I like to eat it with lemon kosho, but feel free to use Frank's Red Hot, Sriracha, or whatever you have if you're making this at home.Servings: 2 Advertisem*nt Advertisem*nt
Prep time: 72 hours 45 minutes
Total time: 72 hours 45 minutesIngredientsfor the fried chicken:
2 teaspoons prepared koji (use a koji start such as Cold Mountain brand)
2 cloves garlic
2 scallions
1 1-inch piece ginger, peeled
1 whole chicken, split in half (spine, ribcage, and thigh bone removed, save the bones and any excess skin and fat to make a fatty stock)
salt, to taste
2 quarts neutral oilfor the lemon kosho:
2 longhorn chilies, or any sweet hot green chili
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 whole preserved lemon
salt, to taste
1 tablespoon olive oilfor the salted cucumber and daikon salad:
1/4 green daikon
1/2 English cucumber
salt, to tastefor the ginger-scallion chicken jus:
1 quart chicken broth (homemade or store-bought)
1 teaspoon ginger, minced
1 teaspoon thinly sliced scallionDirections1. If preparing your own koji (optional), start 2 weeks in advance. Simply purchase a koji start at an Asian specialty market and follow the instructions on inoculating your mother culture! Very easy and fun. You basically add water and keep in a jar on your countertop with a cheesecloth on it and mix every day till your culture smells like sweet sake and gets a little bit bubbly. It should look like a rice porridge. One container is sufficient to have koji forever. Once you need more, add a couple tablespoons to water and plain cooked rice, and ferment it to keep it going.2. For the chicken, mince or mortar and pestle the garlic, scallion, and ginger. Fold in your koji. Rub the mixture on the two chicken halves, making sure to get into your thigh meat. Rest skin side up on a rack, and air dry in your refrigerator for 3–5 days. This will age and air-dry your chicken for a super crisp result. The skin should turn a bit translucent, which means the koji is working. After frying, you'll get a golden, crisp skin without using any dredge or batter.
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