The Global Kitchen

Supposedly this is one of the BEST fried chicken recipes EVER! I found it in The Atlantic's April 2009 issue and knew I had to try it as a lover of Thai food and fried chicken. The article is pretty good too.
I'm no fried chicken connoisseur. I've never even been to KFC. My experience is limited to my mom's old school recipe which involved dredging in flour, salt and pepper and a big chunk of Crisco. I loved that chicken but as soon as Oprah and her chef Rosie popularized baking chicken with a cornflake coating it became an endangered species in my world. I don't think mom used the cornfalkes but she did start baking the chicken. It was good but not the same.

My biggest beef with frying is the mess. And the fact I never fail to splatter myself even with my splatter screen. But I wanted the chicken so I bought myself a deep fryer. When I brought it home I think my boyfriend was more excited. He declared we had to "break it in" and ran to the store for a bag of potatoes and some oil and made fries. By the way, Emeril's Perfect French Fries are pretty darn good. He's planning on frying more things. He says he wants fried food once a week. I think once a month, if that often, is a better idea.

I have to admit the chicken is pretty awesome! The leftovers are calling my name. But I don't know if I'd compare it to southern fried as it's a totally different taste.

I found coriander with the roots at the Asian grocery store. I think it's a shame that US grocery stores cut them off as they're full of flavor. If you can't find them it's OK to use all stems. But get the roots if you can.

If you don't have a mortar and pestle you can use a food processor but use a mortar and pestle if you can. I bought mine at the Asian grocery store. Much cheaper than Sur La Table. It weighs a ton but I love it and pounding things to a paste is great therapy.



Note it is recommended that the chicken marinate overnight!

Sukhamvit Soi Five Fried Chicken Recipe HERE.

I served my chicken with jasmine rice and steamed vegetables, along with some Sriracha for dipping.