Spicy fried chicken and beer makes everything better
Let me say that again to re-iterate my point- spicy fried chicken and beer makes everything better. After a couple of bites and a swig of lager, you will no longer be on the verge of a breakdown. Maybe even smiling or even perhaps a little hopeful about tomorrow. Now I’m not saying we should all drown our sorrows in fried chicken and beer whenever we are feeling down. However, I do encourage you to meditate on the healing properties of spicy fried chicken, pickled daikon and a good cold beer consumed with friends. Especially this fried chicken which hits all the right spots: salty, sweet, spicy, crunchy, juicy. Just looking at it makes me feel a whole lot better.
What’s the secret to juicy chicken?
I am a BIG believer in brining. Brining your poultry overnight will solve all if not most of your dry chicken problems. It’s not that difficult or time-consuming to throw together a brine making it a less work-intensive method to achieving juicy, tender chicken no matter what method of cooking-broiling, roasting, frying, stir-fry, etc. You name it, brining works.
What’s the secret to a crispy coating?
In terms of fried chicken, I have found that a combination of seasoned flour and cornstarch does the trick. A little bit of baking powder sprinkled on the skin of the chicken will also help the skin crisp up nicely. If you are looking for an authentic Korean crispy crunch, put a little vodka into your coating mixture. Vodka has a lower boiling point than water, so when heated up it evaporates quickly leaving less moisture behind.
But more importantly, you MUST have that oil hot if you are going to fry anything. Be it chicken, onion rings, or french fries, the oil must be at the proper temperature. To determine if your oil is hot enough without using a thermometer, just add a little batter or the end of a wooden chopstick or spoon. If you get a fair amount of bubbling, you’re ready to cook. However, be careful of the rapid bubbling. This means the oil is too hot and you run the risk of burning the outside while undercooking the inside.



Recipes for the fried chicken aficionado:
The Tastiest Homemade Crispy Chicken Tenders
Karaage Chicken (Japanese Fried Chicken)
Extra Crispy and Spicy Malaysian Chicken Chop