Thai Fried Chicken from Marion's Kitchen

This is from Marion's Kitchen.   I didn't make the fried shallots or sauce, but fried some red chilies in the oil with the chicken for some flavor.

This was very flavorful and interesting.  Rice flour also results in a much crunchier crispier crust than wheat flour and  it's even gluten-free if your children have celiac's disease.

Thai Fried Chicken - Adapted from Marion's Kitchen

Ingredients

1 Chicken Thigh (roughly 300g) - Deboned with the skin on
2 Garlic Cloves
2 Coriander Roots
2 Tsp Soy Sauce
1 Tsp Oyster Sauce
1/4 Tsp Sugar
Dash White Pepper
1/8 Tsp Ground Cumin Seeds
1/8 Tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 Tsp Sea Salt
1/2 Cup Rice Flour

*Sunflower Oil for Deep Frying, or any oil of your choice

Step 1:  Make the marinade by placing the garlic and coriander roots in a food processor.

Step 2:  Transfer this into a bowl with the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, pepper, ground cumin seeds, turmeric and salt.  Mix.
 Note:  You can also put everything into the food processor but I didn't want to put certain ingredients in there.

Step 3:  Cut the chicken thigh into bite sized pieces and put it into the bowl with the marinade and mix well.  Marinate for 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Step 4:  Dust the chicken in rice flour, shaking off the excess.

Step 5:  Fill a saucepan to about 1/3 capacity with sunflower oil (or any other oil you use for frying) and heat it up over high heat. Dip a wooden spoon or chopsticks in to see if tiny bubble form.  This is how you know when it's ready.

Step 6:  You can put all the chicken into the oil and cook them until they float to the surface and a little brown but not done yet.

Step 7:  Remove these onto a plate with paper and wash the remaining dishes.

Step 8:  Heat-up the oil again and fry the chicken for a second time.  You can add the dried red chilies at this point.  The chicken is ready when they are golden brown.

Marion serves her chicken with crispy fried shallots and a sweet chili sauce topped with coriander, but I had mine plain.  

The chicken was very crisp and juicy.  Loved it.

Cabbage Kimchi

This recipe was given to me by my friend Chi.  Chi is a great cook among other things and she was nice enough to share this with some of us.   This is basically a summer time Kimchi and isn't fermented for such a long time.  During a hot summer 12 - 24 hours is enough, depending on how hot it is in your house.

Cabbage Kimchi - Chi Hyun Han

Ingredients

 1 Head of Cabbage - Remove outer leaves and tear into bite sized pieces
1 1/2 Cup Sea Salt  + 8 Liters Water for Brining
1 Large Onion - Sliced
8 Stalks Scallions - Cut into 4-5 cm portions
2 Heaping Tbsps Minced Garlic
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Korean Brined Shrimp (Saeu-jeot) --> If you can't purchase this in your area, increase the amount of Fish Sauce* to 1/4 Cup
3/4 Cup Korean Chili Flakes
1/8 Cup Fish Sauce*
1/2 Cup Water
The biggest bowl in your house

Step 1:  Put the pieces of cabbage in salt water at a ratio of 1/5 cups : 8 liters and brine for 2 hours.

Step 2:  Prepare the onion slices, garlic and scallions.

Step 3:  After 2 hours, drain the cabbage and rinse them once or if you're using Spanish sea salt (gruesa), just drain it.


Step 4:  Put the cabbage into a big bowl with the sliced onions, scallions garlic, sugar, brined shrimp, the fish sauce and chili flakes.

Step 5:  Wear gloves to protect your hands and mix the ingredients so that the chili and everything else is spread evenly.  Massage the ingredients gently while doing so.

Step 6:  When everything is mixed quite well and quite wet, put this into your airtight container and pour in 1/2 Cup water.

Let it ferment at room temperature in the summer for roughly 24 hours.

Taste it at this point to see if it's ready.  If it is store it in the refrigerator.  If not, leave it out for a few more hours, testing it every 2 hours or so.

When it's ready it will look something like this, but please taste it to make sure!