little lions

I didn't need to taste it to know exactly who the chef was and by god, did that infuriate me immensely. They were done in Annie's three signature ways: southern, garlic butter and sweet soy. Fresh out of the fryer, I had to pick them up carefully before quickly sending one of the smaller portions into my mouth; hearing the first crunch at the back of my teeth and each subsequent bite ringing its way to the top of my head, giving way to well-seasoned, perfectly juicy chunks of chicken thigh infused with spices that wholly reminded me of racing on Peach Beach as fictional characters in tiny karts.

Prep time: 2 hours

Cook time: 15 minutes

Difficulty: 3/5 you could f*** this up

Serves: 2 kids racing on Peach Beach in imaginary karts

Main Ingredients

1 pound or 500g boneless chicken thighs (skin on) or whatever you like; cut two/three thumb-sized chunks

Canola Oil for frying (or any neutral oil, sunflower)

Marinade Seasoning (2tbsp each)

Onion powder

Garlic power

Salt

Pepper

Cajun Seasoning (optional, but necessary for southern version)

Smoked Paprika

Cayenne Pepper

Marinade Batter

½ Cup Cornstarch

1 Cup Mochiko flour (that's the secret. Also known as sweet rice flour. If you can't get that, sweet potato starch works fine)

50g unsalted butter

2 eggs

1 Cup buttermilk (or combine 1 cup whole milk with 1 tbsp white vinegar if you can't get it)

Marinade Paste

A bunch of English Parsley

A handful of Italian Basil

A sprig of fresh thyme

Pimento Peppers (OR red/yellow/green bell peppers)

4 cloves of garlic

1 stalk of green onions roughly chopped

Olive Oil

Flour

2 Cups all-purpose

½ Cup cornstarch

Garlic Butter Sauce

8 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

A handful English Parsley finely chopped

8 garlic gloves minced

Sweet Soy Glaze

2 tbsp unsalted butter

3 cloves garlic, grated or minced

1/3 cup soy sauce

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (optional)

1 tbsp Gochujang Korean chili paste (optional) OR 2 tsp mustard paste (optional)

4 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp onion powder

For the fancy mfs out there

Lime salt or ½ a lime

Handful of curry leaves

Chicken Steps

1. Combine the ingredients for the marinade seasoning and add 3/4 of it into the bowl of chicken chunks. Mix well.

2. Blend or mince the ingredients for the marinade paste together. Skip this if you're opting out of the southern style chicken. Add the paste to the chicken chunks. Add 2 tbsp of lime salt OR ½ a lime if you're fancy.

3. Add the ingredients one by one for the marinade batter.

4. Mix well.

5. Leave it aside or in the fridge for 2 hours

6. While waiting, make sauce for garlic butter chicken or sweet soy.

7. After 2 hours, remove the chilled chicken. Combine ingredients for flour mix and add the remaining ¼ of marinade seasoning saved earlier. Mix well.

8. Coat chicken chunks with flour, one by one. Take it easy. Rest them on a wire rack for five to ten minutes after coating.

9. Get them back into the flour a second time. That's the secret.

10. Heat at least 2 inches of Canola oil in a saucepan. If you got a thermometer, it should read 325F or about 160C. Otherwise, drop a piece of flour into the oil. It should bubble rapidly. Another way's to stick a wooden chopstick in. If it bubbles, you're good to go.

11. Add your chicken chunks into the oil. Five to six at a time depending on the size of your pan. Don't overcrowd it. Overcrowding reduces the temperature of the oil and you'd get soggy chicken f***s. Nasty.

12. Get some color on both sides—lightly golden—and remove the chunks. Rest them on the same wire rack.

13. After you're done with the first batch, get them into the oil a second time for a double fry. This time, crank the heat up to 375F or about 190C. Stir them gently. Don't let them sit on the bottom of the pan.

14. When the chicken's almost done, grab a handful of curry leaves (make sure they're dry) and drop them in. Get a lid ready, because they pop in the oil. Cover the saucepan as soon as the leaves hit the oil. Remove the lid when the sound stops.

15. After twenty seconds, remove the chicken and the leaves with a mesh fry strainer.

16. Impress.

Garlic Butter Chicken

1. In a small skillet on med heat, melt 1 tbsp of unsalted butter and minced garlic. Add two tsp of water.

2. Stir constantly for a minute.

3. Add remaining 7 tbsp of unsalted butter until fully melted.

4. Remove from heat and pour into small bowl. Add chopped parsley, salt and a crack of black pepper. Mix well.

5. Spoon or brush over chicken chunks right before serving.

Sweet Soy Chicken

1. Heat the soy sauce, sugar and butter in a saucepan. Stir constantly.

2. Add the remaining ingredients.

3. Cook it down till reduced.

4. Cool.

5. Spoon or brush over chicken chunks right before serving.

Editor's Tip:

The secret is in the double flouring and double frying of the chicken chunks, apart from the fact that the flour mixture includes potato starch or mochiko flour. Serve the southern style chicken with some sour cream mixed with fresh parsley and lime zest to impress.