Spicy fried chicken. You know the kind that’s prepared and cooked just so, is one of those little joys in life when I was growing up. I used to be a big fan of my tiger mom’s fried chicken. The way she made it was like none other. Then, I got a taste of the Colonel Sander’s KFC for the first time when I was probably about 18 at the time. Upon arriving in the U.S., Mr. Chi-Town introduced me to his favorite spicy fried chicken — Popeyes.
Fast forward ten years.
I started to “reframe” the idea of “fried chicken”. Sickened by the aroma of rancid oil and hydrogenated oils, I quit eating all kinds of fast food and store-bought fried chicken. The oozing grease from the meat created what seemed like an oil spill on my plate. At times when I closed my eyes and indulged, my I and me were mad at each other. But as always, Mr. Chi-Town has no regrets. He goes for it no matter what probably because he was once a cab driver in Chicago. Anything goes when it’s cold out. The only consolation now is that Mr. Chi-Town knows that a big pot of Tee’s home-made ginger tea would flush out any tummy issues any time.
Thanks to a gazillion cooking shows, I made mental notes of how oven-baked chicken was prepared. There were many different styles of making it: sauced, glazed, breaded, you name it. However, all I was interested in was the classic, plain, crispy, spicy with some spice like tiger mom’s. Thanks to panko, I discovered that it makes any plain oven-baked chicken taste really really delicious!
Today, it’s storming heavily here in the Great Plains today. Mr. Chi-town is craving for some good crispy drummies. As always, he wants it spicy. And I’m going to make him some.
Let me clarify. First of all, there’s going to be no grease. Second of all, I’m going to make sure that the chicken will get nice and crispy. And thirdly, this crispy chicken will have that nice-little-burn-in-your-mouth spicy. So let’s see how I am going to put it all together to make a good spicy baked “chickin” (as they proudly say at Lupes Tortilla in Houston.)
Take a look at the oven-baked chicken drumsticks below. What’s the star ingredient(s) in this recipe? My secret panko crust mix of course! Check out the recipe.
To make this oven-baked chicken, you must prepare two different sets of seasonings. One is the chicken marinade for that layers of flavor; the other is the panko mix for that extra zest and crunch. In other words, every chicken drumstick is treated with love inside out.
All ovens are different. Mine here in the Great Plains takes her own sweet time. You can’t blame her. After all, it’s a slow-paced, no hurry, no worry life here in the Great Plains.
Here’s the recipe for Ain’t No Plain Oven Baked Chicken.
You’ll need:
A rack to bake the chicken drumsticks
A baking pan lined with foil to catch any drippings or panko crumbs
Ingredients
8 pieces of chicken drumsticks – skinned and pat dry
marinade for the chicken drumsticks (please see ingredient list & method of preparation below)
4 tablespoons of arrowroot powder – spread it evenly on a tray
2 egg whites – beaten
seasoning for the panko (please see ingredient list & method of preparation below)
1 tablespoon of grapeseed oil + 1 tablespoon of organic melted clarified butter (or ghee)
Ingredients for the spice marinade
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon kashmiri chili powder or cayenne powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Ingredients to add to the panko
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
10 pieces of fresh curry leaves
a pinch of salt
Place all the three ingredients and blend it finely. If you find coarse pieces of chili flakes or curry leaves, that’s fine. Add this mix to the panko.
1 1/4 – 1 1/2 cups of panko
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven at 350F.
2. Season the chicken drumsticks with the spice marinade. If the chicken drumsticks are bigger in size, add a touch more salt if need be.
3. Lightly coat each drumstick with the arrowroot flour. Shake off excess flour and place the drumsticks on a separate tray.
4. Dip the arrowroot-coated chicken drumsticks into the beaten egg white, and then roll the drumsticks into the panko mix.
5. Press the panko mix into the drumsticks to ensure that there is a good amount of panko coating all over the drumsticks.
6. Place each drumstick on the rack that has been set on the baking tray. Space them out so that they brown evenly in the oven.
7. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the oil-clarified butter mixture on to each drumstick.
8. Bake the drumsticks for 1 hour. Flip the drumsticks after 30 minutes, and drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon of the oil-clarified butter mixture.
As for the side dish, I’m going for some good guac. (Please see below). I’m also going for some lightly-steamed broccoli, peeled stems and all, tossed in garlicky olive oil.
Where is mine?
This easy-to-make oven-baked chicken is pure heaven. No oil spills. No tummy aches. And there’s really no need for ginger tea either. These are just really really good crispy, spicy, chicken drummies. Come rain or storm, we are happy campers! And that delicious crispy panko mix? I wonder whether it’ll make a nice, savory type of granola. It’s the little things in the Great Plains, folks.
So what’s your favorite chickin’ story?
Love,
Tee