Sammy’s Crispy Chicken with Kimchi Dressing

” Kimchi is one of my favourite Korean ingredients. I love eating it on its own but I also like cooking with it. I hope you’ll enjoy it in my dressing for this delicious crispy chicken recipe.”

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 lemon
  • Small bunch of chives
  • ¾ cup of labneh or plain Greek yoghurt
  • 2 large skinless chicken breasts OR 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 2 cups of kimchi plus 3 tablespoons of the kimchi brine/juice
  • 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons of onion powder
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons of cayenne pepper
  • Salt
  • ½ cup of mayonnaise
  • 2 cups of vegetable oil
  • 2 cups of bread crumbs
  • ½ a White cabbage

Method:

Marinate the Chicken:

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together ¼ cup of labneh/Greek yoghurt with 3 tablespoons of the kimchi brine, the onion powder and cayenne pepper.
  2. Part 2 chicken breasts, dry and slice each in half lengthways to create 2 thin cutlets. Season the cutlets with salt (2 teaspoons) and transfer to the marinade, turning to coat fully. Marinate the chicken for at least 15 minutes at room temperature – but ideally for 8 hours in the fridge!

Kimchi Ranch Dressing:

  1. In a small bowl which together ½ cup of mayonnaise, the remaining onion powder and ½ cup of labneh/Greek yoghurt.
  2. Finely grate the garlic and zest of half of a lemon into the mixture. Cut the lemon into wedges and set aside for later.
  3. Thinly slice half of the chives and stir them into the ranch dressing. Slice the remaining chives – as a match stick length roughly – and reserve for later.
  4. Finely chop ¾ cup of Kimchi and stir into the ranch dressing. If it is a bit thick you can add a few drops of water to get to the right consistency. Season with salt as required.

Getting Ready to Fry:

  1. Heat 2 cups of the oil in a large saucepan (wok works well) over a medium heat – the oil should be about 4cms deep. The oil will need to reach about 200C – if you have a cooking thermometer you can check occasionally and adjust the heat to maintain the right temperature. If you don’t have a thermometer – just throw a few pieces of bread crumbs into the oil – if they sizzle immediately you are about there!

Bread the Chicken:

  1. Place 2 cups of panko in a medium bowl. Working one at a time dip each chicken cutlet into the bread crumbs and use your fingers to press and pack the bread crumbs onto the chicken – until very well coated. Transfer to a plate.

Fry the Chicken:

  1. Have a plate ready with some paper towels on it. Once the oil is at the right temperature fry the chicken cutlets until deeply golden brown all over – you’ll need to flip the chicken halfway through – it will take about 3 to 5 minutes per side. Do this one at a time (don’t overcrowd the wok/pan as you’ll bring down the temperature of the oil too fast and the chicken won’t fry properly).
  2. Transfer the chicken to your paper lined plate and season well with salt. Transfer the cutlets to a chopping board and slice across the grain into 1.5cm thick pieces.

To serve:

  1. Shred the cabbage.
  2. Spread some Kimchi ranch on each plate, place some shredded cabbage on each plate – add the chicken pieces and the remaining Kimchi, top with the reserved chives and serve a little extra ranch alongside.
  3. Serve alongside a nice cold beer!