Spicy Cornmeal Waffles with Popcorn Chicken, Honey and Hot Sauce

Spicy Cornmeal Waffles with Popcorn Chicken, Honey and Hot Sauce

Serves 4 - 6 people

Ingredients

To serve: honey, hot sauce, thinly sliced spring onion and lime wedges  

Popcorn chicken

• 6 skinned and boned chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces 
• 375 ml(1½ cups) buttermilk, well shaken 
• Juice of 2 limes 
• 2 tbsp hot sauce  

For deep-frying: vegetable oil 

• 220 gmrice flour 
• 75 gm (½ cup) self-raising flour 
• 1½ tsp eachground chilli, ground cumin and smoked paprika 

Spicy cornmeal waffles

• 225 gm(1½ cups) plain flour 
• 170 gm(1 cup) fine polenta 
• 2 tsp baking powder 
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 
• 1 tsp eachground chilli and ground cumin 
• 600 mlbuttermilk 
• 90 gmmelted butter 
• 2 eggs 
• 1 tbsp hot sauce 
• 3 spring onions, thinly sliced

Instructions

1. For popcorn chicken, combine chicken, buttermilk, lime juice and hot sauce in a bowl, season to taste and refrigerate to marinate (1 hour). Heat oil in a deep-fryer to 180C. Combine flours and spices in a bowl and season to taste. Remove chicken from buttermilk mixture, then toss in seasoned flour. Dip again in the buttermilk mixture, then again in seasoned flour and shake off excess. Deep-fry in batches until golden and cooked through (3-4 minutes), then drain on paper towels.
2. For spicy cornmeal waffles, combine dry ingredients thoroughly in a bowl, then make a well in the centre. Whisk the wet ingredients in a separate bowl to combine, add to well in dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Add 2 tsp sea salt, then stir in spring onion and stand to rest (15 minutes). Heat a waffle iron and cook waffle batter in batches, according to the manufacturer’s instructions, until golden and crisp (4-5 minutes). Serve hot topped with popcorn chicken, drizzled with honey and hot sauce, scattered with spring onion and with lime wedges on the side.

Source: gourmettraveller