We all need comfort food now! So let’s dig into a Singapore fried chicken recipe guaranteed to put you in a good mood, especially when you hear the sweet backstory behind this recipe.
“Moody To Eat Chicken” is a new dish on the menu at Founder Bak Kut Teh restaurants, the home-grown Singapore chain famous for their aromatic pork bone soup. It’s not just famous among locals, either – big-time stars like Jay Chou and Chow Yun Fat have been spotted dining at this humble establishment too.
Mr Chua Chwee Whatt, the original Founder, is a renowned chef. But it turns out his wife was also a whizz in the kitchen – she was always whipping up tasty home-cooked dishes to tempt her kids and grandkids.
Now one of those boisterous kids is running the family business. And he’s commemorating his mother by sharing one of her favourite recipes – the fried chicken she made when her kids were “too moody to eat”.
Says boss Nigel Chua, “Mama’s Home-Cooked Dishes are what we ate when we were younger. That’s why each of the 12 heritage recipes has a quirky names like Moody to Eat Chicken and Cheeky Secret and Neighbour’s ‘Ho Liao'”.
“They’re like snapshots of family memories – warm yet stern dinners with our stoic Ah Gong who would not utter a word, and our affectionate Ah Ma who could not stop feeding us children.”
So sweet, right? You can cook their “Moody to Eat Chicken” dish at home (see recipe below), or – if you prefer eating to cooking – get the dish (and others!) delivered free, to any address in Singapore.
Delivery is 10am to 9pm. WhatsApp orders to 8896 5136, three hours in advance. You can see the full menu by adding WhatsApp Business Profile 8896 5136, and view “Catalog”. Note minimum spend is $30.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken drumstick legs, skin on
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped into fine pieces
- Pinch of salt
- 2 cups vegetable oil, for frying
Achar
- 3-4 long red chilli, washed
- 1 cup fresh curry leaves, loosely packed + stalk removed
Steps
Wash chicken drumsticks and pat dry with paper towels. Debone drumstick (watch video below):
How To Remove Bones from Chicken Drumstick Legs
In a bowl, mix deboned drumsticks with chopped garlic and pinch of salt. Turn drumsticks over so they are well covered.
Marinate chicken drumsticks for 30 minutes in chopped garlic, if possible, so they absorb garlic flavour.
Meanwhile, make achar. Slice chilli longways and scrape out seeds with the back of the knife. Slice chilli into rounds (see tip 1 below).
Add 1 cup of oil to wok or frypan and heat to 170 C (see tip 2 below). Fry curry leaves until crisp – it takes seconds only. Fresh curry leaves spit when added to oil, so use a lid to prevent oil splashing over you. Remove and drain curry leaves on paper towels.
Add 1 cup oil to a wok or frying pan. On medium high fire heat until 180C. Pan fry chicken pieces in batches, for 7-8 minutes. Turn pieces over occasionally, until golden and crisp.
Drain on paper towels. Serve drumsticks, sliced and topped with chili and curry leaf achar.
Tip 1: If you prefer a hotter achar, slice chilli into slices. You can shake slices in a wire colander to remove some of the seeds.
Tip 2: To check if oil is hot enough for frying, stick the end of your wooden spoon into the oil. If many bubbles form around the wood and float up, your oil is ready for frying. If oil is bubbling hard, it is too hot.