Raised in Monterey Park, Vogue Hong Kong food columnist Susan Jung occasionally ate buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken, but it was her mother's version that she most looked forward to. Coating the chicken in cornstarch before frying it, her mother would then dip the wings in a concoction of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger, and garlic seasoning, before finishing it in the oven to make the skin extra crispy.
Before moving to Hong Kong where she has served as a food columnist for Vogue Hong Kong, Susan Jung grew up in Monterey Park. Photo by Yuki Sugiura.
Writing the book Kung Pao and Beyond, Jung made fried chicken at least once a day for three months so she could narrow down 90 recipes to 60.
She recommends using corn oil or canola oil and avoiding pricier options like sesame and olive oil, which have lower smoke points. Many of her recipes call for double frying, and she suggests a lower temperature on the first fry. Using less oil and fewer pieces of chicken in a large wok will minimize the splatter and mess, Jung says.
Kung Pao and Beyond showcases 60 fried chicken recipes featuring techniques and ingredients from East and Southeast Asia. Photo courtesy of Quadrille.
Jung describes an oil blanching technique used in China that involves quickly frying chicken then finishing it by cooking it with other ingredients. The result is meat with a smooth, velvety texture.
Instant noodles are ground to the size of rice grains, incorporated with the seasoning packet and used as a coating in this easy fried chicken recipe. Photo by Yuki Sugiura.
Chicken poppers with instant noodle coating
Serves 4-6
I came up with the idea for this dish after listening to two friends talk about instant noodles – a subject that is dear to my stomach. Peter reminisced about eating instant noodles, sprinkled with the seasoning mix, straight out of the packet, without cooking them first. Carol said that she hadn’t ever tasted one of my favourite instant noodles, Nongshim Shin Ramyun. I wondered how instant noodles would work as a coating for fried chicken, and fortunately had a packet of Nongshim Shin Ramyun in my cupboard. (An important tip if you want to buy these: seek out the ones made in South Korea, because they taste so much better than the ones made elsewhere.) It was one of the easiest fried chicken dishes I’ve made, and the noodles fried up spicy and crunchy. You can vary the flavour by using other types of instant noodles, but make sure the seasoning packet is a dry mix, not a paste. Also, use only the seasoning powder, not any oil or dehydrated vegetables that may come in the packet.
This fried chicken goes very well with soju (Korean distilled alcoholic beverage) or beer.
Ingredients
- 450g (1lb) boneless chicken thighs coarse salt crystals, as necessary
- 2–4 packets of instant noodles, depending on size
- about 60g (2oz) potato, sweet potato or tapioca flour
- 2–3 eggs
- 750ml (3¼ cups) cooking oil
Instructions
-
Butterfly the chicken thighs (see page 20), cut them into 2.5cm (1in) chunks and put them in a bowl. Weigh the chicken, then multiply the amount by 0.005 – this is the amount of salt you need. Sprinkle the salt over the chicken, mix well, then set aside for at least 10 minutes.
-
Put the noodles with the contents of the dry seasoning pack in a food processor. Process until the noodles are about the size of rice grains.
-
Put the potato, sweet potato or tapioca flour in a shallow dish. Whisk the eggs in another shallow dish and put the instant noodles in a third dish. Dredge the chicken thighs in the flour and shake off the excess, then dip in the egg. Dredge in the instant noodles, pressing firmly so they adhere. Lay the chicken on a cooling rack placed over a tray.
-
Pour the cooking oil into a pan, preferably a medium wok, set over a medium heat. Fry the chicken in two batches at 160°C (320°F). Fry the pieces for 4 minutes, then put them on the rack placed over the tray – there’s no need to fry again.