Taiwanese Pop Corn Chicken

Taiwanese popcorn chicken or 鹹酥雞 is a popular snack in Taiwanese culture. Even in Taiwanese style restaurants or shops overseas like in Sunnybank, Brisbane Australia, or Boxhill in Melbourne Australia; you will see this dish. You can also find it in CheezeBox or Gripps for $5.00 a plate. 鹹酥雞 means Salty and Crispy Chicken if you translate it directly. Yes - it's nicely spiced with salt, pepper and five spice powder, then dipped in a special flour that gives its extra crisp, ! In fact, this is one of my favourite way to coat my meats to pan fry or deep fry. The secret is .... *drum rolls*


Sweet Potato Starch, get the one that's coarse and grainy like breadcrumbs texture. I guarantee the most crispy coating you can have if you use this type of starch to coat! This is also served with Thai basil that's deep fried quickly.

Here's the recipe:
1.5 kg boneless skinless chicken thigh (Cut into bite size pieces) : Chicken thigh has better texture than breast meat but if you want, you can still use chicken breasts.
1 cup thick soy sauce (or you can use teriyaki sauce)
1/4 cup sweet cooking rice wine (mirin is also a good choice)
3 tablespoons white pepper
1 tablespoon Chinese five spice powder (you can find in Hua Ho, and most Asian grocery stores)
2 whole garlic clove, minced. (I usually cut extras into tiny chips so that I can sprinkle those deep fried garlic with the chicken too. iYum!)
3 tablespoons honey or (2 tablespoons brown sugar or white sugar)
1 teaspoon sesame oil (usually they don't add this but I simply like the smell of sesame oil)
Two eggs (for coating later - helps to bind the flour and also add flavour)

For Coating:
Lots of sweet potato flour (aka SWEET POTATO starch, used for the coating of chicken) - get the more grainy ones.

Extras:
Sweet fresh Thai basil (not the Italian Basil) for deep frying.

Spice Sprinkles (for sprinkling on the popcorn chicken)
2 tablespoons white pepper
1/2 tablespoons five spice powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
1/2 teaspoon curry powder

Toast the spice mixture on a pan (constantly shaking them to prevent burning) - once you can smell the fragrance - you hit the right spot!

Instructions:

1) First of all, mix all the ingredients (except the egg and flour) to marinate the chicken together first - give them a gentle massage to mix well.

2) Marinate the chicken with the marinade for half an hour to one hour - covered, in the fridge

3) Heat up the oil to the right frying temperature.

4) Deep fry the basil leaves first (make sure they are dry) till crispy and set aside (this also flavours the oil). Heat up oil to right temperature for frying the chicken.

5) Take out marinated chicken from fridge and 'massage' in your eggs.

6) Coat the chicken with the sweet potato starch (give them a bit of a rest before deep frying - this let's the moisture of the eggs and marinade cling better to the starch) and deep fry in small batches till golden - just about cooked - then scoop them and set aside. When you're about to serve - heat oil till hot, then add the chicken again to crisp them up in high temperature oil - this double frying technique ensures the batter to be hot and crispy!

7) Sprinkle the spice mix on the popcorn chicken at this time - serve next to basil leaves. Delicious on their own!

NOTE: The time to add the basil varies - some prefer to actually add it while you're frying your chicken to increase flavour - but I am skeptical as this suddenly lowers the oil temperature during frying - I would prefer to fry my basil leaves at the beginning. It's just my method.

Orange Chicken: The hidden rival to Lemon Chicken

Always hidden behind the scenes in the history of Chinese cuisine, Orange chicken has rarely seen the light in restaurants unlike the popular Lemon Chicken. This post, we bring the Orange chicken to the spotlight!

Prepare:
700g boneless chicken thighs cut into one inch pieces(you can use chicken breast if you don't like thigh texture)
Eight to ten strips of Orange zest. Use a peeler and peel slowly, make sure you don't peel too deep and get the bitter white part.
8 pieces dried whole chilies, can buy from Hua Ho, I used the Indian type, not too spicy. They are mostly for decorative purposes but still add a hint of spicy flavour.


Marinade:
3/4 cup chicken stock (if you don't have chicken soup or stock on hand ... just add one tablespoon chicken stock powder and mix with 3/4 water, won't be as good though)
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3 garlic cloves, crushed and minced
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (add more if you like spicier)
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1/4 cup dark soy sauce
zest of one orange (make sure you don't zest till you see whites, the white part is bitter)
3/4 cup orange juice (about 3 oranges for me)


Instructions:

1)Make the marinade above.

2) Pour half the marinade into a mixing bowl with your chicken, mix well, refrigerate for 30 minutes. Do not marinade longer than 45 minutes.

3) While waiting, make the sauce. Pour the remaining marinade into a saucepan (pot) and heat it up to a simmer.

4) On a small bowl, mix 1 and half tablespoons of corn starch and add some liquid, about 2 tablespoons of water and mix well together into a slurry using your hand or chopsticks.

5) Add the slurry to the simmering mixture and cook till it's nice and glossy thickness. Then remove from heat.

6) Add in your peeled orange zest and your whole dried chilies and stir. Set aside.

7) When your chicken is marinated, drain all the marinade liquid, and wipe it dry using tissues or towels. Drying them makes it easier for the coating to cling on to chicken

8) To coat, beat 3 egg whites till nice and frothy.

9) On another plate, combine 1 cup of corn starch with 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. Add pinch of salt and pepper for seasoning. For me, I add some chili powder here as well. I love spicy food.

10) Dip your chicken on the egg whites, then dip on corn starch, then drop your chicken on to a hot deep frying oil at 350 farenheit or 180 celcius. Deep fry in batches.


11) Before adding and tossing the chicken with the sauce, heat up the sauce first.


12) Serve with steamed rice. Enjoy!

Family comes first

Anyone of you seen family movies like "Click"? Movies like these usually emphasizes how important it is to appreciate members of your family, especially your parents or grandparents. I was watching another movie today about two man who didn't really cherish their parents and grandparents. It's only when they finally realize that they had lost them, then they start to regret things.

My parents had been working hard all their lives for me and my siblings to have a good and fruitful life. Sometimes, all I could ever think of was about myself that I tend to not spend enough time with my parents. To that, I just want to say, I love my parents and am very grateful for all the things they had done for me. Cherish the people that are close to you, especially your parents.

Today's recipe is a great recipe you can make for your family. Here's a nice thai style curry and all you have to do is cook rice and serve it with this wholesome curry that's exotic yet easy to make.
Chicken and Mango Thai Curry

Serves 4-6 people

1/3 cup peanut oil or vegetable oil
3-4 tablespoons red curry or yellow curry paste (more if you are a fire breathing dragon
with a passion for chilies)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cans coconut milk
1 cup chicken stock (or just add half chicken stock cube to one cup water)
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken thigh pieces, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 inch fresh ginger, cut in thick slices
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper (capsicum), seeded,and cut in strips
1 green bell pepper(capsicum), seeded and cut in strips
1 large mango, peeled,pitted,cut in strips
1 can straw mushrooms, drained
4 tablespoons fish sauce (add more to taste)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped coriander (optional)

1. In a hot wok, heat oil over medium heat until hot.
2. Add curry paste and garlic and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds.
3. Slowly stir in coconut milk and chicken stock.
4. Reduce heat to simmer; add chicken and cook for 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Add ginger, onion, and peppers; cook until tender, about 7 minutes.
6. Add mango, straw mushrooms, fish sauce, and sugar.
7. When heated through, serve over individual plates of hot rice.
8. Garnish with coriander.

Serve with steamed rice. (or steamed tofu, if you wanna watch your carb intake)