Balsamic Chicken and Pears, O-ha!

Eat it or leave it! That was the mantra over the dining table whilst growing up. And to further this agony, our mom would always remind us to consume to the last bit whatever was on the plate as if we’re living the lyrics of “bawat butil ng palay, ay butil ng pawis ng luha at dugo”.

The song plus the incessant reminder has probably scarred my subconscious that up to these days it pains me to see food wastage. It is probably also to blame my being frugal in a lot of things that’s why I can’t help but exclaim of the rising prices everywhere! IBON said that the value of the P382-minimum wage in NCR is worth only P235 in 2004, see?

One day thinking of what to cook and wanting to utilise what’s only available in the fridge and the kitchen condiments- chicken, pears, olive oil, balsamic vinegar I asked myself “what to do eh?” I may be knowledgeable about a lot of stuff (mostly chismis), but not in the kitchen. Thank goodness for google, I just typed in the available ingredients and voila from www.inmamaskitchen.com, the Balsamic Chicken and Pears.

Now, what you’ll need are fairly simple and should not be a challenge to look around your local supermarket:

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

2 pears, unpeeled and cut into 8 wedges each

2 cups chicken broth

6 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar

4 teaspoons cornstarch

3 teaspoons sugar

1/2 cup raisins

Cooking this one is a no-brainer. First, heat 1 teaspoon of the olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts and cook 8-10 minutes, turning once until juices run clear when sticking with fork. The pros call this process browning. Whilst waiting for the chicken to brown, in small bowl, mix chicken broth, balsamic vinegar, cornstarch and sugar until blended. Check your chicken and once you achieve that golden brown state, remove it and set aside.

In same skillet, add remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil and cook pear wedges until lightly browned and tender. Add chicken-broth mixture to skillet with pears and raisins (in lieu of raisins, you can play around with other dried fruits) and bring to a rolling boil. Boil one minute, stirring constantly. Return chicken breasts to skillet and heat through.

The finished product felt like a glamorised version of adobo, and the rich, slightly sweet flavor of balsamic vinegar readily brought out the sweetness of the pears. What makes this recipe interesting is the inclusion of otherwise boring fruit, the pear- but, pears being rich in vitamin C is highly regarded for its antioxidant properties and are said to protect body cells from oxygen-related damage caused by free radicals.

This cooking serves 4 with a budget of PHP 150. To cut on cost, you can probably remove the chicken, the pears and the sauce will do! ;-p The trick here is to approximate the dish according to your taste and budget. We should be reminded that the minimum wage which has eroded to P235 due to inflation has made the value even less than the daily NCR minimum wage in November 2000 of P250. And in 2008, the latest family living wage estimate from National Wages and Productivity Commission was already P917 in Metro Manila, or a shortfall of P535.

Life is harsh. Mahirap ang pera. Cook when you can. Make your momma proud.

For information and sources including recipes of balsamic vinegar, you can visit www.balsamic.com.

For the nutritional content and other benefits of pears, you can check http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/benefits-of-pears-2047.html