Happy Sunday

We’re pretty pumped about this edition’s meal inspirations. Feel free to save the chicken salad illustration below so you always know how to make it, even without a recipe.

As always, a grocery shopping list for the recipes is linked in Notion at the end of this email.

In This Week’s Edition:

Try Something New 🤯 — Plantain Breakfast

Throwback Time 🍳 — Cooking Chicken in Water?

The Leftover Shelf 🥡 — Chicken Salad Framework

Extra Helpings 🤤 — PILK, Too Much Umami, and More

Shopping List ✅ — Sorted Ingredients for Easy Shopping!

Try Something New 🤯

If you’ve never worked with plantains before, you’re in for a treat.

Shallow-Fried Maduro Plantains

Done right, shallow-fried plantains are unbeatable: lightly sweet, crispy on the outside, and jammy on the inside.

Try using them wherever you might use roasted sweet potatoes. They’re great as a side, or in a Central American style breakfast as shown in the illustration above.

Buying Notes: Plantains are becoming readily available in major grocery stores year-round. If you can’t find them there, international grocery stores almost always do.

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For this recipe, you’ll want fully maduro (ripe) plantains — which is when the peel has gone mostly or completely black. This might take a week or two on the counter. Plantains are a lot tougher than bananas and you can’t judge their peel color the same.

Plantain Components*

• Ripe plantains, peeled and cut into 1/4” (1 cm) slices on a bias

• Coconut or neutral oil

• Kosher salt

Serving Suggestions

• Breakfast: fried eggs, avocado, Gallo Pinto (rice & beans mixture), and queso fresco

• Lunch: In a gordita with refried beans and cabbage slaw.

• Dinner: As a side, or in a rice bowl.

*Amount to preference! Use enough oil to ensure it reaches about halfway up the plantains.

Instructions

1. Heat the oil: In a wide saucepan, heat a 1/8” (0.5 cm) layer of oil until shimmering.

2. Fry: Carefully lay in the plantain slices into the oil in a single layer. Each one should be laying flat and sizzling in the oil — more batches might be necessary. Cook on medium heat until golden brown on the bottom, then carefully flip each plantain. Continue cooking on their second side. Rotate the pan and the plantains as needed — they’re done when both sides are fully browned and caramelized.

3. Drain, season, and serve: As each plantain finishes caramelizing, remove and set on a paper towel or wire rack to drain. Immediately sprinkle with salt. Serve warm with your dish of choice.

Throwback Time 🍳

Poaching or cooking chicken in water might not sound delicious, but it’s actually one of the best methods for home cooks to use regularly.

The benefits? Chicken that is juicier, lower in calories since no added fat is necessary for cooking, hard to mess up, and lastly, perfect for making a large batch ahead of time to turn into many dishes throughout the week.

Check out the video for the full method and three recipe ideas (chilaquiles, broccoli stir fry, brioche sandwich).

You can either crisp up and brown the poached chicken before eating, or just use in its already tender form factor. For instance, here’s one idea for using up a large batch of leftover cooked chicken:

The Leftover Shelf 🥡

Leftovers are back in style…if you know how to use them.

This week’s move:

Leftover Poached Chicken → Chicken Salad

A few fresh ingredients and fridge staples is all you need for this chicken salad, which can be served in a variety of ways:

Chicken Salad Components

• 2 parts leftover poached chicken, crisped & diced, or just shredded

• 1 part crunchy fresh aromatics, finely diced: try carrots, onions, and celery, but scallions, pickles, and herbs would also work

• 1/4 part mayo

• 1/8 part mustard

• Spices of choice to taste: try garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika

• Kosher salt & black pepper to taste

Serving Options

• Crackers

• Lettuce wraps

• Sandwich bread + toppings and condiments of choice

To assemble: Mix together all chicken salad components. Adjust with more mayo if desired, more mustard for acidity, and salt + spices to taste. Serve on whatever form factor you want.

Extra Helpings 🤤

🚀 Viral Eats

Food trends explained.

Q: What’s up with drinking Pepsi with milk (PILK)? Alarming or acceptable?

A: In 2022, Pepsi launched a holiday campaign that included a video of Lindsey Lohan encouraging customers to try the combination and use the hashtag #PilkandCookies. Naturally, the trend took off on TikTok.

Supposedly, “combining Pepsi and milk has long been a secret hack among Pepsi fans,” according to Todd Kaplan, Pepsi’s chief marketing officer.

PILK’s viral success can be attributed to its familiar flavor profile, which is reminiscent of an ice cream soda float. Plus, the creaminess of the milk brings balance to Pepsi’s intense acidity and sweetness.

For these reasons, we think that dirty sodas, the combination of a milk creamer with a soda, are around to stay.

🧠 Reader Q&A

Q: “In a previous newsletter, you discussed savoriness and the wonders of umami. Why not maximize umami and add MSG to everything as we do with salt? Thanks!” — Jack S.

A: Umami is one of the five basic tastes, often described as a savory or meaty taste. It is caused by the presence of glutamate, an amino acid found in many foods such as tomatoes, mushrooms, and meat. One common way to add umami flavor to dishes is through the use of monosodium glutamate (MSG), a seasoning often used in Asian cuisine.

While umami can enhance many dishes and add depth of flavor, it is not always appropriate or desirable. In dishes where a light, fresh flavor is desired, adding umami can overpower the other flavors and make the dish taste heavy or unbalanced.

There is such a thing as having too much savoriness in a dish that calls for umami (Chefs call this blunder “toomami”). For instance: a carbonara is sufficiently savory from the parmesan cheese and pancetta. It would be overwhelming to add mushrooms and fish sauce and an extra sprinkling of MSG. A little bit of umami goes a long way.

🏆 Dinner Winner! Reader Photo Submission of the Week

Today’s dinner winner is Niko Z., who made Carne Guisada tacos with melted Bergkäse (alpen cheese) on the tortilla. Looks delicious!

Reply with a picture of the best meal you made this week for a chance to be featured in a future email.

🍽 More Yummy Content

A Read: Masa by Jorge Gaviria (Book)

In a Minute or Less: 15 Min Dinner (Ethan, TikTok)

What We’re Watching: Farm to table pastries? (Eater, Youtube)

Food Science: What’s the Golden Ratio for Deviled Eggs? (Ethan, Youtube)

Upgrade Your Feeds: Connect with Ethan everywhere​

Ready to shop? 🛒

​✅ Shopping List 4/9