Chicken-fried chicken with peanut soy

Method

• step 1

  Put the salt, chillies, garlic, coriander, lemongrass and peanut oil into a food processor and whizz to a purée. Put the chicken into a container and pour over the salt mixture, rubbing it in well. Cover and chill overnight.

• step 2

  Rinse the marinade off the chicken and pat really dry with kitchen paper. Put the chicken legs into a small pan so that they fit really snugly and add enough duck fat to completely cover the chicken. Use a thermometer to bring the fat up to 90C and keep it there, cooking gently for 1½ hours until very tender. Remove from the fat, cool and chill until completely cold. Allow the duck fat to cool completely then push through a fine sieve and reserve for later.

• step 3

  Warm the rice vinegar, sugar, lemon zest and 1 tbsp salt in a pan until the sugar and salt has dissolved, then cool. Put the cucumber slices into a bowl and pour over the pickling liquid. Leave for 30 minutes before draining to serve.

• step 4

  For the peanut soy, finely chop the peanuts, then mix with the kecap manis and dried chilli flakes.

• step 5

  Fill a pan no more than ¹/3 full with the reserved duck fat and heat to 160C or until a cube of bread browns in 45 seconds. Fry the chicken legs, one at a time, for 5 minutes or until deeply golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm in a low oven while you fry the other.

• step 6

  Spoon a pool of peanut soy onto each plate, put a chicken leg on top with a generous pile of cucumbers, a lemon wedge and some coriander leaves.