Har Cheong Gai (Prawn Glue Chicken) (Ii)
Rabu, 09 September 2009
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Har cheong gai is Singapore's accept on fried chicken. It's non merely crisp exterior in addition to juicy inside. It too has a fragrance in addition to umami gustation non works life inwards other types of fried chicken. That comes from a marinade made alongside fermented prawn paste.
There're entirely four ingredients inwards har cheong marinade:
prawns fermented to a grayness goo, aka har cheong
oysters fermented to a chocolate-brown goo, aka oyster sauce
sugar
water
You mightiness desire to add together about ginger juice in addition to expert ol' Shaoxing vino to the elementary marinade?
Well, don't.
Don't add together ginger juice or cooking vino to the marinade.
You mightiness mean value vino in addition to ginger would cut back fermented prawns' fishy, pungent aroma but they don't. I know because I've tried.
Har cheong smells pretty bad out of the bottle, kinda similar dead rats. But the pong disappears later the chicken is fried. It's replaced yesteryear a distinct fragrance in addition to umami gustation that's real similar to grilled dried squid. However, the magical transformation happens entirely if there's no ginger juice or vino inwards the marinade.
With vino in addition to ginger juice added, the fried chicken would gustation of raw fermented prawn paste. The pungency is muted compared to uncooked har cheong but it's however pretty nasty. The chicken would gustation naught similar dried squid that's been grilled.
Sometimes, less is more.
How to brand har cheong gai (虾酱鸡)
Step-by-step guide
The most of import element for prawn glue chicken is – other than prawn glue in addition to chicken – water. Tapioca starch is too crucial. That's what Hong Kong Street Zhen Ji uses for its real pop har cheong gai. It's means ameliorate than cornflour.
INGREDIENTS
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ½ tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp har cheong (虾酱, fermented prawn paste)
- 2 chicken legs, close 400 g – wash, drain, chop chunky
- ¼ loving cup tapioca starch
- vegetable crude for deep-frying
- Add sugar, oyster sauce, H2O in addition to har cheong to chicken. Stir thoroughly. Marinate 3-4 hours, turning over in i lawsuit mid-way.
- Bring chicken to room temperature. Shake off excess marinade from chicken. Dredge inwards tapioca starch till thinly coated. Pat lightly to larn rid of excess starch.
- Deep-fry chicken inwards moderately hot crude over medium rut till cooked through in addition to lightly golden brown. Remove chicken to a sieve. Increase rut to high. Heat crude till merely smoking. Refry chicken till golden brown. Drain inwards a sieve lined alongside newspaper towels. Serve immediately.