Well hello there, (yes, that was a Star Wars reference, for any fans reading this). No, there aren’t any lockdowns or active covid protocols in place. It’s truly been a minute hasn’t it? Today my friends, it’s just a regular Sunday morning (rather late morning, it’s minutes after 11). Now I don’t know about anyone else, but I like to get my cooking out of the way early on a Sunday, so I can spend the rest of the day wondering where the weekend went, and why is Monday looming so close already!
Now I’m still standing by my earlier statement, that I’m by no means a chef. Years later and that fact has not changed. Recently we shared an article called Craving Home: Jamaican Delicacies Missed Abroad, you can go ahead and give it a read. But basically it summed up a few dishes Jamaicans living abroad, whether in the States, Canada, the UK or anywhere in the world for a matter of fact, there are some dishes that they can’t help but crave from time to time. So today, I decided that for my Sundeh dinna, I’d make one of the dishes mentioned. The most popular one and easiest (still not a chef remember) in my humblest opinion; fry chicken and rice and peas, no curry gravy unfortunately!!
I had seasoned up the chicken from the night before, nothing too drastic, a little salt and pepper, some paprika, a little soy sauce and some scallions, oh and some all purpose seasoning. Had that marinated overnight in the fridge. Also had the peas (some dry gungo) soaking overnight with some minced garlic and pimento seeds. All that was left now, was for the right background music. There’s just something about having the right music on when you’re in the kitchen to help the time go by smoothly and just keep you energised.
“Love and hate can never be friends, oh no”, one youtube search later and the kitchen was buzzing with the sounds of Dennis Emmanuel Brown, a personal favourite of my mom by the way. With the stage set, it was time to start the production. Now I have never been one to be guided by measurements, I’ve always relied on the ancestors to tell me when to stop pouring. I can’t be alone in that, can I?
The other ingredients I needed were pretty simple, and I had already laid them out on the counter. The jar of flour, 2 eggs and the bottle of oil. Oops, I almost forgot the rice and peas. Five minutes later and the peas were in the pot, with the kettle just about ready with the hot water to mix the coconut milk powder. After adding the milk powder, I seasoned the pot with some thyme and scallion, as well as a scotch bonnet pepper. I set a timer for 25 minutes to allow the milk and peas to be cooked. I then set out to work on the chicken.
After putting some oil to be heated in the dutch pot, I dipped a few pieces of the chicken in the eggs, ensuring they were covered in all the areas. “Money in my pocket but I just can’t get no love’, another Dennis Brown song had started playing. I then dipped the chicken pieces in the flour. Now, I usually tip a bit of black pepper and paprika in the flour to give it a little more flavour. Again I tell you I’m no chef. After shaking off the excess flour from the chicken pieces, and placing them in the dutch pot, allowing them to fry on each side for roughly 5 mins each to get that golden brown colour, and an extra 5 mins to ensure they were cooked properly and won’t be bloody.
The timer for the peas had gone off, a quick check of the peas and everything was good. Washed a few cups of rice (lunch and dinner for a few days worth) and added some salt. Can’t afford to forget that again! I then allowed the rice to cook for roughly 25 mins (yes I set another timer).
Authentic recipe
Here’s a simple, yet authentic Showcase Jamaica approved recipe for fry chicken.
Ingredients:
| 2 lbs mix parts chicken | 2 cups all-purpose flour |
| 1 tablespoon paprika | 1 tablespoon garlic powder |
| 1 teaspoon salt | 1/2 teaspoon black pepper |
| 3 eggs | Vegetable oil for frying |
Instructions:
In a dish, whisk together the eggs until well beaten.
In another dish, mix together the flour, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper to create the seasoned flour mix.
Dip each piece of chicken into the beaten eggs, ensuring it is fully coated.
Place the egg-coated chicken in the seasoned flour mix. Shake off any excess flour.
Heat vegetable oil in a large dutch pot or skillet (if no dutch pot available). The oil should be deep enough to fully submerge the chicken pieces.
Carefully place the coated chicken pieces into the hot oil, no more than 3-4 pieces at a time.
Fry the chicken for about 12-15 minutes, turning occasionally, until it is golden brown and cooked through.
Once cooked, remove the chicken from the oil and place it on paper towels to drain excess oil.
And there you have it a Showcase Jamaica, Jamaican Fried Chicken! Now that the cooking is out of the way, it’s time to think about where the weekend went and look forward to the Monday blues of work tomorrow. Oh crap, I forgot to take pictures.
Until next time, Walk Good
