Spicy Southern Fried Chicken

A picnic in the southern United States just wouldn’t be complete without some fried chicken. My grandmother always fried hers in peanut oil because of its health benefits with the added bonus of a very high smoke point, ensuring the chicken will get crunchy on the outside, keeping it tender on the inside.

Did you know that today is International Picnic Day? Yep, that’s right. Why it falls on a Wednesday is anybody’s guess but at the very least, even if you have to work today, let me encourage you to take your lunch outside and find a picnic bench and enjoy it in the sunshine. 

If you’ve read my About Me page, you know that my grandmother’s fried chicken is one of those things I keep trying to duplicate. Mine’s good, because all crispy fried chicken is good, but it just isn’t the same as when she made it for me. I am also open to trying other people’s fried chicken recipes. Because, once again and repeat after me, there is no bad fried chicken. 

A number of years ago my daughters gave me Maya Angelou’s memoir/cookbook, Hallelujah! The Welcome Table.  *Affiliate link* Her fried chicken recipe calls for marinating the chicken for an hour in a generous quantity of fresh lemon juice. I was a little skeptical at first, but I can tell you, it brightens the flavors beautifully without being overwhelmingly lemony. I like to add a bunch of cayenne too to make it spicy but otherwise, this is essentially Maya Angelou’s fried chicken. Just one more reason to admire our late poet laureate and mourn her recent passing.

Ingredients
1 chicken (Mine was a huge fryer, about 6 lbs and a pack of just wings)
2 cups or 480ml fresh lemon juice
3 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3 teaspoons cayenne

For dredging the chicken:
2-3 cups or 250-375g flour

For frying:
3-4 cups or 710-950ml peanut oil

Method
Wash and dry the chicken with some paper towels and cut it into pieces.  Put all the pieces into a big Ziploc bag or a large bowl and add the fresh lemon juice.

Put it in the refrigerator for one hour, turning the chicken halfway through to make sure the top pieces get their share of lemon juice time.

Rinse, dry and season the chicken generously with salt, black pepper and cayenne.  I say three teaspoons of cayenne in the ingredients list but truth be told, I just keep sprinkling it on until the chicken is covered in red. We like our chicken spicy.

Put your flour in a paper grocery bag. This was something my grandmother insisted on. Plastic would not do.

Dredge the seasoned chicken in the flour.

Heat your oil in large pot. I use a heavy roaster, just like my grandmother did. Ideally, the oil should be at 375°F or 190°C when the chicken is added. Add a few pieces of the chicken and cover.

Fry on high until brown on both sides.

Reduce heat to low, cover the pot leaving just a small gap, and cook for 30 more minutes.

Remove from heat, drain on paper towels (an extra paper grocery bag also works well) and serve hot.  I pop mine into a warm oven if I am not serving immediately and to keep the first batch warm while I fry the rest.

Repeat the process until all the chicken is cooked.

Enjoy!

This leg is for you! 

Pisang Goreng or Deep Fried Bananas

Just ripe bananas dipped in a thick batter are deep-fried till golden, creating a crispy outside and a soft sweet inside – a truly delectable treat called Pisang Goreng in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. In English that translates to fried bananas.

“Pull over!” she’d cry.  It might be a fruit stand selling durian or a little roadside café or a hole-in-the-wall frying hot wontons filled with shrimp.  No matter, my mother was (and is) always game to stop and try whatever is on offer.  I get my food adventurousness from her.  When we lived in Trinidad, we ate curried who-knows-what at shacks by the side of the road.  (My favorite is goat.)  The other expat ladies thought she was crazy and that we’d get sick.  We never did.  In Venezuela Mom would buy me homemade cheese, called queso de mano, from peddlers who would dart between cars at the big roundabout near our house.  Even when we moved back to Houston, she would seek out the little local markets in the ethnic areas, driving clear across town to drink yogurt lassi and eat spicy samosas or to perhaps buy Middle Eastern sweet treats like baklava to bring in to work.

Through all the countries we’ve lived, I’ve tried to do the same.  Street food, when cooked hot and fresh, is the very best.  Get in line at the stall with the most people waiting to be served and you are guaranteed something tasty and worth waiting for.  All those people can’t be wrong, right?

