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Who doesn't love fried chicken? |
Recipe first, then some blather. (See notes below.)
2 boneless and skinless chicken thighs, fat removed, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tbs soy sauce, preferably light but whatever you have around is fine
1 tsp mirin (or 1/2 tsp sugar)
1 garlic clove (or equivalent garlic powder)
1/2 tsp ginger (or equivalent ginger powder)
1/2 tsp white pepper (or black if you don't have white)
pinch salt
pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
1 egg white
Cornstarch (or potato starch)
Cooking oil (I use grape seed but peanut is fine)
Combine soy, mirin (or sugar), garlic, ginger, pepper and egg white is a non-reactive bowl. Add chicken, mix to cover and marinate for at least 10 minutes up to overnight.
Add starch a little at a time while mixing to coat chicken until it forms a batter to cover.
Add oil to a frying pan or other pot high enough so the chicken is covered about halfway when frying
Heat oil to 350° and add each piece of chicken carefully so they don't touch.
Fry and turn as needed until golden brown.
Remove chicken from oil, place on paper towel and sprinkle with a little salt and (otional) red pepper flakes.
Serve with Tonkatsu sauce or spicy ketchup, duck sauce or sriracha mayo.
Notes
I've seen this referred to as a Chinese and Japanese recipe. I mean no disrespect to either country and people by calling it "Asian" and moving on. I suspect it's similar to falafel, which is claimed by several nations. Whatever. If I find any definitve national or ethnic I will revise this according.
I've tried making this in an air fryer twice with unsatisfactory results. I also tried using potato starch, supposedly the preferred coating in "authentic" recipes and didn't find any difference with the significantly less expensive corn starch.
As for the air-fryer part, I tried. But some things just have to be old-school fried. Howver, reheating with the air-fryer went extremely well, so that's a great tinesaving option.
Photo by Nizar Zulmi on Unsplash
