. I figured protein was important for the healing process. At first, he wondered if they were too much trouble…which was when I realized, no, scrambled eggs are no trouble at all. Yes, they take a few minutes longer than a bowl of cottage cheese, but, trouble? None at all.
Eggs are great for gluten-free breakfasts, and good scrambled eggs can be the base for other dishes. Mix in some cooked and crumbled sausage or diced spinach (or other veggies) to jazz up your basic eggs.
Tonkatsu — Japanese-Style Pork Chops — are, at their heart, breaded and fried pork chops. They differentiate themselves from European schnitzels because of, well, the pork (though I’ve had many fine pork schnitzels) and the use of panko, a Japanese bread crumb. This version modifies the traditional dish to make it gluten-free.
Panko is lighter and crispier than traditional bread crumbs…and the gluten-free version works beautifully for breading (I use Kinnikinnick brand). I generally serve this with rice and salad (plus, pickled carrots or pickled carrot ribbons if you want to go fancy).
I don’t remember how many years ago it was, but one of my friends brought Kentucky Fried Chicken to our monthly bookclub meeting. Prior to this, the height of decadence in bookclub came in the form of our local so, so bad-for-you Chinese restaurant. With the exception of our vegetarian member, everyone, after noting they hadn’t had KFC in years, dug into the chicken. And the biscuits.
Before long, fried chicken became a regular feature at bookclub. And I am not ashamed to say the one thing I regretted most about going gluten-free was…yes, no more KFC. Which meant I had to get over my fear of frying.
Needless to say, making fried chicken is a personal thing. Everyone has a recipe they swear by. The trick is to gussy up the flour mixture with herbs and spices and tasty stuff to give it lots of flavor. The other trick is to use really hot (350 degrees) oil to get a good seal on the chicken — that way the juiciness stays in while the oil stays out.
You can fry in a deep fryer, on the stove in a deep skillet or Dutch oven, or even bake this version of fried chicken. And, of course, make it your own by mixing up the seasonings to your own taste. And while you can use any and all part of the chicken, remember that breasts tend to dry out more than legs and thighs.
