Thursday, October 8, 2009

A Diffrent Breed Of Fried Chicken

It's Thursday, fellow foodies and you know what that means. It's time to dissect another article from yesterday's New York Times Dining Section. This time it's about the different cultural spins on the American classic, fried chicken. It has a new spin, thanks to the Asian and Latin American influence throughout New York City. It's not the fried chicken we grew up on but a tastier, more flavorful version,

The article, written by Julia Moskin tells of the ways ethnic groups, particularly the Chinese and Koreans put their mark on this typically Southern fare. Chinese chef such as Yong Quan Yang at Manhattan's Congee Village and the restaurant's owner , Eddie Yee, like to rub a whole chicken with a mix of white vinegar and malt syrup. The inside of the bird is then rubbed down with a five spice mixture that includes garlic and ginger. It hangs in front of a fan to dry for five hours, much like that of a Peking duck and then fried in a glaze of sugar, Thai sauce along with sesame oil , white pepper and soy sauce. They throw in deep fried crispy garlic and - voila- the perfect fried chicken. This is something that sounds so good, just reading about it makes your mouth water reading about it. I hope that Ms. Moskin got to sample and enjoy this different kind of chicken.

The article also mentions the Korean and Latin Caribbean fried chicken variations. The Korean sounds hotter with its' huge dollop of chili peppers (about three tablespoons). However it also has ketchup and sugar to mellow out the taste. the Latin Carib version sounds yummy. I've had variations of this where the chicken is marinated in lime and garlic along with a seasoned mix of cumin coriander seed and annatto.

Fried chicken doesn't have to be just about the crust. A flavorful meat can also star as well. By adding different spices and techniques fried chicken can be tasty inside and out!

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