Red Fermented Bean Curd Fried Chicken

Recipe: Red Fermented Bean Curd Fried Chicken南乳炸鸡

Serves: 2

Ingredients

1 boneless chicken breast 200g enough corn oil or canola oil for deep-frying Ingredients A 3 TBSP all-purpose flour 1 TBSP corn starch 1/8 tsp. salt dash of pepper

Ingredients B (marinade) 1 clove garlic, crushed 1½ pcs. red fermented bean curds 1 TBSP red fermented bean curd liquid or soy sauce 1/8 tsp. salt 1¼ tsp. to 2 tsp. sugar 1/8 tsp. pepper 1 TBSP ShaoXing cooking wine

Measurements: tsp. = teaspoon | TBSP = tablespoon

Preparation
1. Lay chicken breast flat on chopping board. Halve it from one side with a knife. Then, cut each halve in half crosswise, to make 4 pieces altogether.	2. Put chicken pieces aside in a bowl. Add in the first 3 ingredients of ingredients B. Mash the red fermented bean curds pieces with a metal spoon or fork.	3. Combine the remaining ingredients of ingredients B with the mashed bean curds in the bowl. Toss to coat chicken pieces with the marinade evenly. Cover bowl with cling wrap, and let chicken marinate in refrigerator for at least 2 hours. If possible, let marinate overnight.
4. Heat up oil in a deep fry pan. In the meanwhile, combine ingredients A in a platter. When oil is hot enough (thermometer register at 325oF or 185oC), toss chicken in the flour mixture until coated, shake off excess flour, and place chicken into the hot oil gently by using a tong.	5. After about a minute, reduce heat to medium. Fry chicken until golden brown and cooked through, about 10 minutes (turning once). Drain on paper towels.

Notes

To test oil temperature, drop a pinch of flour into the oil. Flour will float and sizzle on hot oil. Otherwise, flour will sink to bottom of pan and disperse. Overheated oil will cause insides of the chicken to be uncooked even though outer layer is cooked. My suggestion is to use med-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes once chicken pieces are dropped into the hot oil; then reduce heat to med or med-low (if chicken browns too fast) and continue to deep-fry until chicken is cooked. Bone-in chicken requires longer time to cook.