There is a notion that those who are blessed with culinary skills are those who can turn even the simplest ingredients into a delightful dish. A skilled artist and artisan would bring out the best potential in whichever tools and materials they have, just as a chef can create wonders with the raw (pun not intended) material they are provided with. If the said ingredient is of good quality or bears a uniqueness of its own, it would complement the dishes further.
With food being the crucial aspect of our everyday lives, it is naturally one of the most universally known languages. People connect through culinary experience, with each culture bringing different interpretations of an ingredient to the table. The same ingredient, for instance, fish or poultry, can be cooked into a myriad of dishes that reflect each country’s culinary culture.
Take the most basic of ingredients such as poultry, for instance. When it comes to something so simple, the distinguishing elements lie in the quality. This begins right from how the ingredient is cultivated, or in this case, how the chicken is raised. Free-range chicken raised with rich nutrition has become a preferred alternative to industrialised, corn-fed chicken. The result is pink-hued poultry instead of the yellowish meat of corn-fed chicken meat. At U FARM, Benja chickens are raised sans antibiotics and genetically modified food, making them 100% natural. Benja chickens are fed with brown rice grains, which are rich in nutrient and considered to be one of the superfoods. Compared to the dry and mushy meat of corn-fed chicken, Benja Chicken meat is naturally sweet and succulent—a quality that is easily discernible to the palate. Forget chicken that tastes like cardboard because Benja chicken meat is tender, juicy and full of flavour. From oyako-don, chicken green curry or grilled or roasted chicken, Benja chicken will fulfill that missing flavour in any type of cuisine. Hence, though seemingly simple, using a fresh and natural ingredient such as Benja Chicken is the best way to complement whichever dish it is used for.
A dish, no matter how perfectly prepared, will not be able to reach its full potential without incorporating a high-quality ingredient that is also unique in itself. Just like local dishes, the ingredients themselves also serve as a representative of the country’s culinary identity. If the role of the chef is to bring out the best in the ingredients, then it would not be mistaken to say that the role of the ingredient itself is to demonstrate and bring out the best that the dish and its origin country has to offer.
This article is brought to you by Benja Chicken.
To know more about Benja Chicken, please visit http://www.benjachicken.com/
