Thai Fried Chicken with Herb Slaw

I’ve seen so many variations of chicken recipes that use fish sauce to give an umami flavour boost as well as making the meat more tender (my favourite being the Smoking Goat fish sauce wings)- but it was always something so intimidating for me as fish sauce has such a big personality and many people hate it. I wanted to approach it differently- still using fish sauce but without having the taste really punch you in your face. The best way I found was to use a Thai curry paste since they really pack a punch, but also have fish sauce. I played around with it until I made this marinade and it works incredibly well. Marinating the chicken overnight helps all the flavours from the curry paste wriggle their way into the meat as well as tenderise it. The end result is extremely juicy chicken, that is also super flavourful and tender.

prep/cooking time: 2.5hrs-overnight

Serves: 2-4 portions

Tip: The longer you marinate the chicken the more tender, juicy and flavourful it gets. This recipe can also be used to make delicious fried chicken burgers.

Ingredients:

For the Fried Chicken:

4 boneless chicken thighs

1 stalk of lemongrass, minced 

4 tbsp Thai red curry paste

21 tbsp lime juice

2 tsp ground coriander

2 tbsp fish sauce 

2 tbsp cane or granulated sugar 

1/2 cup rice flour

1/2 cup cornflour

Vegetable oil for frying

For the Slaw:

30-45 fresh mint leaves, finely sliced 

2/3 cup (10g) fresh coriander or parsley, finely sliced 

4 tbsp spring onion greens, finely sliced 

1/2 cup toasted peanuts, roughly chopped 

4 fresh kaffir lime leaves or 1 stalk of lemongrass, finely sliced 

1 cup (110g) cabbage, finely sliced 

1 red chilli optional, minced 

4 tsp lime juice 

2 tsp fish sauce 

1 tbsp cane or granulated sugar 

Method: 

1. In a bowl, add the lemongrass, curry paste, lime juice, ground coriander, fish sauce and sugar, stir to mix everything together. Add the chicken thighs to the mixture and make sure to coat the them properly. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours up to overnight. Take the chicken out from the fridge 30 minutes before frying it so it comes to room temperature.

2. In another bowl add the cornflour and rice flour, lightly season with salt, whisk the together.

3. In a medium heavy-bottomed pot, pour in enough oil to fill 1/2-1/3 of it. Turn the heat up to medium, or if you have a cooking thermometer, heat to 160°C.

4. When the oil is coming up to temperature, dredge the chicken. Take it out of the marinade and let the excess drip off. Place it into the flour mixture and coat both sides thoroughly. Do this to all the thighs.

5. To test that the oil is ready, stick the end of a wooden spoon or chopstick into the pot, bubbles should form and float up, that means it’s ready, if it’s bubbling hard, the oil is too hot, turn the heat down.

6. Gently place your dredged chicken thighs into the oil (you may need to fry in batches,) fry for 7-12 minutes, flipping halfway. The oil temperature naturally drops when you add the thighs into the pot, adjust the temperature accordingly.

7. When the chicken is cooked (should register 75°C, or juices should run clear) and the batter is crispy and golden, take the thighs out and transfer them onto a wire rack, let them rest for 2-3 minutes.

8. Meanwhile, make the herb slaw. In a bowl add the mint, coriander or parsley, spring onion greens, toasted peanuts, kaffir lime leaves and cabbage. Toss together until mixed.

9. In a small bowl add the chilli, lime juice, fish sauce and sugar. Whisk together until the sugar dissolves. Pour onto the herb slaw, and mix thoroughly. Serve alongside the hot fried chicken.