Japanese Kentucky “Fried” Chicken

This was by far the crowd favourite at the annual Christmas party. Turns out that KFC is a traditional Christmastime treat in Japan, so I reinvented it for the “International Christmas” menu. If you have time, marinate the chicken overnight instead of 10 minutes beforehand and you’ll be rewarded with the tastiest, most succulent meat you can imagine (caveat: unless you’ve been to the Modernist Cuisine Cooking Lab in Bellevue, Washington where they inject brine into fowl, hang it to dry, steam it, then high-heat blast the skin to make it glass-like and impossibly, delectably crispy. But this Japanese Kentucky Fried Chicken is a close second, really…And, hey, it doesn’t require an expensive combi oven or excessive fridge space. I mean, really, who has room to hang a chicken?)

The other thing I love about this recipe is how easy it is. Pair it with some “Heinz on Crack” or some spicy-sweet ketchup or tomato jam and you’ll be smiling.

And no one knew they weren’t deep-fried. If the juicy nuggets are tasty enough, no one cares or asks. Aw, blissful ignorance.

Just two other quick points: Often traditional southern fried chicken gets its succulence from buttermilk. So not necessary. I used a little almond milk, a tiny bit of lemon juice, and a bunch of Dijon mustard. And if you add the salt during the marinating period, you need less of it because it infuses more (and there’s sodium in the Dijon, which was not part of the original recipe I used). And finally, I chopped chicken thighs into nuggets to make this an appetizer dish. You can also serve it as drumsticks, bone-in thighs, or even breasts. Definitely marinate these larger pieces for a day or at least a night, though, if you want the flavour to be as good as I’m saying it is. Otherwise you’ll never trust my emphatic praise of a dish again, and that would be a shame for both of us.

P.S. I have no pictures because it was all gobbled up before I could flash a shot…

Japanese Kentucky “Fried” Chicken
adapted from Barefoot Contessa Family Style
makes 6-8 servings (or more than enough appetizer chicken nuggets for a crowd)

12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, excess fat removed, chopped into 1″ cubes
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 cup almond milk
1/4 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
2 cups gluten-free flour blend (or any flour you want)
1 tbsp pepper