It's too bad, but some chicken doesn't taste like good chicken can
There was a time when I was really hard on chicken. Actually, I'll just come out and say it: I was hard on people who loved chicken. I thought it was for people who had no idea what they wanted. No idea who they were. Or people who were simply too chicken to order anything else.
If I could have exercised my will during that time, I would have made skinless, boneless chicken breast an international offence. If I could have had a superpower, it would have been to replace all the chicken on menus with tofu, the only common protein I knew of that could compare in terms of its potential for blandness, but so much more benevolent because it spares the necks of chickens.
I would have liked to impose a ban on the warmed-over line, "tastes like chicken". And after a cinnamon roll and a salmon bake in the town of Chicken, Alaska, the only thing I genuinely didn't love about the place was its name.
How could one person be so jaded about chicken? People kill more than 40 billion chickens annually for their consumption. It's certainly popular enough. But generally perceived as one of the most innocuous and easily digested foods out there, chicken had long struck me as a sort of miscellaneous fallback protein, prepared thoughtlessly and shoe-horned on to restaurant menus as an afterthought to placate the picky eaters.
When I realised the arrogance and idiocy of my ways, it wasn't because of a chicken that had lived a happy life roaming free and getting fat on good, organic mineral-rich grains and seeds and vegetation - though such chickens make glorious roasting birds indeed.
It was a bite of transcendental fried chicken at the Loveless Café in Nashville, Tennessee, that made me want to climb on to the roof and burn off the calories, singing the praises of my no-longer-maligned lunch meat.
A few weeks later, my first taste of potatoes - fried in schmaltz-rendered chicken fat used in Ashkenazi, German and Ukrainian cooking - sealed the deal, and nearly an artery or two, in a lifelong embrace.
An obvious alternative to more expensive forms of protein, chicken provides a more healthful option. Sadly, chicken dishes run a higher risk of being complete snores - and not just because of the amount of sleep-inducing tryptophan contained in chicken meat, which comes very close to that of the known soporific: turkey.
Musakhan, the Palestinian dish of tender chicken, tart sumac and melting, caramelised onion, is a dish I'd gladly represent in a fight for the title of world's greatest chicken dish. My sole contingency: dark meat only, please.
In fact, "thigh" is always the answer when I'm given the choice, but there are other parts of the bird that should not be overlooked, starting with the prized "oyster". A dark, plump little morsel with a distinct flavour and texture, the oyster is tucked away in a crevice where the cook has to look for it. Easy to miss - and tragically, easy to miss out on - the French name for it means "the fool leaves it there".
There's the juicy, unctuous tail, full of fat and flavour, and of course, the skin. Fried chicken skin - as a garnish for soup, in tacos, or on its own, sprinkled with salt, is one of the greatest and most easily acquired treats around.
I've visited a lot of chicken coops, and though I'm not religious about researching where my chicken comes from, how it was raised, or what its name was, I'm very cautious about how much of it I eat. It's not the urban legends about female hirsutism attributed to the consumption of factory-farmed chickens that instilled this caution in me; it was visiting the factories themselves.
Though pork has long been held as the dirty, tainted meat, I've seen - and smelled - some chicken coops that left me traumatised. We had raised chickens when I was growing up, and raising chickens in the city is a popular endeavour these days for those with the space, time and inspiration to do it, but the fate of the overwhelming majority of animals raised for slaughter is a completely different story, and one that I think should be considered by everyone who eats meat.
artslife@thenational.ae
Company%20profile
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RESULTS
6.30pm: Maiden Dh 165,000 1,600m
Winner: Superior, Connor Beasley (jockey), Ahmad bin Harmash (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap Dh 185,000 2,000m
Winner: Tried And True, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
7.40pm: Maiden Dh 165,000 1,600m
Winner: Roy Orbison, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
8.15pm
Handicap Dh 190,000 1,400m
Winner: Taamol, Dane O’Neill, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
8.50pm
Handicap Dh 175,000 1,600m
Winner: Welford, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
9.25pm: Handicap Dh 175,000 1,200m
Winner: Lavaspin, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
10pm: Handicap Dh 165,000 1,600m
Winner: Untold Secret, Xavier Ziani, Sandeep Jadhav
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
LOS ANGELES GALAXY 2 MANCHESTER UNITED 5
Galaxy: Dos Santos (79', 88')
United: Rashford (2', 20'), Fellaini (26'), Mkhitaryan (67'), Martial (72')
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Explainer: Tanween Design Programme
Non-profit arts studio Tashkeel launched this annual initiative with the intention of supporting budding designers in the UAE. This year, three talents were chosen from hundreds of applicants to be a part of the sixth creative development programme. These are architect Abdulla Al Mulla, interior designer Lana El Samman and graphic designer Yara Habib.
The trio have been guided by experts from the industry over the course of nine months, as they developed their own products that merge their unique styles with traditional elements of Emirati design. This includes laboratory sessions, experimental and collaborative practice, investigation of new business models and evaluation.
It is led by British contemporary design project specialist Helen Voce and mentor Kevin Badni, and offers participants access to experts from across the world, including the likes of UK designer Gareth Neal and multidisciplinary designer and entrepreneur, Sheikh Salem Al Qassimi.
The final pieces are being revealed in a worldwide limited-edition release on the first day of Downtown Designs at Dubai Design Week 2019. Tashkeel will be at stand E31 at the exhibition.
Lisa Ball-Lechgar, deputy director of Tashkeel, said: “The diversity and calibre of the applicants this year … is reflective of the dynamic change that the UAE art and design industry is witnessing, with young creators resolute in making their bold design ideas a reality.”
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Swiss fly direct from the UAE to Zurich from Dh2,855 return, including taxes.
The chalet
Chalet N is currently open in winter only, between now and April 21. During the ski season, starting on December 11, a week’s rental costs from €210,000 (Dh898,431) per week for the whole property, which has 22 beds in total, across six suites, three double rooms and a children’s suite. The price includes all scheduled meals, a week’s ski pass, Wi-Fi, parking, transfers between Munich, Innsbruck or Zurich airports and one 50-minute massage per person. Private ski lessons cost from €360 (Dh1,541) per day. Halal food is available on request.
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
My Country: A Syrian Memoir
Kassem Eid, Bloomsbury
Oppenheimer
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Company%20Profile
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MATCH INFO
Delhi Daredevils 174-4 (20 ovs)
Mumbai Indians 163 (19.3 ovs)
Delhi won the match by 11 runs
Asia%20Cup%202022
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 575bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh554,000
On sale: now
