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Foolproof Fried Chicken

Do you get stressed-out whenever you have to fry chicken, just because you can never be very sure whether or not it is cooked all the way through? The disappointment when you cut into a fried piece of chicken and find those nasty streaks of pink or red indicating that your chicken is not cooked enough is very frustrating, I know! Or you end up with a burnt outer coating but the inside is still very much undercooked, ugh. Also, when you need to make large batches of it, the time it takes to get done feels like forever!
With this foolproof method, you are GUARANTEED fully cooked chicken that is moist and tender on the inside and has the most glorious golden crunchy exterior. By par-boiling the chicken in a flavourful stock, you end up with results that are packed with flavour, 100% cooked, and best of all, you will take waaaay less time hovering impatiently over the fryer, waiting for your chicken to get ‘done’. Bonus advantage is that you also end up with a lovely pot of chicken stock to use for your next dish, win win WIN!!
Print Recipe
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Ingredients for Par-Boiling
  • 1 whole chicken with or without skin (cut into 8-10 pieces)
  • 5 cups water
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 2 tbsp vinegar
  • 1/2 tbsp ginger paste
  • 1/2 tbsp garlic paste
  • 1 tsp black pepper powder
  • 1/2 tsp each of dried rosemary thyme and oregano (or whichever herbs you have on hand)
Ingredients for Coating
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs or finely crushed cornflakes
  • 1/4 cup cornflour
  • salt pepper and garlic powder for seasoning (you can also use some herbs if you want)
  • 1 large egg lightly beaten
  • 2 tbsp hot sauce or chilli sauce
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • oil for deep frying

Method
 

  1. Clean the chicken pieces and put them in a pan. Add the water, salt, vinegar, ginger, garlic, black pepper and dried herbs. Bring to a simmer and then turn the heat down to the lowest it can go and let the chicken continue GENTLY simmering for 15 minutes. Set a timer if you need to, we do not want to over-cook the chicken at this stage. Be very sure that the stock is not going at a rolling boil, this will toughen the chicken. Gentle simmering ONLY!
    Once the time is up, turn the heat off, cover the pan and allow the pieces to sit and poach in the stock for another 2 minutes. Then you can remove the pieces and allow them to cool completely. You can even prepare them up to this stage the a day or two ahead, just put the chicken in an airtight container and refrigerate.
  2. When ready to begin frying, mix both the flours with the breadcrumbs or crushed cornflakes in a wide plate (or use a paper bag for easy clean up. Season with a generous pinch of salt, pepper and garlic powder. You can also add a pinch of paprika powder if you like. In a wide bowl, whisk the egg with the milk and hot sauce.
    Heat enough oil for deep frying. Dust the chicken pieces in the dry ingredients, then dip in the egg mixture and finally toss them again in the dry ingredients. Fry in hot oil for about 2 minutes per side or just until the outside is crisp and golden. Remove onto paper towels to blot out excess oil.
    Serve with a salad, fries and dips of your choice.
    Enjoy! 🙂

Notes

Strain the stock to remove the dried herbs and then store it for use in soups, rice dishes, gravy, curries etc. Just remember that it was salted, so go easy on the salt when you are using this stock in another recipe.