Extra Crispy Sesame Chicken

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I’m a bit of a fried, crispy meat freak. I have long wondered how to make doughnuts that stay crisp, despite the presence of sauce. I had presented an almost similar recipe with the same technique, namely the crispy beef with caramel and pepper (recipe HERE). For years I have tested many variations: rice flour, wheat starch, corn starch, potato starch, with egg white, without etc. But I had found the answer in Vietnam and it turns out that it is with and only with tapioca starch that it works. The result is crazy: the meat is extra-crispy, the doughnut very crunchy, even when cooling!

Recette du POULET EXTRA-CROUSTILLANT AU SÉSAME pour 4 personnes:

• 4 chicken thighs
• 150g flour
• 165g of water
• 400g of tapioca starch (in organic or Asian grocery stores)

Sauce

• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed with a garlic press
• 8 level tablespoons of brown vergeoise
• 1 tablespoon of neutral oil
• 4 teaspoons of rice flour
• 4 tablespoons of clear soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons of white vinegar
• 16 tablespoons of water
• black pepper from the mill

Then:

• 3 tablespoons of toasted sesame oil
• toasted sesame seeds

Instructions : 

Start by removing the skin from the upper thighs, loosen the bone and cartilage, and cut into pieces.

Mix flour and water.

Pour in the meat and mix well.

Take a piece and coat it well with the dough, then throw it in a large container with the tapioca starch. Shake well to coat and then do the same for all the meat. Leave the pieces in the starch container as you add the next ones, so they stay well coated.

Heat a frying pan or wok filled with oil to 180°C. Pour in some of the meat. You won’t be able to cook everything at the same time. Let the pieces color, but not completely. Set aside while frying the rest.

In the meantime, prepare the sauce: pour all the ingredients into a bowl and mix well.

Pour into a wok (or sauté pan) and heat over moderate heat.

The sauce should become very smooth. If it’s not thick enough, pour some rice flour into a bowl with a little water, and add some of this mixture to the sauce to thicken it to your liking.

When all the meat has been fried, put everything back into the oil for a second overall bath. This time you can let the pieces color nicely.

Drain and place in a container, then pour the sauce over it. You’ll get a nice wriggling sound!

Mix well to coat everything.

Add sesame oil and sesame seeds.

One last mix and you’re done!

You can serve with plain rice. If the pieces are well cooked and colored in the frying, the meat will remain crispy even the next day! This is truly the magic of tapioca starch!