'Kung Pao Chicken and Beyond'

Hong Kong-based food editor Susan Jung might just love fried chicken the most. In her new cookbook, Kung Pao and Beyond, she incorporates 60 different recipes from all over Asia from those you can find at Taiwanese Night Markets to Sichuan Hot Pot style.   Chicken Poppers with Instant Noodle Coating Ingredients: 450g boneless chicken thighs coarse salt crystals, as necessary 2–4 packets of instant noodles, depending on size about 60g (2oz) potato, sweet potato or tapioca flour 2–3 eggs 750ml cooking oil Method: Butterfly the chicken thighs, cut them into 2.5cm (1in) chunks and put them in a bowl. Weigh the chicken, then multiply the amount by 0.005 – this is the amount of salt you need. Sprinkle the salt over the chicken, mix well, then set aside for at least 10 minutes. Put the noodles with the contents of the dry seasoning pack in a food processor. Process until the noodles are about the size of rice grains. Put the potato, sweet potato or tapioca flour in a shallow dish. Whisk the eggs in another shallow dish and put the instant noodles in a third dish. Dredge the chicken thighs in the flour and shake off the excess, then dip in the egg. Dredge in the instant noodles, pressing firmly so they adhere. Lay the chicken on a cooling rack placed over a tray. Pour the cooking oil into a pan, preferably a medium wok, set over a medium heat. Fry the chicken in two batches at 160ºC (320ºF). Fry the pieces for 4 minutes, then put them on the rack placed over the tray – there’s no need to fry again.