Winks and Shows Her Thigh at the Chicken Police

 

Chicken has been abused in so many creative ways in this freewheeling country of ours. When I see the piles of dry chicken breasts sitting in deli cases, hard as rocks and slathered with barbecue or teriyaki sauce to conceal their crimes, I get depressed. And every serious food lover knows that ordering chicken in an American/Euro restaurant is just silly because it will surely be the most innocuous dish. I have made my own contributions to chicken mediocrity, having made countless Trader Joe's frozen chicken breasts in college.

But a well cooked chicken, at the right moment, is something else entirely. So simple, honest and good. A chicken rubbed with lemon and roasted just so on a lazy Sunday evening warms me cynical heart. And chicken steamed to juicy succulence and dipped in a chili ginger sauce - well, my cravings for that never go away for very long. Then there is Vietnamese roast chicken.  Fish sauce, sugar and garlic all conspire to make a crispy skin even more savory and desirable. The chicken drippings are stirred into the rice (this is called Saigon schmaltz rice).

Ga Ro Ti (serves 2 with vegetables and rice)
(adapted from Sunday Nite Dinner)

• 1 pound chicken thighs (about 4 chicken thighs)
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• lots of ground black pepper- this is key
• 1  tablespoon soy sauce
• 1  tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 1/2  tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced

1. Trim excess skin and visible fat from chicken thighs using kitchen shears; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon of the oil, the sugar, pepper, soy sauce and fish saucel until well combined. Stir in garlic. Add the chicken thighs and evenly distribute the marinade between the thighs. For extra flavor, stuff a little garlic and marinade under the skin. Cover and marinate for 12 to 24 hours in the fridge. (You can marinate for as little as 20 minutes with good results.)
3. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350°F. Heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick, oven-proof skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken to the skillet skin side down, reduce heat to medium and fry until the skin is deep golden brown, about 6 - 8 minutes. Flip chicken and brown other side for 2-3 minutes; set chicken aside. Don't overcrowd chicken during browning; work in batches if necessary.
4. Drain rendered fat from pan and remove any burnt garlic and set aside to be used for rice; leaving a thin film of oil in the skillet. Return chicken to skillet, skin side up and place into oven. Roast chicken for 30-40 minutes depending on the size of the thighs. To check for doneness, poke the chicken with a knife; the juices should run clear (bone-in thighs 170°F internal temp, boneless thighs 165°F internal temp). Remove chicken from skillet and serve with rice that has some of the chicken fat mixed in.

Comments

[alex]

agreed, chicken in public is rarely a good idea, but chicken in private, well. I love making a simple roasted whole chicken on sunday nights, rub it (beforehand) with duck fat, serve it with watercress and a gravy made from the deglazed roasting pan, perfect comfort food. yr recipe sounds fab, will definitely try it.

[Michelle]

Alex - chicken rubbed in duck fat with ducken gravy! Sounds perfect. I've got some duck fat lying around that I've been sneaking into pasta...

[chris]

You'd miss out on the drippings at the very least, but do you think this chicken recipe would work on a bbq grill? And what do you think about using honey instead of sugar?

I'm thinking of trying this on the bbq.

[Laura]

This marinade is my favorite marinade. Flank steak, pork tenderloin, etc. But I tend to shun chicken for all the reasons you gave--it never occurred to me shmear the stuff all over an entire chicken and roast it. My mouth is actually watering.

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