New trend healthy meal in Japan; Steamed chicken breast called "Salad chicken" !

2021-05-01 2021-10-02

Pre-cooked steamed chicken breasts "Salad Chicken" have been grown as trendy products at convenience stores in Japan since they fit with healthy trends and there are available some new ways to eat these days. In the past, the chicken breast was not a popular type of meat because of its dry and crumbly texture. While most unfavored it, a Japanese food manufacturing company, Amatake developed a pre-cooked one to accelerate its consumption despite the unpopularity in 2001 and boosted the steamed chicken boom in 2014. The turning point, which led them to current success, they took the courage to remove the skin in order to reduce fat withholding a risk that may lose its deliciousness. Compared with a previous product, it successfully cut about 40% of calories and maintained high protein. Finally, the Salad chicken had become very popular among people with health-consciousness.

In addition to that, major convenience chain stores entered this market and developed various kinds of flavors about the same time. These expanded range of consumer choices increased the fun of selection. Interestingly, new fans have started to eat them as a dish not as a salad ingredient. My daughter who is one of them sometimes eats it as a lunch meal. I was really astonished when I heard from her at first, which was several years ago and back then, it was absolutely not a selection as main meal for me at that time.

Nowadays, there are countless variations of flavors, such as basil, phakchi, garlic, cheese, lemon, smoke, Umeboshi, and more, and more are coming up. Some of them seem strange at first, but then I want to try anything new, it's simply fun. Of course I may have to face some weird tastes or flavors eventually, but again, it's also the fun part.