Well, as you may know, I am originally from Texas and have a weakness for southern and southwestern food.  Black-eyed peas, poke sallet, dirty rice, Frito Pie, you name it.

 

Anyway, being in Japan, it's a bit of an unusual treat to have my regional US foods, but today I decided to do a little bit of a southern dinner.  I cooked up "fried chicken" (Shake-n-bake chicken done in the oven), green beans, and Tried to use up some of the huge bag of grits I brought when we moved back to Japan.  Topped off with some nice gravy.

The amazing thing about grits, as opposed to other carb-heavy sides like rice is this.  Grits have an almost uncanny ability to absorb water and expand.  Once you cook them, they keep absorbing and their texture gets firmer and firmer.  Once you eat them, they continue filling you up - quite a bit more than an equivalent calorie equivalent of rice or potatoes.

If you are a "damn yankee" or a left-coaster and have never tried them, I heartily suggest trying them as a substitute for rice with meals.  You'll be amazed at how they fill you up.

There are many ways to season them, but I just put a pat of butter in the pot, a bit of salt and pepper, then serve with a gravy.

and if you are not a Southerner, you might recognize grits as polenta. just sayin'.

i'd never had them till i went on a trip to savannah, GA. we went out to breakfast a few times, and i was served grits every time, they were tasty! probably because of the visible pools of butter though...mmmmm

i've been thinking i'd like to try a healthier version though!

Awww...there goes someone with that polenta again....how is that the same as the white mush in a bowl topped with cheese and hot sauce.....and big shrimp mixed in....I lick my chops when I see that fresh polenta loaf in my Swiss cookbook next to a glass of Ticino.  But it's not what I'd want to see next to pork chops (or Smithfield ham) and fried eggs.

Grits were always available on the left coast (I remember Alber's brand) but they were usually stuck in the back of the pantry next to the Cream of Wheat and crystallized honey.  Not like those funky little bags from some little mill in South Carolina or Arkansas, which sit up front and center, just begging to be eaten.

udioker, how do grits taste with tonkatsu? You might be able to open a restaurant chain over there.  Add a bowl of miso soup and you have a meat and two sides, Japanese style.

As for black-eyed peas, I have a small mountain of them that I got for next to nothing when the Jewel store closed.  I've never been able to get them to taste any better than dirt.  Any suggestions?

Original Post by thhq:


As for black-eyed peas, I have a small mountain of them that I got for next to nothing when the Jewel store closed. I've never been able to get them to taste any better than dirt. Any suggestions?

Well, not everyone likes black-eyed-peas, even when they're made well, but the way I make them is slow-cooked with a chopped onion, a couple of slices of chopped-up bacon, a couple bay leaves and a little salt, pepper and garlic personally, I think a little celery makes it nicer, too. 

I doubt the Japanese would accept grits next to tonkatsu.  That'd be like pizza with mayonnaise and corn all over it would be to us (yes, it's a popular pizza flavor here.).

Im low carbing but have held onto to a thing of grits for that reason - since I still do some unprocessed carbs (whole wheat bread, etc) remember how filling a small amount of grits can be.  I forget polenta is grits but have never liked the term as a food because it sounds too much like placenta (Ive been told thats weird but cant help it).

Things like rice and pasta get me craving because Im insulin resistance so I tread on carbs hesitantly but kept those grits around because they seem like they may be safer not to cause later cravings (blood sugar) but we'll see -

Yeah, I remember mayo in Japan.....spread on top of okonomiyaki, then sprinkled with dried fish powder.  It wasn't bad, and added a little bit of extra flavor to the thing.  I didn't ever try the mayo/corn pizza - for a country that's not generally in love with the flavor of cheese maybe it's a good substitute.

Thanks for the blackeyed peas recipe.  The last batch I cooked to mush, mixed with shredded pork, half a bottle of green salsa and some smoky ham sausage that had been in the freezer for 6 months.  Maybe it was the extra ingredients that did it, but I think it was the peas, based on how they've tasted before.  They're just as nutritious as other kinds of beans; it's probably just a matter of my getting used to the flavor.

I looked up grits on the NZ glycemic index site and couldn't find them.  But cooked corn meal and polenta were there, both at aroung 68.  This is lower than white rice, but still pretty high.  I'd limit the portion if you have blood sugar problems.

Wow. Grits are polenta? Can't believe I never figured that! I have grits when I've been in the US and loved them. Husband did not like.

I love polenta. Husband does not like.

How are they cooked in the US as they don't taste anything like the polenta we cook in the UK!

Sx

Yummmmm. . . . .Grits!!  I'm from Alabama, so of course I love them!  I love them cheesy!!  But, something that is common, is shrimp and grits especially in LA.  That whole concept I never understood!  Or that some people put sugar in theirs.  Ewww!!  They aren't as popular in the north as they are in the south, but I have never met a yankee that hadn't ever had them.   

zakksmum:  grits in the US are basically ground corn, cooked in water that comes to the consistency of, like porridge.  Most commonly served with butter, but there are many other options for flavoring!

jules817

 

Try cooking your grits in low-sodium chicken or veggie broth instead of just water.  It gives them a rich flavor and you don't have to add ANY butter.  Yum!!

I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but while polenta is yummy, it's not the same as grits. There is a similarity in texture, but grits tend to be rougher in texture than polenta.

I'm a left-coaster, but have always liked grits. Hominy grits. I discovered there was such a thing as corn grits, but I don't like them as much as I like hominy grits.

I cook mine plain, then add a little butter and salt upon serving. Yum!

I am a southerner....love grits! My mom use to make them on the stove and smuther them with butter and cheese, but now I by the instant kind made by quaker and they are amazing. Probably not the best choice, but they are filling, fast, and fun to add toppings too!

yep, I thought grits were  grits...LOL and Polenta was cornmeal? I know they taste different. I also thought that because I loved  grits I could eat hominy...NOT. I have bought it several times and might could eat it soft...if there is such a thing...but not like it is in the can. I don't know how to fix it? I don't know. I know garbarzo beans can be just the same texture and it gags me. However, I have had some in some salad, soups stuff and they were softer and easier to eat. I had gastric bypass and textures and taste have to suit my pouch...Ouch. I hope this changes as I an ulcer and gastritis issues improve. Recipes anyone?  for real.

I love grits and eat them when I need a little boost of iron.  I confess that I put a teaspoon of butter on mine, but no cheese.

Polenta is different from grits.  It's coarse ground yellow cornmeal and is cooked until it's nearly solid.  Every Italian kitchen has a special stirring tool to stir polenta because your wooden spoons will break.  It's just a 1" or larger dowel, well polished and long enough to reach deep into the pot and be held with both hands.  You also need someone to hold the pot still at the end, unless you have really great upper body strength. 

The authentic way to eat fresh polenta is to pour it out in the center of a special board that covers the entire table.  It's topped it with anything you have in the kitchen - tomatoes, sausages, peppers etc.  Everybody helps themselves from the board - no plates needed, just scrape your portion from the center to in front of you.  My aunt used to draw the curtains so nobody could look in and see the family eating like peasants.  Of course most of us serve it on a platter and use plates nowadays.

Most of the time if you get it in restaurants, it's been poured into a loaf pan, allowed to firm up, then cut in slices which are sauteed.  Mixing stuff into the cooking polenta, the way they do would have my grandmother turning in her grave.

Grits are easier to cook and I like the porridge-y texture too.