Season 1, Episode 3. Two Kids from LA
Guest: Chef Roy Choi

_{Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means if you click and buy, I might receive a small thank-you commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend things I love or actually use.}

Y’all.

I created a brine. I brined chicken. I parboiled chicken. I deep fried chicken!

Me!

Chef Choi’s chicken was most definitely not atop my list of posts. I have already done a number of With Love activities prior to this endeavor and envisioned saving this one for way later when I’d gotten my legs under me a bit more.

But something came over me last week whilst prepping my weekly menu and grocery list. I can’t explain it even now, I felt adventurous. I felt like trusting the process.

I felt like fried chicken was a safe thing to offer my sometimes picky 5yo and my oft picky 3yo.

In this episode, S1E3, Two Kids from LA, our Duchess and Chef Roy Choi go toe to toe in debating which peppers are spicy, they make kimchi and quickles (both of those will most definitely be future blogs, get ready!), and I’m still on the hunt for the exact measurements Meghan used for those baked-at-home donuts.

I’m currently growing my own edible flowers to create my own sprinkles. Certainly, that process is not quick enough for me, but I am optimistic the wait will be well worth it.

I planned out ahead, because this is not a toss-it-together kind of recipe, and decided Saturday night after the kids went down was the ideal time to create this brine. A number of the ingredients, I already had. Some had to be ordered in the week prior’s groceries.

I’m torn between wanting to spend less money and own fewer things and the urge to fully outfit my pantry for all my culinary endeavors! The latter is winning in this case, so I will find other ways outside of seasonings and spices to reduce in future.

DAY 1

I actually did not save an orange back from the Rainbow Fruit Tray (if you’re reading this before I post that blog, do come back and read all about that experience!) from S1E2 with Mindy Kaling I made for our now-annual Easter gathering. So. Um. Maybe, don’t tell Chef… I used some natural orange juice.

Yikes. Yikes?

Seems like it worked well!

And, to be clear, it was 100% OJ. Not some concentrate or extra sugar-added business.

I can’t remember the full back story as to why we have so much Modelo Especial in our fridge, but we do, and it was ideal for the recipe and my own little enjoyment after the required amount made its way into the brine.

Strain the brine and let cool. Add the chicken, then decide if you want it to soak for a couple hours or overnight. I wanted to be as close to identical as possible, so we left it covered in our fridge until the following evening.

Two things here.

1. There are like 80 steps to this entire recipe, including the spectacularly delicious sauce options. Y’all come for me if you’d like, and I will make adjustments, but it feels like simplest thing for all of us involved is to link directly to Meghan’s recipes on the Netflix site. They’ll give you every single step, just without my adorable flair and back story. Wink.
2. My sou chef, bless him, pulled out the frozen chicken breasts instead of the wings as I had requested. My kids are actually pretty solid when it comes to handling their winged meats, but ya gurl was a pescatarian for 7.5 years, so eating meat off the bone is not my ideal. I keep giving it a go. Growth mindset. I can always get better. But as it stands, I leave a ton of meat on the bone and feel a bit defeated. I was not all too disappointed to see the wrong chicken had been pulled from the deep freeze.

DAY 2

Here we go, moment of truth!

As instructed, I removed the chicken from the brine and boiled the brine, being sure to strain any impurities off the top.

Next, it was time to add the chicken for a fully new concept I learned on With Love, parboiling. It makes so much sense when explained, and clearly, the results speak for themselves once you get to sample the exquisite final product.

I realized at this moment I don’t own a spider, but the Seihe from my Spätzle maker worked just fine and dandy for the time being.

Bless, we got a Ninja soda machine, lovingly called Machiney by the kids, for $33 in the Kroger clearance aisle, so acquiring the VERY COLD soda water was a task able to be accomplished right in my kitchen.

This section is most definitely touch-and-go. Chef does a fantastic job of explaining the consistency in the show, but I’m a much slower mover, so I had to add a little more VERY COLD wink soda water a couple of times as I went along.

The fabulous thing about fried chicken is, at least to my novice mind, the battering doesn’t have to be perfectly uniform. Have fun with it!

I said at the top of Day 2 this was the moment of truth.

It was really the start of the day full of small moments of truth, leading up to the epic Moment Of Truth.

🎶 Time for me to Fryyyyyy!🎶 (Sing it like REO Speedwagon as you read that, please.)

When I tell y’all I had an emotional reaction to frying chicken. I cannot. I still don’t even have the words.

I’m trying to be more self-reliant. I am so, deeply, preposterously far from that, but every moment counts.

Doing all these action items to feed my family count as huge Neil Armstrong Moon steps for me.

I have a video of me freaking right on the heck out after I pulled the first batch out. The smell the in the house, again, if only we could pipe in smells through blogs. I’m not posting it, because it was my first time, and some of y’all will come for me because it’s a little more brown than golden.

Jokes on you if you’re a hater, I love me some extra extra toasty.

After that, I grabbed them out sooner, and it was smooth sailing. Nothing to be afraid of.

Add the Ramen Salt at this point (recipe below!), making sure to do it while it’s still hot to ensure it sticks to the chicken. Also a first for me, so many firsts today, was making my own Ramen Salt.

I grew up on Ramen noodles, but those you’d crack in the package and boil on the stove with the little pre-made seasoning packets. Nothing like this!

It was illuminating to hear Chef Choi discuss the blatant racism and bias that was the anti-MSG trend. I most definitely remember the NO MSG signs and labels on items. Being a kid, I had little idea what it meant, but now, I confidently have a jar in my spice cupboard.

It’s amazing what we don’t fear when we are aware of a person’s actual lived experiences.

Also, lol to chicken powder. I definitely call that Bouillon and am open to switch hitting that vernacular.

Next, the Soy Ginger Sauce.

I literally just want this in my house at all times as a go-to. Soy Sauce, but make it elevated.

I didn’t toss the fried chicken in this to allow everyone to taste the chicken at its most basic fried level, but you know we all went to town on it after.

We didn’t go for the Korean Crying Tiger Sauce. It’s on my list. I’m sure I’ll do a post about it, maybe when I do Chef Choi’s Quickles and Kimchi!

Sadly, the Duke Kindern don’t have a love for the spicy as do their parents. One day!

Check out the links below for the many, many, but so deeply worth it steps to re-create Chef Roy Choi’s fried chicken.

This endeavor is building my confidence in my ability to follow recipes, my excitement to take on new culinary adventures, and willingness to push outside my comfort zone. I highly recommend you take this challenge on as well!

Tempura Fried Chicken, Ramen Salt, Korean Crying Tiger Sauce, &
Soy Ginger Sauce

Want to know more about the products I use in my re-creations and daily life? Check the links below!