Yakitori Column
vol 03The Sunday Roast!
Hi, it's Robert here again. Thanks for the comments on my columns so far, I hope you are enjoying them! By the way, the Yakitori website looks really good in English as well, so check it out.
One of the traditional New Zealand meals is the 'Sunday roast', roasted chicken or pork, made on a Sunday. Why on Sunday? Well, roasts take a very long time to cook, and Sunday is usually the day that we have the most spare time.
Roasts are quite often made on special occasions - for family gatherings, birthdays, or Christmas lunch. They are handy because they can be served for lunch or dinner, and feed a large number of people too. And, if there's any leftovers, they taste great on a sandwich the next day.
A few days ago I tried cooking my first roast. It wasn't a special occasion, and in fact, it wasn't even a Sunday! I cooked it after I returned home from work, so maybe that is why dinner was very late that night.
As you can see in the photo, you can buy whole chickens fresh, in sealed bags. Usually you have to eat them within a day, or else they go off. There are also frozen chickens, which keep for longer, and are slightly cheaper.
Although the cooking process for a roast takes about two hours, which is very long compared to other New Zealand dishes, there is very little work involved. All you do is put the meat on a tray, and put it in the oven. Make sure you turn the oven on though!
After about an hour we usually add potatoes, kumara and pumpkin. These don't take as long to cook. The chicken then has to be turned over, and it's good to add some spices too. I forgot to turn my chicken over, so one side was well-cooked, and the other not so well-cooked. Needless to say the cooking process took even longer than expected! I'll know for next time!
Despite my rather botched effort, the roast chicken turned out really well, and it was enjoyed by all. I'm sure roasts would take off in Japan as well, if their ovens were big enough!
Robert Buchanan
