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First step, though, is to make garlic confit. Why? If you have to ask why then you can just go. Use the back door. See ya! Making garlic confit is a culinary imperative. There are those who do and there are those that don’t. As the garlicky smell wafts out of the little copper clad pan, yes it is cute, your confit assuages the kitchen gods. There are gods in the kitchen but you are not one of them.
We wanted drumsticks yet there were none. The crafty chicken monger offered steaks from corn-fed organic chickens. Steaks you say? They are de-boned thighs and therefore ready for the kitchen. So you just slice them into big chucks and batter them in three stages in the following order:
Two cups of flour mixed with one cup of corn starch.
One large egg and two tablespoons of Ekitai Shio Koji (エキタイ塩麹).
Panko.
Do not salt anything, as Ekitai Shio Koji is salty. Its saltiness is milder and more balanced compared to pure salt. It contains natural umami from the fermentation of rice koji, which enhances flavours without overwhelming them with saltiness. It’s often used as a marinade, seasoning, or tenderizer for meats, fish, and vegetables.
Grab yourself a glass of Bellabianca and learn about rice koji. Rice koji is a fermentation of rice whereby the fermentation is the result of the rice being inoculated by Aspergillus oryzae mold. From rice koji you get:
Miso (味噌) – Fermented soybean paste,
Shoyu (醤油, soy sauce) – Fermented soybeans and wheat,
Sake (酒) – Japanese rice wine,
Mirin (味醂) – Sweet rice wine
and our little helper tonight,
Shio-koji (エキタイ塩麹). Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?
You have the awesome power of Japanese fermented food in your hands, in its most transparent form. It doesn’t overpower the food if you use it with restraint, so please use it wisely as not to anger the kitchen gods of which there are many and you are none.
The rest is easy. In a deep high sided copper pan heat three inches of duck fat and fry the chicken just three minutes on each side in batches without crowding. Enjoy another glass of Bellabianca while cleaning up the mess of your batter production and pat yourself on the back as you have just mastered Karaage からあげチキン! Serve with garlic confit a volonté.
