Hard2Believe
01-20-2009, 05:06 PM
Rated one of the best dishes for 2008 in Food & Wine, from this restaurant Takashi here in Chicago. Heard this was pretty amazing.:spitfall
Duck Fat–Fried Chicken
Takashi, Chicago
Takashi Yagihashi (an F&W Best New Chef 2000) told me that some people are disappointed not to find sushi on his menu at Takashi, the restaurant in Chicago’s hip Bucktown that he opened in late 2007. That’s silly, I think, when I try his amazing duck fat–fried chicken. Yagihashi marinates the bird in sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and chile oil overnight, then coats it in cornstarch and deep-fries it in duck fat. The secret is that the duck fat is a leftover from his duck confit recipe, so it’s flavored with spices and seasonings like bay leaves and herbes de Provence, which make the fried chicken taste insanely good. To accompany that crispy, juicy bird, Yagihashi serves a cold, crunchy Asian slaw of kimchi, fresh cabbage and carrots that’s a little sweet, a little vinegary and a little spicy. Who needs sushi? —Kate Heddings
Duck Fat–Fried Chicken
Takashi, Chicago
Takashi Yagihashi (an F&W Best New Chef 2000) told me that some people are disappointed not to find sushi on his menu at Takashi, the restaurant in Chicago’s hip Bucktown that he opened in late 2007. That’s silly, I think, when I try his amazing duck fat–fried chicken. Yagihashi marinates the bird in sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and chile oil overnight, then coats it in cornstarch and deep-fries it in duck fat. The secret is that the duck fat is a leftover from his duck confit recipe, so it’s flavored with spices and seasonings like bay leaves and herbes de Provence, which make the fried chicken taste insanely good. To accompany that crispy, juicy bird, Yagihashi serves a cold, crunchy Asian slaw of kimchi, fresh cabbage and carrots that’s a little sweet, a little vinegary and a little spicy. Who needs sushi? —Kate Heddings