BOOZY THAI FRIED CHICKEN

Thai fried chicken is something you may not of come across before and that is because I don't think it exists! This creation came about as I was trying to make some Korean fried chicken but couldn't find any Gochujang paste so I decided to use some red Thai curry paste instead and you know what, it really worked. Add this newly created sauce to some chicken, battered and deep fried in a vodka based batter and you have a proper homemade version of a Saturday night takeaway that's 10 times better than going the chippy! 

I've used drumsticks for this recipe as I think they are the best chicken bits to use for finger food like this this. I mean, they come with their own little handle! You can use thighs or wings as well if you wish but be careful with the cooking times in the recipe below and adjust if the pieces are bigger or smaller than your average chicken drumstick.

Now for the batter. I think it's spot on so I'm not going to advise you how to make changes other than saying that if don't drink alcohol then you can just add in some extra sparkling water until you get that batter consistency correct. Definitely make sure you use sparkling water as well, something about the bubbles really makes the batter crispy! 

As for the sauce, it may not be to everyone's taste but I love it! If you do have Gochujang paste then you can use that instead to make a more Korean inspired fried chicken but I know it can be hard to come across whereas Thai red curry paste is a lot more readily available nowadays. I like my spice so I added a lot of sriracha to the sauce to give the hot sauce (I used Frank's BTW!) a boost but I've left this as an optional addition in the recipe in case you don't like the heat as much.

Onto the recipe! Remember to be careful when heating up oil and make sure there are no kids or animals about and that you have a damp tea towel to hand in case it does go off. Invest in a cooking thermometer so you can measure the temperature accurately but if you can't you can roughly tell when your at the right temperate by chucking in a few few breadcrumbs. If they take around 30 seconds to go brown then you are at 160 degrees and if they fizz and brown near enough instantly then you are at around 180 degrees!

Boozy Thai Red Curry Fried Chicken

100g Golden Caster Sugar

75g (And 1/2 Tsp) Salt

5 Chicken Drumsticks

160g Plain Flour

40g Cornflour

1 Tsp Baking Powder

100ml Vodka

100ml Sparkling Water

2 Tbsp Thai Red Curry Paste

1 Tbsp Hot Sauce

1 Tsp White Wine Vinegar

1 Tbsp Honey

1 Tsp Sesame Oil

Few Drops Of Sriracha (To Taste)

1. Begin by tipping the golden caster sugar and 75g of salt into a large bowl and pour in 300ml of warm water. Stir until the sugar and salt has dissolved and then add in the chicken drumsticks. Cover the bowl with film and then leave it in the fridge for at least two hours (preferably overnight). 
2. After the chicken has soaked, take a plate and mix together 35g plain flour, 15g cornflour, 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt. Leave the plate to one side.
3. In a large bowl, add in the remaining plain flour, corn flour and baking powder along with the vodka and whisk everything together whilst you slowly add in the sparkling water, continuing to whisk until a batter has formed that is runny but can coat the back of a spoon (you may not need all the sparkling water for this). Leave the bowl to one side. 
4. Fill up a large pan with oil so that it's roughly 2 inches deep and then carefully heat the oil to 160 degrees.
5. Whilst the oil heats up, take the Thai red curry paste, hot sauce, white wine vinegar, honey and sesame oil and stir everything together to form a sauce. Taste and if you think it needs a bit more spice then add a few drops of Sriracha (I did!), Leave to one side.
6. When the oil is at the right temperature, remove the chicken drumsticks from the fridge and pat them dry with some kitchen paper. Dip each of the drumsticks in the dry flour mixture so they are fully coated and then dip each drumstick into the wet vodka batter mix. Allow any excess to drip off and then carefully place the drumsticks into the hot oil (you may need to do this in batches if you can't fit all the drumsticks in your pan at the same time). Fry the drumsticks for 10 minutes until they are beginning to brown and then remove and place on a wire rack.
7. Now, heat the oil up to 180 degrees and then fry each drumstick again for another 2-3 minutes until the crispy batter is golden brown. Place the chicken back on the wire rack to drain and brush each piece with a bit of the Thai red curry sauce.

Don't drench the chicken in the sauce as you don't want that crispy skin to go all soggy and similarly, make sure you serve the chicken as quickly as possible so that it's at it's maximum crispiness. If you still want to add a bit more of a kick to your chicks then garnish them with some chopped red chili and tuck in. Having been soaked in the brine, your chicken should be deliciously moist and just fall off the bone as you bite through that satisfyingly boozy crunchy skin which has been flavored with the fragrant spice red curry sauce. What a great grown up twist on a finger licking classic!