Chasing Chickens: National Chicken Month in full effect
September 26, 2003
Chaat Café
320 3rd St.
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 979-9946
Hours: Mon. – Sun.: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
1902 University Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94794
(510) 845-1431
Hours: Mon. – Sun.: 11 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.
3954 Mowry Ave.
Fremont, CA 94538
(510) 796-3408
Hours: Mon. – Sun.: 11:30 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.
5134 Stevens Creek Blvd.
San Jose, CA 95120
(408) 247-9010
Hours: Mon. – Sun.: Mon. – Fri.: 11:30 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.; Sat. – Sun.: 11:30 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.
Prices: Appetizers: $3.50 – $5.99; wraps: $4.49 – $5.99; entrees:
$6.95 – $9.95
Shanghai Restaurant
420 Judah St. (at 9th Avenue)
San Francisco, CA 94122
(415) 661-7755
Hours: Mon. – Fri.: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.; Sat. – Sun.: 10:30 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Prices: Appetizers: $5.50 – $12.50; soups: $4.95 – $6.95; entrees:
$4.25 – $13.95
Siam Kitchen
668 Sacramento St.
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 391-8988
Hours: Mon. – Fri.: 10:30 a.m. – 9 p.m.; Sat. – Sun.: Closed.
Prices: Appetizers: $4.15 – $10.90; soups and salads: $5.75 – $9.15; entrees: $5.90 – $13.95
Tay Giang
2543 Noriega St. (at 23rd Avenue)
San Francisco, CA 94122
(415) 682-8886
Hours: Mon. – Sun.: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.; 5 p.m–10 p.m.; closed Wednesdays.
Prices: Appetizers: $4.50 – $7.95; pho: $4.95 – $7.95; entrees:
$4.50 – $24.95
In honor of National Chicken Month, I want to celebrate the wonderful contribution our feathered friend has given us in the culinary world, especially in Asian cuisine. Over the past few years, I’ve come to view the chicken as the ambassador of the animal farm. With many living by the Orwellian credo: “Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend,” the chicken has often been the animal that blurs the line Between vegetarian and meat-eater.
It’s the white meat, the provider of eggs and the meat that has allowed for healthier versions of hot dogs and burgers.
Historians believe that the chicken originated in Southeast Asia and is a descendant of the red jungle fowl, a species of wild fowl found in Southeast Asian particularly Malaysia. Records from China reveal that people raised chickens there as early as 1400 B.C.E., and were bred for their feather color, egg color and body size. During the 1500s, explorers gathered chickens aboard ships to serve as food, and Spanish explorers brought certain breeds to North America.
Chicken is now the No.1 species consumed by Americans, according to the United States Department of Agriculture, and California leads the country as the top egg-producing state.
In my family, chicken has always been regarded as both medicinal and satisfying. Chicken breasts are boiled with Chinese herbs, barks and roots to make herbal soups. And unlike the Western&Mac222;world, which sees chicken soup as a cure for the common cold, I was always told that people should avoid chicken during fevers and colds since chicken worsens both ailments. But we still use it for rejuvenating the body.
When I was living in China, I befriended a woman whom I endearingly called the “Chicken Lady.” She owned a chicken stand at the local open-air market, and taught me about the anatomy of a chicken, the ways in which to cook a chicken and, most importantly, how to select a fresh chicken: “Bright eyes, warm legs and moist toes.”
Nowadays, my chicken comes plastic wrapped courtesy of local free-range farms, and my dad brings home “yellow-feathered chickens” (a free-range, much leaner breed) from Asian markets, which still have their head and feet, but are plucked and cleaned by butchers.
This week, I decided to do a crosstown culinary trek to sample one chicken specialty dish from an Indian (Chaat Café), Shanghainese (Shanghai Restaurant), Thai (Siam Kitchen) and Vietnamese (Tay Giang) restaurant.
At Chaat Café, I ordered the famous Indian-British fusion dish, Chicken Tikka Masala ($6.95), a tomato-based curry dish made with chicken, cooked in a special blend of spices and a generous amount of turmeric for its distinctive,tbright orange-yellow sauce. The sauce had an interesting flavor that reminded me of Bull’s Eye barbeque sauce. The naan that came with the dish seemed a bit over-leavened.
Don’t expect Chaat Café on 3rd Street to have the same atmosphere as Shalimar or Naan N’ Curry in the Tenderloin. Chaat Café is more like an Indian Chevy’s, with noveau colors, loud music and “artsy” chairs.
Next, I went to Shanghai Restaurant on Judah Street for its Shanghai Drunken Chicken ($4.50/half). Drunken chicken, zui ji, is a specialty dish of Shanghai. A whole chicken is cooked in a pot of boiling water along with ginger, scallions and salt. After it’s finished cooking, it is covered and immersed in shao xing wine, an amber-colored rice wine.
Shanghai Restaurant’s alcohol-infused chicken was a bit too strong for me and tasted almost bitter, and there were more conditions involved when ordering this chicken than there are in obtaining a mortgage loan.
The restaurant had a sign that advertised drunken chicken for $4.99, but when I ordered it, the server said an order consists of half of a chicken for $4.50. If you want another order, the price jumps to $8.50. But, you must eat and finish the drunken chicken at the restaurant, because if you ask for a doggy bag, the half-a-chicken’s price jumps to $6.99.
Confused? I was. And this was even before I tried the heavily alcohol-marinated Drunken Chicken.
At Siam Kitchen on Sacramento Street, I ordered Gai Kra Pow ($7.65), minced chicken sautéed with green chilis and Thai basil. My friend said the dish looked like taco filling, and I couldn’t have agreed more. The chicken was fragrant and the spiciness of the dish didn’t hit until I had several bites, but I wish the chicken pieces weren’t so small.
And know beforehand that Siam Kitchen requires a minimum charge of $6.50 per person.
The last and my most favorite dish was the Ga Nuong Ngu Vi Huong ($7.95), five-spiced chicken, at Tay Giang on Noriega Street. This is a winner. The generous serving of sliced chicken was fresh, succulent and charbroiled evenly. It didn’t have tough, opaque pieces that come when chicken is dried out or recooked and reheated.
I’ve never heard about this restaurant, but I’m glad I tried it and am looking forward to returning. Whe restaurant was quiet, and the dining room is beautifully decorated with watercolor paintings of the ocean, flowers and horses.
From kung pao chicken to chicken satay to chicken adobo, Asian cuisine has embraced poultry and given the world delicious interpretations of our winged friend.
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