Champagne-Battered Fried Chicken Bites
This unique take on fried chicken is a fun way to kick off your New Year’s Eve celebration. Use sparkling wine in the batter and share the rest with friends or family while serving these crispy bites alongside a creamy caviar dip. Thanks to the rice flour and cornstarch in the batter, the coating stays crisp much longer than traditional all-flour versions. Just be sure to use plain rice flour (not sweet or glutinous rice flour). While affordable black caviar works well for this recipe, feel free to splurge on the high-end variety if you prefer!
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- 1 1/2 cups sour cream
- 3 tablespoons drained prepared horseradish
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- One 2-ounce jar caviar
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, plus more for garnish
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 cup rice flour
- 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) chilled Champagne or other dry sparkling wine
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast and/or thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
Instructions
- Pour 2 inches of oil in a large Dutch oven and heat to 360 degrees F on a deep-fry thermometer. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a cooling rack.
- For the caviar sour cream, stir the sour cream, horseradish, lemon zest and juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a generous grinding of black pepper together in a small bowl. Add 1 ounce of the caviar and the chives and stir just to combine (don’t overmix, you want to keep the caviar eggs whole). Refrigerate while you make the chicken.
- For the chicken, combine the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, rice flour and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Whisk in the champagne to make a smooth batter.
- Season the chicken pieces all over with 1 teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper. Working in batches, dip about half of the chicken pieces in the batter, letting the excess drip back into the bowl. Add to the hot oil and fry, turning as needed, until deep golden and crisp, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to the cooling rack to drain and season lightly with salt. Repeat with the remaining chicken and batter, letting the oil return to temperature between batches.
- To serve, garnish the dip with the remaining 1 ounce caviar and some more chives. Serve the fried chicken hot or warm, with the dip.
Nutrition
Serving: 8gCalories: 846kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 24gFat: 66gSaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 178mgSodium: 665mgSugar: 2g
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