So I’m calling this dish Cinnamon and Coriander Fried Chicken because those are the two flavors I want to highlight with this chicken. Here’s the story. As I was messing around the other day, or as I like to call it; working in my mini test-kitchen, I figured something out.
I was over complicating how I went about frying my chicken. You, know the kind I’m talking about. Thick and crunchy breading, just like you might get at KFC.
Okay, well maybe a little different than that but I think you get the idea of what I’m going for.
And to be quite honest, I hadn’t originally intended to make cinnamon and coriander fried chicken.
I was trying out different kinds of brines and marinades to see what worked best for making a perfectly juicy chicken. The only problem is that I didn’t have all night to let the chicken sit in the marinade. So I made a typical of brine of 2 tablespoons sea salt, and 2 cups water.
I knew that since I was using chicken thighs, it wouldn’t need to sit in the brine for too long. And for added flavor I splashed in some soy sauce and some Michiu cooking wine to make a sort of brine/marinade.
The Michiu cooking wine might sound fancy but the type I used in this recipe is grown in California, and is available for those who are interested in US made Michiu only. I’ll post a snippet below along with a link to the website which goes into more detail about Asian cooking wines.
In Taiwan, white rice wine is labeled as Michiu or rice wine, but pronounced the same as mijiu in Chinese. Michiu has two types – regular Michiu which has about 20% ABV and Michiu Tou (米酒頭), a drier version of Michiu with about 34% ABV. The brands (first row in picture) distirbuted by SSC Internatioanl earns a great reputation in oversea Chinese communities, and particularly, the products (second and third bottles) with red labels (红标) are made by the governmental Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp and are absolutely well known in Taiwan.
– The Ultimate Guide to Chinese Cooking Wines
I really only let the chicken soak in the brine/marinade for about an hour, maybe an hour and a half and that worked just fine. If your chicken is frozen, that’s okay. Smaller cuts of meat like chicken pieces or pork chops can brine while they thaw. Big pieces like roasts don’t work quite so well. If meat sits in brine for too long it can change the texture and isn’t recommended.
We just want the chicken to be completely thawed when we begin cooking it, so the cooking times will be accurate.
Here it is after the first fry. It’s not very dark but it will continue to cook as it cools on the rack.
Now, I’ve had the best luck with fried chicken when I batter it first. For some reason that seems to work better than dredging it in flour and then dipping it in egg and then flour etc…
So I added a couple eggs and some flour in with the chicken and just sort of mixed everything up until I felt the batter was sufficiently thick enough to cling to the surface of the chicken.
Then I rolled each piece in corn starch to really lock in the juice and make sure the breading got nice and crisp. This recipe works best doing a double fry. The first fry is done at a lower temperature to mostly cook the chicken. Then it is left to cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes. After that, the chicken will be fried again at a hotter temperature, but for much less time.
I have to say, I wasn’t disappointed with how this chicken turned out at all. It could be served as it was and be just fine. However, I knew I wasn’t done quite yet. I wanted to add some additional notes of flavor. What better way than to toss the fried chicken in a simple blend of spices?
So that’s just what I did. I grabbed a metal bowl and threw in some cinnamon and coriander, as well as a bit of salt, cumin, paprika, and garlic powder. The chicken then promptly went into the bowl where I gave them a couple tosses to coat them with the seasoning blend.
If you’re more into spicy food and would prefer to add a kick to the seasoning, try using some crushed red peppers or some cayenne pepper, or one of my favorites – Gochugaru
We really hope you enjoy this recipe and would love to hear any feedback you might have.
Cinnamon and Coriander Fried Chicken
By: Semiserious Chefs
Serves: 2 – 4
Ingredients:
- Oil for frying
- 4 thawed boneless skinless chicken thighs (you can use other parts of the chicken but that will alter cooking times)
Marinade:
- 2 cups warm water
- 2 tablespoons salt (3-3 1/2 if using kosher salt)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Michiu cooking wine
Batter and breading:
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup corn starch (for coating)
Fried chicken seasoning:
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
Directions:
- In a medium bowl, add everything listed under marinade above and mix to dissolve the salt. Add your chicken, cover and place in refrigerator for 1 – 2 hours.
- In a large thick metal pan, heat enough oil to cover more than half the height of the chicken thighs over medium heat until the temperature reaches 325° F (160° C). Make sure it fully reaches that temperature, because raw or undercooked chicken can make you sick.
- In a separate dish or bowl add the cornstarch.
- Remove the chicken thighs from the refrigerator and discard about half of the excess marinade leaving some for the batter.
- Add the beaten eggs and the flour in with the chicken and mix well so that the mixture is uniform and thick enough to cling well to the surface of the chicken. If it’s too thick, add a little extra water. If it’s too thin, sprinkle some extra flour in.
- Roll each piece in the corn starch and carefully place in the hot oil. I highly recommend cooking 2 at a time so the oil doesn’t cool down too much.
- Fry for roughly 5 – 6 minutes and then flip each thigh and cook for an additional 4 – 5 minutes
- Remove to a wire rack and let cool for 20 – 30 minutes.
- Turn heat up until cooking oil reaches 375° F (190° C). Carefully add chicken thighs back 2 at a time, to the hot oil and cook an additional two minutes on each side.
- Remove again to a wire rack and let sit.
- In the meantime, add all the ingredients listed in the chicken seasoning section above to a large bowl and toss it a few times to mix everything together.
- Place fried chicken in the bowl, toss to coat, and then serve with your favorite side dishes. I’m thinking seasoned roasted red potatoes, and a salad with sesame dressing.
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