Crispy Taiwanese-Inspired Fried Chickenwith Blood Orange Soy Glaze
& Crispy Thai Basil.
DIFFICULTY: Medium
PREP + COOK TIME: 1 1/2 hours
Ingredients
✴
Ingredients ✴
Taiwanese-Inspired Fried Chicken:
4 large free-range chicken thighs (about 700g), boneless & skinless
2 fat cloves garlic, minced
3 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
Zest of ½ Sunkist blood orange
1 large free-range egg
2 Tbsp plain flour
1 Tbsp each soy sauce & Shaoxing wine
½ tsp freshly cracked black or mixed-colour pepper
1 cup tapioca (Arrowroot) starch (or sub with potato starch)
1 litre neutral cooking oil, for frying (I used rice bran)
1 handful Thai basil leaves (optional)
Blood Orange Soy Glaze:
½ tsp cornflour
1 thumb-sized piece ginger, very finely chopped (or grated on a microplane)
2 fat cloves garlic, minced
¼ tsp each chilli flakes & freshly cracked black or mixed-colour pepper
Juice of 2 Sunkist blood oranges (about ⅓ cup juice)
2 Tbsp soft brown sugar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp white miso paste
½ tsp each rice wine vinegar & gochujang paste
Blood Orange Salsa + To Serve:
1 spring onion, thinly sliced into rounds
1 medium shallot, very thinly sliced into rounds
3 Sunkist blood oranges, skin and pith removed
1 large handful coriander, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Juice of 1 Sunkist lemon (about 2 Tbsp juice)
Cooked white rice, to serve
Directions
✴
Directions ✴
Taiwanese-Inspired Fried Chicken: Lay the chicken thighs flat on a board and cover with baking paper. Bash with a rolling pin until about 1 cm thick. Transfer to a large bowl with the garlic, ginger, blood orange zest, egg, flour, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, pepper and 1 tsp table salt. Toss until evenly coated. Marinate for 1 hour at room temperature (or refrigerate, then bring back towards room temp before frying). Meanwhile, prepare the glaze and salsa.
Blood Orange Soy Glaze: Mix the cornflour with 1 Tbsp cold water to form a slurry. Heat a drizzle of neutral oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring, until fragrant and lightly golden. Add the chilli flakes and pepper and cook for 30 seconds. Add the orange juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, miso, rice wine vinegar and gochujang. Whisk and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 3 minutes, until slightly reduced. Stir in the cornflour slurry and simmer for 1 minute, until thickened and glossy. Remove from the heat.
Blood Orange Salsa: Cut the oranges into roughly 1cm pieces, removing any large bits of pith. Add to a bowl with the shallot, spring onion, coriander and sesame seeds. Just before serving, add the lemon juice, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, season well with salt and toss to combine.
Fry Chicken: Pour about 3cm of neutral oil into a heavy-based frying pan and heat over medium. To test, dip the handle of a wooden spoon into the oil - it should bubble steadily around the wood. If it sizzles aggressively, reduce the heat. Place the tapioca starch into a shallow bowl. Coat each piece of marinated chicken thoroughly in the starch, pressing it into every crevice. Fry in batches for 3-4 minutes per side, until golden brown and cooked through (see tip). Transfer to a wire rack and season lightly with salt.
Optional Fried Thai Basil: Carefully add the basil leaves to the hot oil and fry for about 1 minute, until crisp and translucent. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.
To Serve: Slice the chicken thickly and serve over rice. Spoon over the blood orange glaze and serve the salsa alongside. Top with crispy Thai basil, if using.
Tip* If you’re new to frying, don’t rush the heat. Keep it on medium and adjust as you go. The oil should bubble steadily around the chicken, not aggressively boil and spit. If it’s too hot, the coating will brown before the chicken cooks through, and if it is too cold it’ll absorb too much oil and turn greasy. Fry the chicken in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan as this drops the oil temperature quickly (I fried two pieces of chicken at a time), and let the chicken drain on a wire rack, rather than a paper towel, to keep it nice and crispy underneath!