Lebanese hot chicken sandwich with lemon chilli butter sauce, toum and cabbage salad
Middle Eats · ♥ 4.3K likes · 92.3K views · 7 min video
Read about thighs in the BrightCulinary Book
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Ingredients
Method
Techniques
- 8 whole boneless chicken thighs
- 350 g flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp sumac
- 350 g buttermilk
Mix the flour with the salt, garlic powder, black pepper, white pepper, smoked paprika, cayenne and sumac, then taste the raw flour and adjust.
Bury each thigh in the seasoned flour and press it in everywhere so the buttermilk will stick, shake off the excess and set it on a tray.
Dip each floured thigh in the buttermilk, coating both sides, and shake or drag off the excess.
Mix some buttermilk into the flour first so it makes craggy folded bits, then coat both sides of the chicken well. Pile most of the flour to one side of the bowl and lay the chicken on the empty side to keep your fingers dry.
- 125 ml milk
- 30 g cornstarch
For the toum, heat 125ml of milk or water in a pot over medium, whisk in 30g of cornstarch and cook 3 to 4 minutes until it thickens, then chill it about 15 minutes.
- 2–4 cloves cloves of garlic
- ¾ tsp salt
- 125 ml milk
Blend the garlic with the salt and 125ml of milk or water to a smooth garlic milk, pour it out, blend the cooled starch into smaller pieces, then stream the garlic milk back in a little at a time.
- 60 ml vegetable oil
Add 60ml of vegetable oil a little at a time, blending until each addition emulsifies and disappears.
- ¾ tsp citric acid
Add three quarters of a teaspoon of citric acid or a squeeze of lemon juice to firm the emulsion into a spread. It keeps about 2 weeks in the fridge.
- 2 whole hot red chillies
- 10 cloves cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp salt
Chop the hot red chillies and the garlic, add a teaspoon of salt and pound or process them to a fine paste.
Melt 30g of butter in a saucepan over medium, add the paste and fry 2 to 3 minutes to cook off the raw garlic.
- 30 g butter
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp black pepper
Add the smoked paprika and black pepper and cook another 2 minutes.
- 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 150 g cubed butter
Pour in the lemon juice and white vinegar, cook a couple more minutes, then drop the heat to low and mix in the 150g of cubed butter as it melts so it emulsifies.
- cornstarch
Add a pinch of cornstarch as a stabiliser and blend with a stick blender to force the emulsion.
- 2 quarter green cabbage
- ¾ tsp salt
Shave two quarters of a green cabbage into thin strips, add three quarters of a teaspoon of salt and massage it in to soften the cabbage and draw out moisture.
- 2 whole spring onions
Slice the spring onions into rounds, strip and ribbon the mint, finely mince the dill, and juice fresh lemons.
- 2 tbsp mint
- ½ tbsp dill
- ¾ tsp lemon juice
Combine the spring onion with the softened cabbage, about 2 tablespoons of mint and half a tablespoon of dill, then the lemon juice and olive oil, and adjust to taste. Better made the day before.
- 4 tbsp olive oil
Fry the chicken at 160 to 175 degrees celsius, a piece or two at a time laid away from you, 3 to 4 minutes, rotating about every minute to a golden exterior.
Lift the chicken out with a spider, drain it and rest it on a wire rack.
- 2–3 tbsp coriander
Mix the chopped coriander into the spicy sauce, then turn each piece of chicken in it to coat both sides.
Saucing and assembling the sandwich
- brioche bun
Spread a load of toum on the bottom half of the brioche bun, add the saucy chicken and top with the cabbage salad.