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Chicken

David Chang’s Momofuku Fried Chicken Recipe

By Adrian Mott ⋅ June 6, 2010 ⋅  Print Recipe ⋅ Post a comment

Sorry for not posting more lately.  Aimee and I are getting married very soon, and that means that our lives are literally consumed by planning and work with little time to do other things we love….like cook and write here on TFD.  In any case, tonight was one night that I did find some time to get some cooking done, and after our dear friends Katie and Tyson hooked up the Momofuku cookbook for a wedding gift, I’ve hardly been able to put it down.  Seriously, if you’re into Asian-influenced, just plain old downright dirty awesome grub, get the Momofuku cookbook.  It’s righteous and one fo the best books on cooking I’ve seen in quite a while.

One thing I dig about it is how quirky the chef David Chang is in his recipes – his constant use of Grapeseed oil (or other neutral oil), the funky stories that you can tell have come out of his totally organic growth and rise to popularity.  He’s humble and a bit overwhelmed at the recognition he’s received, and from his book alone it’s partly because his food appears honest.

Honest, simple food is something that I typically look for in a chef and in a cookbook.  With Chang and Momofuku, even when they get a little nuts and use transglutaminate (AKA meat glue) it’s accompanied by a cool story from his own experiences, which makes it seem more approachable as an ingredient.

This recipe was the first I’ve tried from the book and comes from the ‘Noodle Bar’ section of the book – which is sectioned off between the different Momofuku restaurants all in NYC (Ssam Bar and Ko are the others, and both considered more high end I believe).  This is the fried chicken recipe, which jumped out to me as I read the book, because of the uniqueness of the recipe.  No breading, and tossed in a vinaigrette, but brined and steamed first, instead of pre-baked or just fried from raw. Here’s how we did it.  First the brine:

• 4-5 cups water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup salt

Now the Chicken itself:

• Sections of chicken, mostly dark meat – we used 6-8 thighs here, but you can use breasts too
• Garlic-ginger vinaigrette (recipe follows)
• Peanut oil for frying

For the vinaigrette:

• 2 Tbsp. finely chopped garlic
• 2 Tbsp. finely chopped ginger
• 1/4 cup light sesame oil
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 4-5 slices of pickled jalapenos (or other picked peppers) – diced
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• Fresh ground black pepper

Making this recipe is somewhat simple, though the cooking process is rather unique.  The basic process is 1) brine 2) steam and 3) fry.

For the brining step, simply combine all of the brine ingredients in a large bowl and stir until all of the salt and sugar are disolved.  Add the chicken, cover and let brine for between 1-3 hours in the fridge.

Once it’s done, pull the chicken out of the brine and pat dry with some paper towels.  Prepare a steamer on your stovetop and when the water begins to boil, add the chicken and cover with a lid that’s barely ajar.  Let the chicken steam for around 20-30 minutes or until it’s fully cooked through.

Meanwhile, you can whip up the vinaigrette by combining all ingredients besides the oil, then whisk in the oil at the end to emulsify.

Once the chicken is done, remove it from the steamer and let it rest.  Chef Chang in the book says to let it rest for up to a day or two, but as I didn’t really have time for this, I let it rest for around an hour before frying, but I think the longer you can let this go, the better it will end up.

When you’re ready to fry the chicken, prepare a wok or pot with peanut oil and heat to 375 F.  Add the chicken and fry for around 7 minutes or until the chicken gets a nice golden brown color.  Once it’s done, remove to paper towel lined plate, then toss with some if the vinaigrette and serve.  Enjoy!

Tags: Chicken, fried