This week's recipe features one of my favourite ways to cook chicken thighs, which are more succulent than the more expensive breast meat.
The only special equipment you'll need is a deep-fat fryer, while the sake – a Japanese liquor made from fermented rice – is easy to find in Asian supermarkets or good delicatessens. Piercing the thighs with a fork before marinating allows the marinade of soya sauce and sake time to penetrate the meat, providing even more of those sumptuous oriental flavours.
Crispy oriental chicken with leek sauce
Serves 4
3tbsp soya sauce
1tbsp sake
8 boneless chicken thighs
6tbsp cornflour
Leek sauce
1 small leek, washed and trimmed
2tbsp sake
40ml rice wine vinegar
1tbsp caster sugar
1tbsp sunflower oil
1 red chilli, seeds removed and finely chopped
In a bowl, mix the soya sauce and sake to make a marinade. Pierce the skin of each thigh with a fork then cut each in half. Place them in the bowl, coat them with the marinade and leave for 15 minutes.
For the leek sauce, cut the leek into even 5mm dice, then mix the sake with the rice wine vinegar and sugar.
Heat the oil in a large saute pan. When hot, add the chopped leek and chilli and saute gently for 1 minute. Add the mixture of soya sauce, sake and sugar to the pan and bring to the boil then immediately remove the pan from the heat, transferring the sauce to a clean bowl and setting aside.
Set the deep-fat fryer to 180C. Remove the chicken thighs from the marinade, thoroughly coat each piece with cornflour then deep-fry the thighs for 5-6 minutes, making sure they're cooked through. Drain then cut them into even slices.
Arrange the chicken on warm serving plates, cover with the warm leek sauce and serve.
A creamy chardonnay's vibrant fruit and acidity provide a slightly woody foil to the oriental flavours.
Journey's End Barrel Selection Chardonnay, Stellenbosch 2011, South Africa (Bibendum, £10.74)
The Honours, 58a North Castle Street, Edinburgh. Visit thehonours.co.uk or call 0131 220 2513.
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