Ingredients
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8 Chicken
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Sunflower Oil
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For the Buttermilk Marinade
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2 tsp Sansho Pepper
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¼ teaspoon White Pepper
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1 tsp Sea Salt
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2 Garlic
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10 fl oz/1¼ cups (300 ml) Buttermilk
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For the Seasoned Flour
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7 oz/12/3 cups (200 g) plain (all-purpose) Flour
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1 tsp Sea Salt
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1 tsp Sansho Pepper
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¼ teaspoon White Pepper
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To Serve
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generous sprinkle of Sansho Pepper
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Maldon Sea Salt
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1 Lemon
Directions
Sansho pepper is a Japanese spice made from the ground peppercorns of the native prickly ash tree, a cousin of the Sichuanese pepper tree. Sansho pepper has a peppery-citrus flavour with a long residual heat. Buttermilk, though not a Japanese ingredient, makes for a fantastic chicken marinade – despite its name, buttermilk is neither buttery nor creamy, it is in fact rather sour like yoghurt. Traditionally buttermilk was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. Nowadays, buttermilk is made from pasteurized milk with added culture of good bacteria that help to convert the milk sugars into lactic acid. And it is this that also breaks down the chicken meat, making it super tender and juicy. I like serving these crispy fried chicken nuggets with Wasabi Mayonnaise Dressing.
Steps
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1
Done
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Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, each about 4 cm 1½ inches). |
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2
Done
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In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the buttermilk marinade. Stir in the chicken pieces, making sure they are thoroughly coated. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight. |
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3
Done
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Take the bowl out of the fridge 30-60 minutes before cooking to bring it to room temperature. Meanwhile, prepare the seasoned flour by combining all the ingredients in a shallow tray. Heat enough sunflower oil to deep-fry the chicken in a deep-fat fryer or large pan to 160°C 320°F. |
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4
Done
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When the oil is hot enough, dredge the chicken pieces in the flour. Do not coat them beforehand as the chicken will ‘sweat’ and the coating will become soggy and will not crisp up. Remove a few chicken pieces from the buttermilk marinade and dredge them in the seasoned flour. Shake off any excess flour and carefully lower them, one by one, into the hot oil. Repeat until all pieces are coated in the seasoned flour and in the pan, and cook for 7-10 minutes until nicely golden. |
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5
Done
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Remove the chicken from the oil and transfer to a rack set over a tray. Let it rest for a couple of minutes then serve with a generous sprinkle of sansho pepper, sea salt flakes and lemon wedges. |
