This is a recipe by Chef Ed Lee. Pre-cooking the chicken ensures the chicken is cooked through and frying takes half the time. Cooking the chicken in adobo broth makes for deeply flavored chicken meat. And you don’t taste the vinegar but it makes the flesh silky and soft.
The recipe looks long and complicated but it isn’t much more than parboiling chicken, soaking in a marinade, then a quick fry.
If you want to be REALLY trendy, serve this with waffles and my Honey sauce for fried chicken.
DIPPING SAUCE
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 fresh Thai bird or habanero peppers, thinly sliced
To make the dipping sauce: Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
ADOBO BROTH
2 1/2 cups distilled white vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
4 bay leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons black peppercorns
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
To make the adobo broth: In a large pot, combine all the ingredients, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 5 minutes, then turn the heat down as low as it will go.
FRIED CHICKEN
2 pounds chicken, thighs and/or drumsticks, plus wings if desired (do not use breasts)
Salt
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
About 8 cups peanut oil for deep-frying
Arrange the chicken pieces on a work surface and season them with salt. Add the chicken pieces to the gently simmering broth, cover, and poach for 15 minutes, turning once halfway through. You want the chicken to poach gently and stay moist while picking up the flavor of the broth, so make sure the liquid does not get hotter than a gentle simmer. Turn off the heat and allow the chicken to cool in the liquid, covered, about 20 minutes.
Remove the chicken pieces from the adobo broth (discard the broth) and transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. Pat dry.
To fry the chicken: Pour the buttermilk into a large shallow bowl. In another bowl, combine the flour, 1 teaspoon salt, the paprika, and the pepper. Dip each chicken piece in the buttermilk, shake off any excess liquid, dredge in the flour mixture, turning to coat, and transfer to a large plate. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. The flour coating will turn a little soft—that’s a good thing.
Meanwhile, fill a large, deep cast-iron skillet about half-full with peanut oil. Heat the oil to 365°F. Cook the chicken pieces 2 or 3 at a time for 8 to 10 minutes, turning every minute or so, depending on how thick the pieces of chicken are; wings will cook faster and drumsticks will take the longest. Be sure to keep the oil temperature at around 350 to 365°F. The chicken is cooked when the internal temperature reaches at least 165°F. Using tongs, lift the chicken out of the oil and drain on paper towels. Season again with a little salt, and transfer to a platter.
Serve hot with the dipping sauce.
