Thai Fried Chicken

After finally receiving my new mortar and pestle in the mail, the first recipe I set out to make -- rather, the very reason I purchased the mortar and pestle -- was this Thai fried chicken. I originally read about it in the Paupered Chef, which in turn got it from The Atlantic.

The Atlantic journalist who posted the recipe was raving with passion about this fried chicken prepared and sold by a Thai street vendor, claiming it crispier and tastier than even Southern fried chicken. The journalist finagled the recipe, and now it's been posted on a few different sites, such as Sleepless Foodie. (I do recommend reading the Paupered Chef and Atlantic links above, as they each have interesting stories of the chicken.)

I made this for a small group of friends, and it was not a total success. I had never fried chicken before, and halfway through the evening oil was splattered everywhere in my kitchen and on my person. To top it off, much of the chicken was undercooked ... necessitating re-frying. Intolerant of culinary imperfection, I made another bath the next day (yes just for myself) with much greater success. This is one great fried chicken.

Ingredients

• 4 lbs chicken legs and thighs, skin on
• 1/2 bunch of cilantro (or about 25 stems), leaves and stems, finely chopped
• 3 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 14 cloves garlic, medium-sized, chopped
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 Tablespoons fish sauce
• ¾ cup rice flour, plus another 1.5 cups
• About 5 oz chicken stock or broth
• Peanut oil, enough for a depth of about 2″ in your favorite pan (a Dutch oven works well)
• Cilantro, chopped, for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. Finely chop the cilantro and stems, and peel and roughly chop the garlic.
2. Place coriander and peppercorns into a mortar and pestle and pound to a paste, then add garlic and cayenne pepper and salt, continuing to pound to a fine paste.
3. Stir in fish sauce and chicken stock and mix well. Then, gradually incorporate the first 3/4 cups of rice flour until you have a smooth, wet batter.
4. Marinate chicken in this batter for at least two hours (ideally overnight.)
5. Take chicken out of the fridge and allow it to reach room temperature. Place the remaining 1.5 cups of rice flour in a shallow pan. Heat 2″ of peanut oil to about 365F in a deep-sided pan or dutch oven, then dredge each chicken piece in the rice flour just before frying until just past golden brown, about ten to fifteen minutes total. Allow chicken to cool on paper towels for a few minutes, or hold it in a warm oven while you finish frying the remainder of the pieces.
6. Sprinkle chopped cilantro over chicken and serve. A little sriracha on the side makes a nice accompaniment for those who want to add some spice!

Serves 6-8.