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Alessandro Desantis
Recipes

Crispy oyster chicken

Revisited Main Course Asian Omnivore

Ingredients

2 servings

For the chicken:

  • Chicken thighs (4, skin-on)
  • Oyster sauce (45 ml)
  • Salt (to taste)

For the pan sauce:

  • Shallot (1, medium)
  • Garlic clove (1 clove, minced)
  • Fresh ginger (1 cm piece, peeled and minced)
  • Dry vermouth (80 ml)
  • Light soy sauce (5 ml)
  • Fish sauce (2.5 ml)
  • Rice vinegar (5 ml)
  • Mirin (5 ml)
  • Chicken stock (200 ml)
  • Lime juice (10 ml)
  • Butter (42 g, cold)

Steps

Chicken

  1. Season the chicken skin liberally with salt.
  2. Place the chicken skin-side down in a cold, oven-safe pan with no oil. Stainless steel works best, as it leaves plenty of fond.
  3. Pan-fry on medium-low heat. If unsure, go lower than you think — you can always turn it up later.
  4. As the skin browns it will release from the pan on its own.
  5. Once the skin has the colour you want, brush it with the oyster sauce and transfer the pan to the oven.
  6. Bake at 180 °C for about 5 minutes, until the internal temperature is over 75 °C.
  7. Rest the chicken under foil on the counter while you make the sauce, or leave it in the oven with the door ajar until it cools to around 40 °C.

Pan sauce

  1. Return the pan to medium heat and add the shallot. Cook until translucent.
  2. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute.
  3. Deglaze with the vermouth and reduce until jammy.
  4. Add the soy sauce, fish sauce, rice vinegar, and mirin. Cook for another minute.
  5. Add the chicken stock and lime juice and reduce aggressively until a spatula leaves a clear trail.
  6. Turn off the heat and finish with the cold butter, keeping the pan moving to emulsify.

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