Lactobacilli Chicken

My recipe share for this week is something that captured my interest since I first learned about it, but even if this is quite an easy dish to make, I admit it took a while before I was able to cook it. Anyway, this recipe was printed on FOOD Magazine, August 2006 issue.

Copying what was written on the magazine, "The idea of this chicken dish came from operations manager Joseph Uy, who says he often cooks it at home. With lactobacilli and hoisin sauce in its marinade, it has a flavor different from the usual run-of-the-mill fried chicken."


Lactobacilli Chicken

{Serves 6}

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo chicken, cut into serving pieces
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1/2 cup calamansi juice
• 1/2 cup orange softdrink
• 1 cup cultured milk (such as Yakult or Chamyto)
• 1 1/2 cups cornstarch
• oil for deep frying

How to Cook:

• Rub chicken with salt and pepper. Place chicken in a bowl and pour in hoisin sauce, calamansi juice, orange softdrink, and cultured milk. Marinate in refrigerator about four hours or overnight.
• When ready to cook, drain chicken from marinade and dredge in cornstarch. Shake off excess cornstarch.
• In a deep fryer, heat oil over medium heat five minutes each side or until golden in color. Drain on paper towels. Serve with Mayo-Mustard dip.

Mayo-Mustard Dip

• In a bowl, combine 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons mustard, and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder. Mix thoroughly until well combined.

I found it quite difficult to fry because the sugar of the softdrink burn rather easily. I actually had to cover the pan so the steam will cook it, but in the end it still looked a bit dry. Though it didn't look appealing, the chicken was actually tender and juicy inside.

It's true that this fried chicken tasted different from the usual fried chicken. Although it didn't become a favorite, I quite liked it, and my sister loved it. The mayo-mustard dip proved to be a good partner for the chicken because the tang of the mustard cuts the distinct flavor from the cultured milk.

*** Jenn ***