{"id":1628,"date":"2012-08-31T02:50:48","date_gmt":"2012-08-31T06:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theasiangrandmotherscookbook.wordpress.com\/?p=1628"},"modified":"2012-08-31T02:50:48","modified_gmt":"2012-08-31T06:50:48","slug":"mochiko-fried-chicken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/mochiko-fried-chicken\/","title":{"rendered":"Tea and Marriage, Separation and Fried Chicken"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Tea and poetry–what a beautiful marriage!<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWith a smile and the warmth of<\/p>\n

… a cup of tea, you caught me\u201d<\/p>\n

In black ink scrawled across college ruled paper, these simple words are strung together like precious pearls gracing a debutante\u2019s soft neck. They offer a fleeting taste of the entire pie–a heartfelt poem of several stanzas that arrived in the mail, charged with the emotion of separation, the faint scent of a faraway place lingering between the lines.<\/p>\n

Tea, like grey Seattle skies and the inconsistency of constancy, has always been a part of our lives. My husband claims he fell in love with me when I served him a cup of tea at my brother\u2019s house all those years ago. We gave away sachets of jasmine tea at our wedding. And on many a cold, wintry evening, when the chill seeped deep into our bones, we’d share a hot pot of tea to thaw ourselves out.<\/p>\n

On this day, my husband and I celebrate 10 years of marriage. Our hearts proudly bear the battle scars.<\/p>\n

As newlyweds in England, I, lonesome and failing miserably at being a wife in a foreign land, fled home to Singapore to seek comfort under my mother\u2019s wing and the familial company of old friends. He thought I was never coming back. I did.<\/p>\n

Then came the arrival of a child we waited five heartbreaking years for. Silly us. We had absolutely no clue what we were in for. The sleep deprivation. A super-fussy baby whose wails could rival the queen of the banshees. To \u201ccry it out\u201d or not to \u201ccry it out.\u201d Did I mention the sleep deprivation? That baby is now a beautiful toddler, and a beacon who shows us the way and reminds us why we\u2019re journeying.<\/p>\n

Over the years, oh, how the seams of our relationship have heaved and ho\u2019ed under the strain of having a spouse who\u2019s just as obligated to his country as he is to his family. One transatlantic move, three cross-country moves (and counting), and two run-ins with the\u00a0USCIS<\/a>\u00a0later, like rock that\u2019s weathered by wind and rain, we\u2019ve been through rough times but we\u2019re not broken. We\u2019re just transformed.<\/p>\n

We’ve come a long way, but the journey is not yet over.<\/p>\n

Sadly, at this milestone, we\u2019re separated by 11-1\/2 hours, 6,720 miles, 2 continents, and a damn war that won\u2019t go away.<\/p>\n

So here I am, raising my cup of tea to a decade of married life, with a plateful of mochiko chicken on the table and an Omar-shaped hole in my heart.<\/p>\n

~~~<\/p>\n

Mochiko Fried Chicken<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"mochiko<\/a>

One of my husband’s favorites, mochiko fried chicken, with mixed grains and burgundy tomatoes<\/p><\/div>\n

My husband eats just about everything I cook but his eyes light up and he gushes every time I make mochiko chicken. This is one\u00a0recipe from my\u00a0cookbook<\/a>\u00a0that he didn\u2019t mind me testing over and over and over again.\u00a0I can almost guarantee that it’ll be one of his first requests for a home-cooked meal when he returns from his year-long deployment. In his honor, I’m sharing it with you today so you<\/em> can share it with your loved ones near and far.<\/p>\n

I made this dish my own by using tapioca starch (Southeast Asian cooks prefer this to cornstarch) which I think gives the chicken a crispier edge and\u00a0nira<\/a> (Japanese chives) instead of green onions.<\/p>\n

Seek out Koda Farms Blue Star brand of mochiko<\/a>, flour made from Japanese sweet rice (which is similar to glutinous rice<\/a>) in the Asian aisle of many supermarkets.<\/p>\n

Time: 45 minutes, plus marinating
\nMakes: 4 to 6 servings as part of a multicourse family-style meal<\/p>\n

2-1\/2 to 3 pounds bone-in chicken thighs
\n2 eggs, lightly beaten
\n1\/4 cup soy sauce
\n1\/4 cup mochiko
\n1\/4 cup tapioca starch (or cornstarch)
\n1\/4 cup sugar
\nSmall bunch nira (or green onions), chopped (1\/4 cup)
\n2 cloves garlic, minced
\nVegetable oil for shallow frying<\/p>\n

Debone the chicken, and reserve the bones to make stock. Cut the meat into 2-inch chunks.<\/p>\n

In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, soy sauce, mochiko, tapioca starch, sugar, nira, and garlic. Tumble in the chicken and toss to coat evenly. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or preferably 12 hours.<\/p>\n

Bring the chicken to room temperature before frying.<\/p>\n

Line a plate with paper towels. In a large heavy skillet, heat about 1 inch of oil over high heat until it becomes runny and starts to shimmer. Reduce the heat to medium. Using tongs or cooking chopsticks, carefully lower thickly coated chicken pieces one at a time into the oil. You are shallow-frying, so the pieces will only be half submerged. Fry in a batch of 7 to 8 pieces (don\u2019t overcrowd the pan) until both sides are crispy and evenly golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes on each side.<\/p>\n

Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon, shaking off excess oil, and drain on paper towels. Use a slotted spoon or a wire mesh strainer to remove any debris from the oil and repeat until all the chicken is cooked.<\/p>\n

Serve hot with freshly steamed short-grain rice, or cold as an appetizer or picnic food.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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