No matter your race or where you’re from, fried chicken is easily one of the most beloved dishes there is.

However, this simple dish is also among the hardest to master, so here’s a recipe that’ll take you through every step.

In the second of five HALAL recipes for the new series “Tim Cooks: CNY edition”, chef Timothy Sebastian from Hungry Bacon demonstrates how to make the perfect fried chicken, brined for 48 hours before frying.

CHICKEN BRINE

Ingredients

• 2kg water
• 100g rock salt
• 130g castor sugar
• 2kg ice
• 1 whole chicken (approximately 2kg)

Method:

• Place water, rock salt and castor sugar in a stock pot and bring to a boil.
• Once boiled, remove from the heat and add in the ice to cool.
• Wash the chicken and drain well.
• Place cut chicken in a deep container and cover with the cooled brine. Ensure the chicken is fully submerged in the brine and place in the chiller for 48 hours, mixing the brine every 12 hours. Again, ensure that the chicken is fully submerged in the brine at all times.
• After 48 hours, remove the chicken from the brine, give it a quick rinse and drain well. Keep the chicken chilled or frozen until needed. Discard the brine.
• Shelf life: chilled (three days) and frozen (six months).

Tips:

• The ratio of the meat to the brine must not exceed 75% of the weight of the brine. Brine also works well with other types of white meat such as turkey.
• The brine can be flavoured with anything – rosemary, sage, cinnamon, fennel, pepper, and garlic. Just add the ingredients when boiling the brine to bring out its flavours. Do not add acidic ingredients such as lemon, ginger or vinegars.

CHICKEN MARINADE

Ingredients:

• 1 brined chicken
• 5g chopped garlic
• 2g ground white pepper
• 3g sesame oil (black sesame)

Method:

• Remove backbone from whole brined chicken. Segment out the thigh from the breast.
• Cut the thigh from the drumstick and cut each breast into half.
• Weigh the ingredients of the chicken marinade and mix them well into the chicken.
• Transfer the chicken to a clean container, cover and leave it to marinate for 30 minutes, best if overnight.

FIVE-SPICE SEASONED FLOUR

Ingredients:

• 500g flour
• 10g Chinese five-spice powder
• 15g salt
• 15g chicken stock powder
• 5g crushed black pepper
• 5g ground white pepper

Method:

•  Sieve the flour into a mixing bowl. Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
• Transfer to a clean, dry air-tight container.
• Cover, label and keep in a cool, dry area.

THAI DIPPING SAUCE

Ingredients:

• 500g Thai chilli sauce
• 10g finely chopped garlic
• 10g finely chopped serai
• 2g finely chopped kaffir lime leaves
• 150g lime juice, use the zest too
• 5g toasted white sesame seeds
• 5g fish sauce
• 3g sesame oil (black sesame)
• 10g thinly sliced red cili padi

Method:

• Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl and whisk until well combined.
• Transfer to a clean container. Cover, label and keep chilled.
• Best to leave overnight for flavours to fully develop.

Tips:

• Use just the kaffir lime leaves and not the stems.
• To get more juice out of the lime, squeeze/roll it between the palm of your hand and the table.

FRIED CHICKEN

Ingredients:

•  1 marinated and brined chicken, cut into eight pieces
• 260g five-spice seasoned flour
• 250g Thai dipping sauce
• Spring onion, julienne (to garnish)
• Red chilli (to garnish)

Method:

• Place seasoned flour onto a tray. Coat marinated chicken with seasoned flour and press the flour into the chicken firmly.
• Fry at 180°C for 15 minutes until the chicken’s internal temperature reads 75°C or above.
• Then, remove the chicken from oil and leave to drain on a wire rack.
• Stack fried chicken on a large dinner plate, garnish with spring onion and red chilli.
• Place Thai dip in a sauce bowl, serve immediately.

‘Tim Cooks’ is sponsored by ChefHub, KitchenPlan, Hotelware Concept, and Visionary Solutions.

Don’t miss Chef Tim’s recipe for Oriental smoked duck salad here. Check back in tomorrow for his recipe for garlicky baked prawns.

To enjoy Chef Tim’s food in person, head over to:

Hungry Bacon [NON-HALAL]
33, Jalan SS21/56b
Damansara Utama
47400 Petaling Jaya
Selangor

Contact: 012-355 0857

This article was written by Toon Kit Yi @ FMT Lifestyle.