This cookbook features fried chicken recipes from East and South East Asia

Susan Jung a trained pastry chef and food columnist for Vogue Hong Kong was in Mumbai earlier this week after the launch of her book Kung Pao amp Beyond ndash Fried Chicken Recipes from East and Southeast Asia Bloomsbury at the Jaipur Literature Festival When we meet her at Masque Lab for the launch jovial Jung flaunting an Asian bob recalls a butter chicken story from Jaipur ldquoI overheard two friends discussing butter chicken One of them was complaining lsquoIt has so much butterrsquo to which the other replied lsquoIt is called butter chicken for a reasonrsquo I thought to myself Irsquod like thatrdquoSusan Jung Pics CourtesyPhorum PandyaThis is not her first visit to Mumbai ldquoI was here in the mango season last Mayrdquo she recalls Jung has been the Hong Kong Taiwan and Macau Academy Chair for the Worldrsquos 50 Best Restaurants and Asiarsquos 50 Best Restaurants When Jung shared her idea with the publisher to write a book on all things fried chicken they requested she research the topic ldquoThere were barely a handful of books on the subject and mostly focused on American fried chicken which I wanted to steer clear fromrdquo recalls Jung who decided to hyper focus on fried chicken recipes from Southeast AsiaIn the book most of the recipes recommend double frying chicken ldquoThe first frying is to cook it the second is to crisp it I always insist that you use the type of chicken you can afford Freerange chicken is expensive unless you grow your own Use what you can afford and donrsquot be ashamed of itrdquo advises Jung ldquoThe most important recipe for me is my motherrsquos fried chicken which is the first recipe in the book And itrsquos the first fried chicken that I learned to make Another important recipe which I donrsquot expect people will cook as it is very complicated is whole chicken called Nor Mai Gai You have to tunnel bone the chicken which means remove the bones without cutting into the skin Stuff it with glutinous rice steam it let it rest and deepfry it It is an oldfashioned recipe and tough to source Itrsquos a lost recipe that I wanted to documentrdquoTaiwan Market spice chicken and Kung pao chickenSome of the surprises were from other cultures mdash Vietnamese as well as Filipino fried chicken ldquoMy friends sourced passeddown recipesrdquo she reveals confessing her favourite fastfood fried chicken is Jollibee from The PhilippinesFried and testedFor the launch chef Varun Totlani of Masque recreated a few of the recipes As servers pass around tasting portions from the kitchen we dig into Maggi fried chicken A bit dry it invokes nostalgia We love the succulent Taiwan Market spice chicken for its savoury tang and the Kung pao chicken for its sweetness ldquoUsing Maggi was an adaptation on Susanrsquos recommendation Typically she uses Thai instant noodles As chefs we take recipes as a starting point to create our version of a dish Since it is a book launch we stuck to following her recipes to the Trdquo shares Totlani ldquoSusanrsquos recipes usually call for double frying When I told my chef who was testing them to skip the double frying it didnrsquot work We followed her recipe and it was juicy to perfectionrdquo says TotlaniWritten for an international audience the book has 60 recipes from the region including strawberry and pineapple sweet and sour chicken pandan chicken lemongrass and makrut lime leaf chicken and fried African chicken The book introduces the reader to the Asian pantry on how to ace a homemade coating mix to necessary equipment A section also touches upon how to treat the chicken in every stage of cutting marinating resting and cookingAndaz apna apnaLike Indians she agrees learning cooking from her mum didnrsquot include exact measurements ldquoWhen my mother taught me how to cook it it was a little bit of this and a little bit of that And thatrsquos how I cook most of my food The hardest part about writing the book was getting the right measurements I actually had to do everything by measurement because my recipes cannot say lsquoa little bit of this and thatrsquo admits Jung One of our favourite tastings was the Momrsquos wings which has the punch of garlic ginger and soyWe were curious of her views on Chindian cuisine ldquoItrsquos fascinating It as a cuisine on its own like American Chinese food which isnrsquot what we get in Hong Kong British Chinese cuisine is different too I want to be enlightened about chicken Manchurianrdquo she asks us as we explain the tangy spicy and sweet balance of this unique culinary creationCost Rs 1399At Available at select online and offline bookstoresMomrsquos wingsINGREDIENTSgtgt 4 peeled garlic clovesgtgt 46 thin slices of peeled gingergtgt 140 ml generous frac12 cup soy saucegtgt 20g 4 tsp granulated sugargtgt 75 ml 5 tbsp watergtgt 24 spring onionsgtgt A few leaves of iceberg lettuceFor coating and frying the chickengtgt 1 kg chicken wings midjoint andor drumette portionsgtgt 120 g potato or cornflourgtgt 750 ml 3frac14 cups cooking oilMETHODFor the sauce thinly slice the garlic cloves and julienne the ginger then put them in a pan with the soy sauce sugar and water Do not cook yet set aside Preheat the oven to 180degC Dredge the wings in potato or cornflour and shake off the excess Lay the wings on a cooling rack placed over a tray and airfry for 10 minutes Pour the cooking oil into the pan preferably a medium wok and place over a medium heatFry the chicken at 160degC in four or five batches Fry for 56 minutes then drain on the rack placed over the tray After frying the last batch fry the wings again this time at 170degC for 15 minutes Turn on the heat under the pan and bring the sauce to a simmerQuickly coat the hot wings in the sauce several at a time and lay them on a foil lined tray After coating all the wings use a pastry brush to brush them with any remaining sauce Place the tray in an oven and bake for 5 minutes While the wings are baking mind the spring onions and cut the iceberg lettuce into shreds Spread the shredded lettuce on a plate add the chicken wings then scatter with the spring onionsRecipe courtesy Susan Jung extracted from Kung Pao amp Beyond ndash FriedChicken Recipes from East and Southeast Asia Bloomsbury