Hat Yai Fried Chicken with Cantonese Curry
*Originally published July 17, 2020, during the height of COVID-19 when no one was dining out. While I now live close enough to Portland to enjoy Hat Yai’s classic #5, I still enjoy making it at home.
As I pulled on my favorite Friday underpants recently (don’t tell me you don’t have a favorite pair of underpants), I sighed deeply. Friday evenings for me almost always meant going out on the town for a nice dinner with friends. I pine for such good times again.
But just when we thought it was safe to be dining in-house again, restaurants everywhere are going back to carry-out only or closing up shop altogether. This second round of stay-at-home orders during COVID-19 is simply crushing my dearly beloved food industry, and it’s depressing.
In the past, I’d always brought home my excitement to recreate a dish I’d had “on-location” so I could enjoy it until I was on the road again. But now, I find myself making these dishes as a way of comforting myself when thoughts of NEVER EATING OUT AGAIN (is that where we’re headed?) send me to the depths of despair.
Many of my best-loved eateries have closed up shop for good, and many more that are unable to pivot in a substantial way (except for you, The Whale Wins, in Seattle - way to pivot!) are considering whether or not their footprint makes sense post-pandemic. These are huge and looming questions that are frankly blowing my mind.
One of my favorite Portland spots, Hat Yai, is currently pivoting successfully as well, and they’re open for take-out and delivery. Hat Yai (the restaurant) is named after the Southern Thai City of Hat Yai near the Malaysian border of Thailand. The food at their two Portland locations was inspired by the street-side fried chicken vendors and small curry and roti shops in Southern Thailand.
From previous postings, you know by now that I love chicken. And I REALLY love fried chicken. Hat Yai features a Southern Thai fried chicken that is brined overnight, and then marinated in garlic, coriander, cumin, and Thai Golden Mountain sauce (a staple in my pantry) before then being double-fried. It’s often served with a sweet and spicy dipping sauce, but I enjoy it best served with a Malayu-style curry, sticky rice, and roti - the way Hat Yai does it.
It took me quite a while to find recipes for each of these components that I found closely resembled the Hat Yai combo (#5 on the menu). Here, I’m including a Southern Thai fried chicken recipe, and a Cantonese curry by chef Mei Lin of LA’s Nightshade. You can make a regular pot of rice (or sticky rice) and pick up some roti at your local Asian grocer. I had recently made paratha, a flaky flatbread, using Mandy Lee’s recipe found in her The Art of Escapism Cooking cookbook. It’s a bit detailed and takes time, so if you’re just in it right now for the chicken, no worries. I’ll also include the sweet and spicy dipping sauce recipe.
I suppose I’ve been eating a lot of fried chicken lately, but it’s comforting. Fried chicken and a bowl of warm Cantonese curry reminds me there is a great big world outside my of little quarantined hovel, and I can’t wait to get back to it.
Hat Yai Fried Chicken with Cantonese Curry
Based on recipes courtesy of Langbaan in Portland, OR, and Nightshade in Los Angeles
Serves 4
Hat Yai Fried Chicken - Ingredients
For the Brine:
¾ cup salt
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1 2½- to 3-pound chicken
For the Marinade:
20 cloves garlic, smashed
2 teaspoons whole white peppercorns, toasted
2 teaspoons coriander seed, coarsely ground
½ teaspoon cumin seed
2 tablespoons Thai Golden Mountain seasoning sauce (see note)
1 teaspoon of salt
1½ tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons rice flour
Canola oil, for frying
For the Dipping Sauce:
5 Thai red chiles
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 pieces cilantro (leaves, stems and root)
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
Directions
1. Make the brine: Bring the salt, sugar, peppercorns and 4 cups of water to a boil in a large pot, stirring occasionally, until the salt and sugar dissolve, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow to cool completely before adding 3 quarts of cold water. Add the chicken to the brine and place in the refrigerator overnight.
2. The next day, marinate the chicken: Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry; cut the bird into 8 pieces. In a mortar and pestle or in a food processor, combine the garlic, white peppercorns, coriander and cumin and pound or pulse until minced. Place the spice mixture in a large bowl with the Thai Golden Mountain seasoning sauce, salt and sugar. Add the chicken and toss in the marinade. Cover and refrigerator for 2 hours.
3. While the chicken is marinating, make the dipping sauce: Place the chiles, garlic and cilantro in a food processor and pulse until a paste forms. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the sugar, vinegar, salt and chile-garlic paste. Bring to a boil and let simmer until the sugar and salt dissolve, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl until ready to serve.
4. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator an hour before you're ready to fry it to take the chill off. To fry the chicken, pour enough canola oil in a 6-quart Dutch oven or heavy bottom pot until it reaches a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil until a deep-fry thermometer reads 350°.
5. While the oil is heating, place the rice flour in a large bowl. Toss the chicken pieces in the rice flour until every piece is evenly coated. Allow the chicken to absorb the rice flour, about 10 minutes. Dredge the chicken pieces in the rice flour again. Fry the chicken in 3 batches until crisp and light golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the chicken and tranfer to a wire rack set inside a lined sheet tray. Bring the oil back up to 350°. Fry the chicken until golden brown and crisp and the meat has cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes more. Transfer the chicken to the wire rack. Season with salt and serve with the dipping sauce.
Note: If you're looking for a substitute for the Thai Golden Mountain seasoning sauce, you can make your own by combining 2 tablespoons soy sauce with 2 tablespoons beef stock and ¼ teaspoon sugar.
Cantonese Curry - Ingredients
1 ounce|25 grams ginger, peeled
4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 Fresno chiles, trimmed
2 small shallots, peeled
1 medium yellow onion, peeled
1-2 serrano peppers, trimmed
1 stalk fresh lemongrass, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup|55 grams Madras Curry powder
1 tablespoon palm sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 cups|1000 ml Kara coconut milk
1 cup|250 ml chicken stock
fish sauce, to taste
Directions
1. Place the ginger, garlic, Fresno chiles, shallots, onion, Serrano peppers, and lemongrass in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until not quite smooth.
2. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium. Add the curry paste and the curry powder and cook until the paste is soft, 6 minutes. Add the palm sugar and salt and cook 2 minutes more. Add the coconut milk and bring to a low simmer. Stir in the chicken stock and cook until reduced by about 1/3, about 15 minutes. Stir in the fish sauce and season to taste. Cool slightly, then pass through a fine mesh sieve. Return the curry to the saucepan and keep warm.
To Serve:
I love the perfect bite, so you’ll find me breaking off a piece of fried chicken and dipping it in the warm curry. I also like to dribble a little curry onto my rice and dip my paratha or roti in the curry as well. Or, you can simply make the fried chicken and the sweet and spicy dipping sauce and go to town that way. There really are no rules.
