Fried Chicken

I don't know anyone who doesn't like fried chicken. I also don't know any vegans, so the two might be connected. Yeah yeah, I know everyone always slags off KFC and how disgusting they are but every now and again I get a deep, intense craving for the crunch of that deep fried crust, the overpowering saltiness and the guilty film of chicken fat. It is unbeatable.

In all its forms the chicken does well deep fried. Katsu'ing and dousing in curry sauce in the Japanese style is how I have it most often, but recently I've had dark thoughts about a filthier affair, one tinged with the tang of Frank's Hot Sauce. Buttery thoughts clouded my mind for days. A friend conducted an experiment in veganism and abstained from all things animal for a whole month and I taunted her with tales of my trips to meaty establishments. I felt like a pretty bad person, so as soon as her month of pain and woe was over I promised her wings. Lots and lots of wings covered in a silky, buttery sauce.

I couldn't stick to one format though. A whole dish of hot sauce-doused wings was one thing, but since we were going through the rigmarole of deep frying, I took the opportunity to try my hand at KFC, or rather Korean fried chicken. A hodge podge of ingredients were slung into bowls ready for the wings to emerge from their bathe in the hot oil to be finally doused in fire.

The coating of the flour makes sure the seasonings stick to the wings and the second frying, though monstrous for your health, give the wings that crisp exterior which is terribly crucial considering the next step of slathering them in sauce.

The frying took longer than I thought, maybe a good 20 - 25 minutes in total. Bear that in mind so that you're not handling saucepans full of shimmering oil and gawping at the TV like I was.

Fried Chicken

Serves 3 with sides - such as celery with blue cheese dip and other such artery cloggers

1 kg chicken wings
1 tsp onion salt
1 tsp paprika
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp plain flour

Snip the fleshiest piece of the wing away so that they are in two pieces. Toss with the ingredients above and leave for at least 3 hours. Heat up enough vegetable oil in a large saucepan or wok and fry the chicken wings in batches; remove when golden brown and drain on kitchen towel. Fry again until a deep caramel brown colour. Douse in the sauces as detailed below, and serve with kitchen towel and beers.


For the Buffalo Wings:

100ml Frank's Hot Sauce (I'm told you can buy this at Sainsburys now.)
100gr butter

Melt the butter. Mix it with Frank's hot sauce. There.

For the Korean Fried Chicken

3 tbsp gochujang (you can buy this in Chinatown)
3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 inch of ginger, grated
1.5 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp sesame seeds

Mix the above together except the sesame seeds - these are for sprinkling on the chicken once coated.