Hat yai gai fried chicken with sticky rice

Crispy, aromatic Southern Thai fried chicken, famous for its fragrant spices and juicy meat. Traditionally served with crispy shallots and sticky rice, it's great with som tum (green papaya salad), too. Here it’s paired with nam jim gai (sweet chilli vinegar dipping sauce).

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

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Ingredients

• 1 tsp white peppercorns
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 4 coriander roots, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce (use a gluten-free version to make this dish gluten-free)
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp coconut milk
• 1 cup rice flour, divided
• 4 chicken thigh cutlets or drumsticks
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• Crispy shallots, to serve (optional)
• Sticky rice, to serve (see Note)
• Coriander leaves, thinly sliced red chilli, to serve

For the nam jim gai

• 2 tbsp sugar
• 3 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• ½–1 bird’s eye chilli, finely chopped
• small pinch of salt

Resting time: 10 minutes; Marinating time: 2 hours - overnight

Instructions

1. In a dry medium-sized frying pan, toast the peppercorns, coriander and cumin seeds over medium heat until fragrant. Remove from the heat and allow to cool, then grind to a fine powder using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder. Transfer to a medium bowl with the garlic, coriander roots, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, coconut milk and half the rice flour (reserve the rest for later) and mix until well combined.
2. Use a cleaver to cut the underside of the chicken cutlets through the bone, to help allow the marinade to penetrate the meat. Add the chicken to the marinade and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
3. To make the nam jim gai, heat the ingredients in a small saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before serving. Taste and adjust to your liking – it should be sweet, sour and spicy.
4. When ready to cook the chicken, heat enough oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan to deep-fry to 180°C. Combine the remaining rice flour and the baking powder in a medium bowl, then add to the chicken marinade and mix thoroughly to coat the chicken in a batter. Shake gently to remove any excess coating, then deep-fry the chicken for 12-15 minutes, or until golden and cooked through. Use tongs to remove to a tray lined with paper towel to drain of any excess oil.
5. Serve the chicken topped with crispy shallots (if using), with sticky rice, coriander leaves and sliced red chilli, plus the nam jim gai on the side.

Note

To make sticky rice in your rice cooker, rinse 2 cups glutinous (sticky) rice well until the water runs clear, then cover with water and soak for 4 hours to overnight. Drain, then add to the rice cooker with 1¼ cups water. Cook, then allow to rest for 10 minutes before fluffing and using in your recipes.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

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