10 COOK’S COUNTRY • JUNE/JULY 2019
LET’S GET ONE thing straight: I
would never throw shade on a good
piece of classic Southern-style fried
chicken. But I do like to dress it up in a
funky outfi t from time to time.
Fried chicken can be so much more
than the Southern standard—there
are countless varieties belonging to
cuisines around the United States (we
have recipes for dozens of regional
styles) and the world. And after my
editor described the fantastic Thai-style
fried chicken that he’d had at a couple
of restaurants in Seattle that made him
swoon, I knew I had to try to make my
own version.
My editor’s lowdown on the key
components of this rendition? Tender
dark-meat chicken (either bone-in or
boneless) aggressively seasoned with
garlic, chiles, soy sauce, and deeply
savory fi sh sauce, all coated in an
ultracrispy, ultracrunchy crust made
with lightly sweet rice fl our. As if that
wasn’t enough, the chicken is served
with a shower of fresh herbs plus sweet
chile sauce to spoon over top. Wow. I
was up for the challenge.
For the chicken, I decided off the
bat to use boneless thighs: They
cook more quickly than bone-in parts,
require less oil to fry, and are easier
to eat. For the marinade, I knew that
haphazard use of potent ingredients
such as soy sauce and fi sh sauce can
be dangerous; while these sauces add
tons of savory fl avor, they can also
make your food taste out of whack
or too salty if not used judiciously. I
found that a balanced combo of the
two—3 tablespoons of soy sauce and
2 tablespoons of fi sh sauce—mixed with
a good dose of minced garlic and red
pepper fl akes was best for 2 pounds of
boneless thighs; this formula providedstrong but balanced fl avor. After just
an hour in the marinade, this seasoned
chicken was ready to fry.
The coating was more challeng-
ing. A basic all-purpose fl our coating,
the kind used for classic craggy fried
chicken, was not in play here; I was
after a smoother, crunchier crust.
Straight rice fl our fried up plenty
crunchy but was hard and tough to bite
through. After several days of play-
ing around with diff erent fl ours and
ingredients, I landed on a tempura-like
batter made with 1 cup each of rice
fl our, cornstarch, and water, plus a
little baking powder for lightness. You
can fi nd rice fl our with the alternative
fl ours in the supermarket (it is used in
many gluten-free recipes); it makes for
an incredibly crisp coating.
After weeks of testing, I landed
on an easy process. Just marinate
the chicken in a zipper-lock bag for
convenience, stir together the batter in
a bowl, dump the chicken and its mari-
nade into the batter, and toss to coat.
From there the chicken went right
into the hot oil for about 5 minutes of
frying, then onto paper towels set on a
wire rack to absorb excess oil, and then
straight onto the serving platter.
The chicken was fl avorful and
supercrunchy, but I hoped to crank up
the fl avor just one more notch. Eyeing
the store-bought sweet chili sauce
I had planned to use for dipping, I
decided to boost its fl avor by stirring in
a little of the soy and fi sh sauces I was
already using in the marinade, plus a
good glug of mild rice vinegar for extra
brightness. Perfect.The most flavorful
fried chicken you’ll
ever taste.Thai-Style
Fried Chicken
With so many powerful fl avors in play,
the challenge was to fi nd a balance. by Alli Berkey
Big Crunch, Big Flavor
Three products make all the diff erence in
this dish. White rice fl our makes for a su-
percrunchy fried coating. Fish sauce, an
umami powerhouse, combines with sweet
chili sauce to create a marinade that adds
a ton of fl avor (don’t worry—the chicken
won’t taste fi shy). Serve the chicken with
extra sweet chili sauce for a fi nishing pop
of sweet-and-savory heat.THAI-STYLE FRIED CHICKEN
Serves 4 to 6
Boneless chicken breasts can be sub-
stituted for the chicken thighs; halve
the breasts horizontally before slicing
them crosswise into 1-inch-thick
strips. Use a Dutch oven that holds
6 quarts or more for this recipe. We
developed this recipe using Bob’s Red
Mill Stone Ground White Rice Flour.
3½ tablespoons fi sh sauce, divided
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon soy
sauce, divided
7 garlic cloves, minced, divided
2½ teaspoons white pepper, divided
1½ teaspoons red pepper fl akes, divided
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken
thighs, trimmed and sliced crosswise
into 1-inch-thick strips
5 tablespoons Asian sweet chili sauce,
plus extra for serving
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 cup white rice fl our
1 cup cornstarch
1 cup water
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 quarts peanut or vegetable oil,
for frying
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- Combine 2 tablespoons fi sh sauce,
3 tablespoons soy sauce, 6 garlic
cloves, 2 teaspoons white pepper, and
1 teaspoon pepper fl akes in 1-gallon
zipper-lock bag. Add chicken to
marinade, seal bag, and turn to distrib-
ute marinade. Refrigerate for at least
30 minutes or up to 1 hour.- Meanwhile, combine chili sauce,
vinegar, remaining 1½ tablespoons fi sh
sauce, remaining 1 teaspoon soy sauce,
remaining 1 garlic clove, remaining
½ teaspoon white pepper, and remain-
ing ½ teaspoon pepper fl akes in large
bowl. Set aside. - Whisk fl our, cornstarch, water, and
baking powder in second large bowl
until smooth. Add chicken and mari-
nade to batter and stir to coat. - Set wire rack in rimmed baking
sheet and line with triple layer of paper
towels. Add oil to large Dutch oven
until it measures about 2 inches deep
and heat over medium-high heat to
375 degrees.
5.Working with one-third of chicken,
1 piece at a time, remove from batter,
allowing excess to drip back into bowl,
and add to hot oil. Cook until deep
golden brown, about 5 minutes, stirring
gently as needed to prevent pieces
from sticking together. Adjust burner,
if necessary, to maintain oil temperature
between 350 and 375 degrees. Transfer
chicken to prepared rack. Return oil to
375 degrees and repeat with remaining
chicken in 2 batches. - Add fried chicken, cilantro, and
basil to bowl with reserved chili sauce
mixture and toss to combine. Transfer
chicken to serving platter. Serve with
extra chili sauce. Illu
stration:^ Ross^ MacDonald