Plenty of home cooks look for fried chicken with a crust as crisp as the shops manage. A crust that browns fast while the meat inside is still raw is the usual failure, and a coating that is too thin loses its crunch as soon as it comes out.
The chicken soaks in oat milk with a little lime juice to curdle it, then gets steamed through before it is coated and fried. The coating step is repeated 1 to 3 times depending on how thick a crust you want.
This batch weighs about 2kg, at roughly 139 calories per 100g.
Method
Rinse 1kg chicken and drain it, then pierce the pieces a few times with a fork or the point of a knife so the seasoning goes in. Rub the chicken with 1 tablespoon coarse salt, bruised ginger and 3 tablespoons white rice wine, then rinse it clean.
Stir 1 tablespoon lime juice or vinegar into 400ml unsweetened oat milk, leave it for 5 minutes to curdle, then add the chicken and soak for 15 to 20 minutes.
Lift the chicken out to drain and marinate it with 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon MSG, 1 teaspoon pepper and 1 teaspoon chili powder for 10 to 15 minutes.
Steam the chicken through for 20 to 25 minutes, then let it cool.
Divide 200g crispy frying flour into two equal parts. Keep one half dry and whisk the other with 2 chicken eggs and the remaining 100ml oat milk into a wet batter. Crush 100g panko breadcrumbs lightly so they break up.
Coat the chicken in the wet batter and then the dry flour, repeating 1 to 3 times depending on how thick a crust you want, then dip it back into the wet batter and roll it in the panko.
Fill a pan with oil, heat it, and fry the chicken over high heat until the coating is evenly golden, then lift it out to drain.
Serve hot with chili sauce.
Tips
Steaming the chicken before frying cooks it through and keeps it tender, avoiding a crust that browns while the inside is still raw.
Draining on a rack rather than paper keeps the crust crisp, as paper lets the oil soak back in.
Oat milk is on the thin side, so the wet batter runs a little loose and a spoonful of dry flour brings it back.
The oil has to be properly hot before the chicken goes in, since cool oil leaves the coating greasy and limp.
Frying in small batches keeps the oil temperature up, while a crowded pan drops it.
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