Should Chicken Be Cooked with Little Seasoning: An Inquiry

Chicken, a frequent guest on the daily dining table. Whether it should be cooked with a small amount of seasonings has triggered countless thoughts and discussions. Will it make chicken purer and more delicious, or will it lose its rich taste? Let's explore together and find the cooking method that can most impress the taste buds.

How much seasoning should be put on the chicken?

For chicken of general size, such as chicken breast or chicken leg, for every 500 grams, you can use 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of cooking wine, 1 teaspoon of light soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of oyster sauce, 1 teaspoon of pepper, 1 teaspoon of chicken essence, 1 teaspoon of ginger slices and 1 teaspoon of scallions.

If it is chicken chunks or chicken legs, you can appropriately increase the amount of seasonings. For every 500 grams, you can use 1.5 teaspoons of salt, 1.5 teaspoons of cooking wine, 1.5 teaspoons of light soy sauce, 1.5 teaspoons of oyster sauce, 1.5 teaspoons of pepper, 1.5 teaspoons of chicken essence, 1.5 teaspoons of ginger slices and 1.5 teaspoons of scallions.

It should be noted that the amount of seasonings can be adjusted according to personal taste. If you like a stronger taste, you can increase the amount of seasonings appropriately; if you like a lighter taste, you can reduce the amount of seasonings. In addition, if you are using marinated chicken, you can fully mix the seasonings and chicken and marinate for a period of time to let the chicken fully absorb the taste of seasonings.

Does chicken need to be seasoned before cooking?

Seasoning chicken before cooking is rather crucial. In terms of optimizing the taste, marinating chicken with salt, cooking wine and light soy sauce is a good approach. Salt can cause the chicken protein to coagulate. Thus, during subsequent cooking, chicken can better lock in its own juice, making its taste more tender and full of juice. Cooking wine can excellently remove the fishy smell of chicken in this process, and light soy sauce will give chicken additional umami.

Analyzed from the perspective of cooking results, seasoning in advance can fully integrate the taste into the chicken. For example, before roasting chicken, marinate chicken with a mixture of black pepper, salt and garlic powder. During the roasting process, the tastes of these seasonings will interweave with the original fragrance of chicken, so that the roasted chicken is full of rich flavor both inside and outside.

If it is chicken soup, in order to ensure the deliciousness and purity of the soup, people often add seasonings such as salt in an appropriate amount according to personal taste after the chicken soup is cooked.

Should the chicken be taken out of the refrigerator before seasoning?

Taking chicken out of the refrigerator and leaving it at room temperature before cooking is an extremely wise move. For cut pieces such as chicken breasts or chicken thighs, it takes about 30 minutes; for a whole chicken, it takes about an hour. Cover it well during the waiting process. The chicken just taken out of the refrigerator has a low temperature and a hard texture. Low temperature is not conducive to the full penetration and function of seasonings. There may be condensed water on the surface of the cold chicken. Salt and other seasonings are difficult to dissolve and absorb quickly. The hard texture of the meat also hinders the entry of seasonings. After returning to room temperature, the texture of chicken becomes softer. At this time, when seasoning, seasonings can penetrate into the chicken more efficiently. Whether rubbed by hand or marinated, the taste can be evenly distributed, and the cooked chicken has a rich flavor and excellent taste.

How long to leave chicken seasoned before cooking?

If it is thinly sliced chicken breast meat for quick cooking such as frying, marinating for 15-20 minutes is sufficient. Because the thin slice of chicken has a large surface area and can quickly absorb seasonings. For example, simply marinating with salt, light soy sauce and cooking wine can make the chicken flavorful in a short time. The fried chicken is tender and has a uniform taste.

If it is chunked chicken thigh meat, due to the thicker meat, it is best to marinate for 30-60 minutes. For example, when marinating chicken legs with Orleans seasoning, if the time is too short, the seasoning cannot penetrate deep inside. When the marinated chicken legs are roasted or fried, the inside will lack flavor.

For a whole chicken, the marinating time may take several hours or even longer. Because the whole chicken is large in volume, in order for all parts of the chicken to fully absorb the taste, like marinating a whole chicken with traditional Chinese brine seasonings may take 2-3 hours. Only in this way will the marinated chicken have the same taste inside and outside and a rich fragrance.

How should I choose a container when marinating chicken?

First, glass containers can be used. Glass material will not have chemical reactions with chicken and marinade, which can ensure the original taste of chicken and the purity of marinade. Moreover, glass containers are transparent, which is convenient for observing the marinating state of chicken. For example, checking whether the marinade completely covers the chicken or observing the color change of chicken. In addition, glass containers are easy to clean and will not leave any peculiar smell. For example, when marinating teriyaki chicken, using a glass bowl is very suitable.

Ceramic containers are also a good choice. Its texture is fine and it has good air permeability, which helps chicken evenly absorb the taste of marinade. The stability of ceramics is also relatively high and will not affect the nature of marinade. For example, when marinating salt-baked chicken in a ceramic basin, salt can better penetrate into the chicken. Moreover, ceramic containers are simple and beautiful and can be directly served on the table.

If plastic containers are to be used, it must be ensured that they are food-grade plastics. It is lightweight and not easily broken, and is suitable for marinating a small amount of chicken. However, plastic containers may absorb some tastes and are more difficult to clean when in contact with marinades with more grease.

How long can marinated chicken be kept in the refrigerator?

If chicken is placed in the refrigerator compartment and marinated only with simple seasonings such as salt, cooking wine and light soy sauce, generally it can be stored for 1 to 2 days. The reason for this storage period is that although these seasonings have a certain preservation effect, the temperature of the refrigerator compartment can only slow down the growth and reproduction rate of microorganisms. For example, for chicken marinated with salt, salt can indeed inhibit the growth of some bacteria, but as time passes, the number of bacteria will still gradually increase.

If chicken is marinated with marinades containing more sugar and sauces such as sweet bean paste and barbecued pork sauce, considering that sugar and sauces create a more favorable environment for the growth of microorganisms, then if it is placed in the refrigerator compartment, the storage time had better not exceed 1 day.

If chicken is placed in the freezer compartment, it can be stored for a relatively long time, about 3 to 6 months. However, it should be noted that if the freezing time is too long, it is very likely to make the taste of chicken worse, such as the meat will become dry and lose elasticity and so on.