I hope you’re ready for one of the most crispiest, savory-est fried chicken you can imagine! This addicting chicken is double fried to crispy crunchy perfection before cooking through in an oven and brushing a sweet, savory sauce on top. Marinading the chicken prior to frying ensures that flavor is penetrated deep into the chicken. Sprinkling fried garlic on top takes everything up a notch and gives it even more crunch, flavor, and aroma. This meal is definitely the ultimate way to bring family together for a hearty meal jam-packed with traditional Vietnamese flavors.
Ingredients for approx 5-6 servings
-5 lbs chicken thighs, skin and bone on
-Neutral oil, for frying
Marinade
-1.5 Tbsp garlic powder
-1.25 Tbsp fish sauce
-1 Tbsp black pepper
-1 Tbsp chicken bouillion powder
-3/4 tsp table salt
Sauce
-3 shallots, diced
-4 Tbsp brown sugar
-3 Tbsp fish sauce
-4 Tbsp water
-2 cloves of garlic, smashed
Batter
-1/2 cup corn starch
-1/2 tsp baking powder
Garnish
-5 cloves of garlic, diced and fried
-Green onions, chopped
Procedure
Sauce
1. Add some oil into a saucepan and heat up
2. Add shallots to oil and saute until shallots are caramelized
3. Add brown sugar, fish sauce, water, and smashed garlic into the saucepan and bring to boil
4. Once boiling, bring down to a simmer for ~15 minutes to thicken sauce
5. Turn off heat and let cool
Chicken Preparation
1. Pat chicken dry with paper towel.
2. Add garlic powder, fish sauce, black pepper, chicken bouillion powder, and salt into a mixing bowl and mix to make marinade.
3. Coat chicken thighs with marinade and set in a plate or baking tray. Place marinaded thighs in fridge, skin-side up and uncovered, for at least 2 hours (overnight for maximum flavor).
4. Add corn starch and baking powder into a mixing bowl and mix together to make batter.
5. Coat the marinated chicken with the batter. Place coated chicken in sieve and tap to shake out excess batter.
6. Add a neutral oil (vegetable or corn) to a pan so oil is about 1/2 inch deep. Heat oil on medium-high .
7. Once oil is heated, add chicken thighs (skin-side down). Fry for approx 4 minutes or until skin is light brown.
8. Flip chicken thigh over and fry for approx 3 additional minutes.
9. Take out the chicken thighs and allow to drip excess oil on cooling rack or paper-lined dish.
10. Double-fry the chicken thighs by placing back in hot oil and frying each side for two additional minutes.
11. Remove chicken thighs from oil again and allow excess oil to drip.
12. Preheat oven to 450°F.
13. Bring chicken onto a baking sheet and roast in oven for approx 12-15 minutes, or until internal temperature reads 175°F.
14. Remove chicken from oven. Immediately brush sauce over the chicken.
15. Add garnishes over chicken and let cool before serving.
Observations/Tips
-Double frying adds deep, brown beautiful color to the chicken and definitely makes the skin much crispie
-If possible, leaving marinated chicken uncovered in the fridge dries the skin out, which makes it even crunchier
-Ensure chicken is dried of excess oil before putting in oven and be extra cautious when taking chicken out of the oven, as some oil splatter may occur on the baking tray. (Its okay, don’t be chicken! But do be careful!)
Frankly Awesome Food 