Crunchy, crispy, juicy -- all words you'll be uttering between delightful bites of coconut oil fried chicken. Plus, there's a Thai honey butter dip to go with it! This may be controversial, but this fried chicken recipe put others to shame - you gotta try it!
Ingredients
Coconut oil, for frying
1cuproasted peanuts
1cuppanko, gluten-free if needed
½ cupflour, gluten-free if needed
1largeegg
4chicken drumsticks
4bone-in chicken thighs, skin on or off, your choice
Cilantro, peanuts, and sliced red chili peppers, for serving
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Add 2 inches of coconut oil to a medium-sized, high-sided pot and attach a candy thermometer to the side. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until the oil reaches 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Lower the heat to medium and let the oil rise to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Coconut oil
While the oil is heating, prepare the chicken. Pulse the peanuts in your food processor until they are coarsely chopped. There will be some that are finely ground and other pieces that are coarse. Add the chopped peanuts to a large bowl, add the panko and mix together. Add the flour to a medium-sized bowl. Whisk the egg with a splash of water in another medium-sized bowl.
1 cup roasted peanuts, 1 cup panko, ½ cup flour, 1 large egg
Keeping one hand for the dry ingredients (flour and peanuts) and the other for the wet (egg), dip the chicken first in the flour, second in the egg, and third in the peanuts. Press the peanuts firmly into the chicken so that they stick. Once the chicken is coated, place it on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
4 chicken drumsticks, 4 bone-in chicken thighs
Fry the chicken pieces in the hot oil a few pieces at a time, turning a few times, until they are brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Keep the oil as close to 350 degrees as possible. If the oil temperature lowers, make sure to let it heat up before you add the next batch. Place the fried chicken on the same baking sheet.
Once all of the chicken has been fried in the coconut oil, place it in the oven and let it bake for 20 minutes to finish cooking.
While the chicken is baking, prepare the sweet Thai butter. Add all the ingredients to a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Be careful as honey will boil up a lot. Whisk the honey as it boils for 1 minute then remove it from the heat.
½ cup honey, 1 tablespoon butter, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, 2 teaspoons red curry paste, 1 teaspoon fish sauce, 1 teaspoon finely grated ginger, 1 clove garlic
Serve the coconut oil fried chicken sprinkled with cilantro, peanuts, and sliced red chili peppers and the honey butter on the side.