‹ The Fried Chicken 100 › Make it at home

The Fried Chicken 100 · make it at home

Thai fried chicken (gai tod Hat Yai) with crisp shallots and sweet chilli

2 hr marinate, 45 min · 4, with sticky rice

Southern Thailand's fried chicken: a pounded marinade of coriander root, garlic and white pepper, a thin rice-flour coat, and a heap of shallots fried golden on top. Eaten with sticky rice, sweet chilli sauce and som tam.

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The real one

You need

• 1.2 kg (2 1/2 lb) chicken thighs and drumsticks, bone in
• Paste: 6 coriander roots (or a small bunch of coriander stems), 6 garlic cloves, 1 tsp white peppercorns, 1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted
• Seasoning: 2 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp turmeric (optional), 1 tbsp coconut milk or water
• Coating: 4 tbsp rice flour, 2 tbsp tapioca starch
• Oil for frying, about 2 liters (2 quarts)
• 8 Thai shallots (or 4 regular), thinly and evenly sliced
• To serve: sticky rice, sweet chilli sauce, cucumber, som tam

How to make it

1. Paste (5 min): Pound the coriander roots, garlic, peppercorns and coriander seeds to a rough paste in a mortar (or blitz in a small food processor).
2. Marinate (2 hr to overnight): Slash each piece of chicken twice to the bone. Rub with the paste, fish sauce, oyster sauce, soy, sugar, turmeric and coconut milk. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
3. Shallots (8 min): Put the shallots in a pot of cold oil and heat over medium, stirring, until they turn light gold, about 8 minutes. Lift out at once onto paper (they keep browning) and salt lightly. Keep the oil.
4. Fry (12 to 14 min a batch): Toss the chicken in the rice flour and tapioca. Heat the oil to 165°C (330°F) and fry in batches 12 to 14 minutes, turning, until deep golden and 80°C (175°F) at the bone. Raise the heat to 185°C (365°F) for the last minute to crisp.
5. Serve (2 min): Pile the chicken on a plate, cover with the fried shallots, and serve with sticky rice, sweet chilli sauce, cucumber and som tam.

Tips

• For Bangkok's Polo-style bird, swap the shallots for 2 heads of garlic, minced and fried golden the same way.
• Coriander roots carry the flavor; Thai and Asian grocers sell coriander with roots attached.

Chef Amazing's own home version, in our words; not any restaurant's recipe.