Salt & Pepper Chicken with a Thai dipping Sauce

[maddy]

Name of Recipe:  Salt & Pepper Chicken
Number of People:  4-6
Ingredients:

90g rice flour (used rice grains)
75g plain flour
3 tsp chinese 5 spice
3 tsp sea salt flakes (I used Maldon sea salt flakes)
3 tsp freshly ground black pepper  (I used McKenzies course milled pepper)
2 egg whites
2 chicken breasts about 700g (I used 3)
rice bran oil for deep frying



Preparation:


Weigh rice into jug, and mill for 2 minutes, speed 9.
Add in the plain flour, 5 spice, salt & pepper.
Mix to combine.  Set aside to another bowl.

Cut chicken breasts with a sharp knife at a 45 degree angle, and cut chicken crossways into 5mm thick slices. (I probably cut them too thinly).  Whisk the egg whites in a larger bowl until foamy.  Add in the chicken and toss to coat.

Heat the oil to 180c ina large saucepan/pot over medium-high heat (when oil is ready, a cube of bread will turn golden brown in 15 seconds). (I used a candy thermometer)
Add one quarter of the chicken to the spiced flour mixture, and toss to coat.  Shake off excess.
Add to the oil 1 at a time (I added 5 similar sized pieces, and removed them at once with a slotted ladle).
Cook for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.(Mine cooked in under 2 minutes as slices were thinner)



Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel.
Repeat the coating/cooking process until finished.  You will have to re-heat oil between cooking the chicken.



Arrange on lettuce and top with chicken.  Sprinkle with shallots and chilli if desired.  Serve along with Thai dipping sauce.

THAI DIPPING SAUCE

1/4 cup (60ml) fresh lime juice
1 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. sweet chilli sauce
1 Tbsp. fish sauce.

Whisk all together and pour into small serving bowls.

Photos:



Tips/Hints:

This was the cover recipe in the January Good Taste magazine



The spice ratio works perfectly  
Give yourself plenty of time prior to dinner for the frying process  

members' comments

bulletproof4 - I tried the salt and pepper crumb tonight on some chicken tenderloins and it turned out very tasty.
I would like to add it to a caesar salad one dayn that would be nice.
Thanks for a great recipe.

Zan - yum!!! Maddy so much for posting this. The kids really loved the Thai dipping sauce which I put in individual pinch bowls and all drank what was left in their bowls. Next time dh wants salt and chili chicken. He also cooked them in his deep fat fryer so easy to cook and not greasy at all.

cookie - really loved them. I served them with a salad. I only shallow fried mine and they were still lovely and crunchy. I did them in 2 lots with about 2 tablespoons of oil each time.

courton - I shallow fried it and it was yummy.

[Zan]

Thanks Maddy! Sounds lovely. And will allow dh is once a year experience of getting his deep frier out, lol.

[maddy]

will allow dh is once a year experience of getting his deep frier out, lol.

LOL....know what you mean 
Don't use mine any more - it lives in the shed, and for the very rare occasion, I use the scanpan dutch oven to fry.

[Merlin]

I saw this recipe in good taste also, and was about to convert it for the TM, so thanks for beating me to it! I cant wait. I was also going to give it a go with squid as well. Photo looks great!

[JulieO]

Thanks Maddy, another I will be trying. 

[SoBlessed]

Do you think this would work if you shallow fried it? I would prefer not to deep fry.

[maddy]

I think it may be better results for deep frying, as it cooks relatively quickly & it encases the chicken pieces on submerging in deeper oil.  The rice bran oil is one of the better oils to use.
You could try it.....but you would have to be careful not to overcook it, and dry it out.

[SoBlessed]

Ok thanks. I'll give it a try  see how it goes.

[cookie1]

It does look lovely. I think I may try it shallow fried too.

[foodiepep]

Wow Maddy that looks awesome.  I'd bet it tastes great on Calamari as well.

We often Shallow fry crumbed chicken so I can't see why you can't shallow fry this.

Do you mind sharing this OP on Taste? 

[Wonder]

Thanks Maddie, il'l definitely be trying once home from holidays.

[bulletproof4]

I tried the salt and pepper crumb tonight on some chicken tenderloins and it turned out very tasty.
I would like to add it to a ceasar salad one day that would be nice.
Thanks for a great recipe

[quirkycooking]

This looks delicious!!!  A recipe for my new scanpan!! 

[Cornish Cream]

Is Scanpan the "Rolls Royce" of cookware?

[johnro]

Maddy that looks delicious, on my list of need to try!!!!! I used to be a scanpan fan until I discovered swiss diamond cookware - now that is what I consider the rolls royce of cookware CC.  I found that SD stands up to my not so careful care better than scanpan. But since TMX arrived the usage has dropped significantly.