Yellow Fried Chicken - trial 2
Southern Fried Chicken is not something that features in my culinary repertoire but, from looking at internet testimonials from people who do cook in that style, I gleaned that Dorinda Hafner's recipe had earned a lot of fans. Next step - buy the Dorinda Hafner US cookbook!
The book arrived and the cover made me smile (and put the idea of popcorn in my mind!) so that was a good start. Looking at her chicken recipe there were two instant plus factors (it doesn't require an oven and it contains YELLOW mustard) and an instant minus (it did require onion powder). Onion powder?? I scoured the local delis, the out of town supermarkets, the usual havens of the exotic in London (Selfridges food hall and Fortnum and Mason) but without success. As often is the case, the internet provided a solution (from Hampshire Foods) so, equipped with Dorinda and with onion powder, I was ready to cook.
Hmm. I can't eat a huge bucket load of fried chicken - if it turns out edible. What to do? Invite round friends to be guinea pigs and hold a movie night - and make popcorn! (no, Dorinda does not have a recipe for this, despite the cover!).
I cooked. It turned out edible and I'd score the recipe 9 out of 10 (as opposed to trial 1's 6 out of 10). Here's my plate:
Dorinda's chicken is highly flavoured (cayenne, salt, black pepper, paprika, mustard powder, celery salt, and the onion powder) - which I enjoyed in conjunction with plain boiled potato and asparagus. I probably wouldn't be so happy to eat it with chips/fries and mayonnaise.
The colour is red-brown rather than yellow but I'm not experienced at frying and may have had the oil too hot. I've also had salmonella poisoning in the past (not from my own cooking I should add!) and am a touch neurotic about cooking the meat right through so the coating probably got overdone.
Then we made popcorn and watched Jay Chou in The Green Hornet - a ridiculous and amusing mish-mash of car stunts, superhero pretensions and stride-along plot which doesn't take itself too seriously (how can you when your arch-villain stages his final show-down in a gas mask?!).
The fast food in the system was treated to a cleansing portion of fresh fruit salad (pineapple, strawberries, mango and blueberries) which was as brightly coloured as the film. The strawberries here are just hitting high season and they are lovely.
The last word ought to go to Dorinda Hafner so here's a bigger shot of her book - one day I must try another of her recipes from this collection. Meanwhile, she has unwittingly contributed to a celebration of YFC!
