Recipe of the day: Hot honey fried chicken

Enjoy juicy chicken breasts marinated in yoghurt and a fiery spice blend, coated in a crunchy crumb, and deep-fried to golden perfection.

Drizzled with a lip-smacking hot honey sauce, this dish can be served as a burger with all the trimmings or as a standalone dish with a fresh side salad.

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Hot honey fried chicken

Ingredients

• For the crumb coating
• 1½ cups cake wheat flour
• 2 Tbsp cornflour
• 1½ tsp chilli powder
• 1¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1½ tsp onion powder
• 1½ tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• ¾ tsp salt
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes

For the marinade

• 2 cups plain yoghurt
• All the same spices and quantities as above
• 1 Tbsp pickle juice (juice from a jar of gherkins)
• ¼ cup hot sauce (I like Sriracha or Nando’s Mild Sauce
• 1 Lemon’s-worth zest
• 5 chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise

For the hot honey sauce

• 150g butter
• ¼ cup honey or maple syrup
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• pinch salt
• Oil, for deep-frying

Method

1. Make the crumb coating by combining all the ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the ingredients together for the marinade (except the chicken) until combined.
3. Add the chicken and mix until coated all over. If you have the time, leave the chicken to marinate for 30–60 minutes, otherwise continue as indicated.
4. In the meantime, remove the chicken pieces from the marinade and allow the excess marinade to drip off.
5. Coat the chicken in the crumb coating a few times, ensuring the pieces are fully coated all over.
6. Set aside each piece on a wire rack while you work to coat all the pieces, allowing the chicken to form a ‘crust’.
7. Heat a pot with enough oil for deep-frying over low-medium heat. Place the back of a wooden spoon into the oil to check if it is ready for frying – you should see bubbles appear around it.
8. Carefully place the chicken pieces into the oil and fry for 5–7 minutes, or until each side is golden. Remove the chicken and transfer it to a rack to drain of excess oil.
9. Melt the ingredients for the hot honey sauce in the microwave until runny.
10. Once the chicken is no longer dripping with excess oil, brush each piece on both sides with the sauce.
11. Serve and enjoy!

*This recipe was republished with permission from Penguin Random House

Hot honey fried chicken

• Author: Fatima Saib
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Category: Lunch, Dinner
• Method: Frying
• Cuisine: South African

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• • For the crumb coating

• • 1½ cups cake wheat flour

• • 2 Tbsp cornflour

• • 1½ tsp chilli powder

• • 1¼ tsp cayenne pepper

• • 1½ tsp onion powder

• • 1½ tsp garlic powder

• • 2 tsp smoked paprika

• • ¾ tsp salt

• • ¾ tsp baking powder

• • 1 tsp dried chilli flakes

For the marinade

• • 2 cups plain yoghurt

• • All the same spices and quantities as above

• • 1 Tbsp pickle juice (juice from a jar of gherkins)

• • ¼ cup hot sauce (I like Sriracha or Nando’s Mild Sauce

• • 1 Lemon’s-worth zest

• • 5 chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise

For the hot honey sauce

• • 150g butter

• • ¼ cup honey or maple syrup

• • 1 tsp smoked paprika

• • pinch salt

• • Oil, for deep-frying

Instructions

1. Make the crumb coating by combining all the ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the ingredients together for the marinade (except the chicken) until combined.
3. Add the chicken and mix until coated all over. If you have the time, leave the chicken to marinate for 30–60 minutes, otherwise continue as indicated.
4. In the meantime, remove the chicken pieces from the marinade and allow the excess marinade to drip off.
5. Coat the chicken in the crumb coating a few times, ensuring the pieces are fully coated all over.
6. Set aside each piece on a wire rack while you work to coat all the pieces, allowing the chicken to form a ‘crust’.
7. Heat a pot with enough oil for deep-frying over low-medium heat. Place the back of a wooden spoon into the oil to check if it is ready for frying – you should see bubbles appear around it.
8. Carefully place the chicken pieces into the oil and fry for 5–7 minutes, or until each side is golden. Remove the chicken and transfer it to a rack to drain of excess oil.
9. Melt the ingredients for the hot honey sauce in the microwave until runny.
10. Once the chicken is no longer dripping with excess oil, brush each piece on both sides with the sauce.
11. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

Chef’s notes & tips

If you want to make it with mushrooms instead of chicken, you’ll need about three large king oyster mushrooms. Tear them into smaller pieces and follow the recipe as indicated. They won’t need to fry as long as the chicken – about 3 minutes per side is plenty.

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