Asian Chicken and Water Chestnut Patties

Although I've got plenty of turkey, duck and rabbit recipes left in the Poultry chapter (and I know rabbit isn't a bird, ok?) I don't have very many chicken ones left. In fact, now that I've cooked Asian Chicken and Water Chestnut Patties, I only have two left! I know it's not a whole chapter completed, but it feels like an accomplishment anyway.

I was apprehensive about this recipe because of the unsatisfying experience I had with the salmon burgers
, which is to say that they wouldn't hold together. I was expecting more of the same with these chicken patties.

But right away I could see the difference in cook-friendliness--this recipe lets you use a food processor for both the chicken and the water chestnuts/scallions/jalapenos, and then you just mix them all together with chopped cilantro and salt.

It must be noted here that I either forgot to get a jalapeno at the store or couldn't find one (both scenarios are equally likely) but fortunately I DID have:



which eased my authenticity pangs.

The one part of the recipe I was SURE wouldn't work was the threading-of-patties-onto-a-bamboo-skewer part (three to a skewer), "to facilitate turning". No way, I thought, would those patties adhere enough to hold together during transfer, or turning during cooking.

I was absolutely delighted to be proven wrong. I was careful when I put them in the pan, but the turning proved to be a snap:



Let's hear it for protein shrinkage! One of the only things I remember from Shirley Corriher's magnificent book Cookwise is her explanation of how proteins de-nature during cooking, which is somehow linked to shrinkage, at least in chicken and fish. OK, obviously I don't remember much, just enough to throw around the word "de-nature" which is useful at cocktail parties with biochemists, and yes I've actually been to some of those.

Anyway, my apprehensions were all for naught, and the Asian Chicken Patties were an unqualified success. Dieters take note: this recipe is extremely lean, so if you're trying to think of something imaginative to do with that chicken breast, try this one out.