My mother-in-law, me and my mom, at a hawker center in Singapore, 1 June 2009.
This is where Mom chose to go for her birthday lunch! 

This week our Sunday Supper group is celebrating global street food and I cannot tell you how long my list of possible recipes from myriad countries was.  It took me three days to settle on just one.  I don’t remember where I first tried fried bananas but I can tell you that my daughters fell in love with them in Brazil, where they are often served as the dessert at the end of a churrascaria meal.  Fried bananas are also typical market or street food all over Asia.  Turns out that the Portuguese are probably responsible for both.  If Wikipedia is to be trusted, up until 1511, Malaysians ate bananas in their natural state.  When the Portuguese arrived, they brought with them the flour necessary to make batter and their method of frying bananas, which then spread throughout the region.  So hats off to the Portuguese and let’s fry some bananas!

Many thanks to the Google+ Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia Cuisine Community, led by the talented and kind +Azlin Bloor, who generously allow me to be part of their group and who helped me settle on a recipe for the batter.  You all rock!

Ingredients
3/4 cup or 95g all-purpose flour
1/4 cup or 40g rice flour (not glutinous rice flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 egg
1 -1 1/4 cups water, or just enough to make the batter thick enough to stick to the bananas
Oil for deep frying – I use canola
4-5 medium-sized ripe - but not too soft - bananas

Powdered sugar – optional but not traditional – for serving
(Some fancy restaurants in Asia also serve these now, sometimes with ice cream.)

Method
Combine your flours, baking powder and salt in a big mixing bowl.

Beat your egg with a little water to loosen it and pour it in the mixing bowl.

Keep stirring and adding water until your batter is thin enough to drip off the whisk but still thick enough to cling to a banana.

Heat oil in pan or wok over medium flame to about 365°F or 185°C.  This is the temperature on my candy/deep frying thermometer which is suggested for doughnuts.

Peel and slice bananas in half widthwise then lengthwise.

Coat bananas in batter, and deep-fry in the hot oil for just a few minutes, or until bananas are golden brown and crispy.

Drain on paper towels.

Sprinkle on a little powdered sugar, if desired.  I did because I think it looks pretty.

Enjoy!

Be careful with that first bite.  The banana inside will be hot!

Bread on the Boulevard

• Martabak (stuffed pancake or pan-fried bread)

from The Urban Mrs

Pao de Queijo

from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures

Socca

from Curious Cuisiniere

Hand-Held Savory Eats

• Beef and Pork Empanadasfrom Magnolia Days
• Beef Taquitos from Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
• Carnitas Tortas from Cookin’ Mimi
• Chicken and Chorizo Street Tacos from I Run For Wine
• Chorizo, Chimichurri and Salsa Sandwiches from Vintage Kitchen Notes
• Croque Monsieur from Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Falafel Pita Sandwich from Mama’s Blissful Bites
• Feta Chicken Kabobs from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Samosas from Soni’s Food
• Schnitzelwecken {Schnitzel on a bun} from The Not So Cheesy Kitchen
• SoCal Rolled Tacos from Webicurean
• Tandoori Chicken Wrap from Foxes Love Lemons
• Tortas de Milanesa (Pork Cutlet Sandwiches) from Juanita’s Cocina
• Waffle Cone Fried Chicken from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner

To-Go Containers

• Arancinis from My cute bride
• Currywurst mit Pommes from girlichef
• NicaMales (Nicaraguan Street Food) from The Hand That Rocks The Ladle
• Poutine from Noshing with the Nolands
• Tacos de Carne Asada from Family Foodie
• Tokyo University Potatoes from NinjaBaking.com

Sweets on the Streets

• Banana Nutella Swirl Gelato from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Easy Apple Churros with Dulce de Leche from Daily Dish Recipes
• Funnel Cake 3 Ways from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Hotteok from Small Wallet, Big Appetite
• Kettle Corn from Killer Bunnies, Inc
• Nutella Crepes from The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
• Pisang Goreng (Deep Fried Bananas) from Food Lust People Love
• Sweet Corn Tamale (Tamal Asado) from Basic N Delicious

Grab a Thermos

• Wine Pairing Recommendations For Global Street Food from ENOFYLZ Wine Blog