When I picked the Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe I did so for one reason and one reason only - it was the only item that looked vaguely familiar besides the pot stickers and Dolly had already called dibs on that one.
But I had a big problem with this recipe.
First, I can't stand touching raw meat. It's weird. I know. And it's also 90% of the reason why I'm a flexitarian. Touching it makes me shudder and break out in a cold sweat. I gag. I actually gag.
I've figured out a few ways to cope with this weirdness - and I realize it's weird. I use tongs - a lot. I buy my meat pre-cooked. I bribe friends and family to do it for me.
The Sweet and Sour Chicken required the pieces to be cut up into 1/2" chunks and cooked in spices and oil. I was nervous that my typical method of cooking a chicken breast whole and then cutting it up would diminish the taste. So I did what any meat-a-phobe would do.
I asked my butcher to cut it for me.
Albertson's has a cleanly lettered sign saying their butcher shop will do any cut of meat. So it made sense to me that they'd cut my chicken.
I made my request and stood there while the butcher's stood agog.
"You want me to cut the chicken into cubes?"
"Yeah. The need to be 1/2". And I need two pounds."
"You just want it cut up."
"Yep." I felt my face turn red.
"If you don't mind my asking, why? Most people just cut it up at home."
"I don't like touching raw meat," I said to the butcher, a man with an apron smeared with blood.
"Okay," he nodded slowly. "It'll just be a minute."
I have to tell you, it made prepping my dish much easier. All I had to do was open the package and dump the chicken in with the oils and spices. I think I'll be asking my butcher to chop up chicken more often.
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