Guest Recipes: Big Tree Farms & Skylar Sokolowski’s Crispy Chicken Bao

Crispy Fried Chicken

  • Two 6 oz. chicken breasts
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp chili flakes
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 tsp cornstarch

The Sauce

  • 1/2 cup Big Tree Farms Organic Original Coco Aminos
  • 1 tsp Big Tree Farms Coconut Sugar
  • 1 tbsp gochujang paste
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp grated ginger

Toppings

  • sliced cucumber
  • cilantro
  • sesame seeds

Instructions

  1. Make the bao dough by adding 1 1/4 cup of all purpose flour, 1 tsp of instant yeast, 1/2 tsp of baking powder, 1 tsp of sugar, and a pinch of salt to a mixing bowl and whisk.
  2. Slowly pour in 1/2 cup of cold water and mix using a wood turner or chopsticks.
  3. Once a rough dough has formed, knead until you have a smooth ball. Place this somewhere warm and let it rise until doubled in size (about an hour)
  4. After it’s risen, transfer it to a clean, lightly floured surface and roll out the dough until it’s about 1 cm thick.
  5. Cut circles into the dough using a round cutter or cup. You should have 6 circles.
  6. Rub a neutral oil on the top of each of them and fold the dough in half. Transfer to a steamer basket and let these rest.
  7. Make the crispy fried chicken by heating a cast iron skillet to low-medium heat, about 1 inch deep with frying oil.
  8. Cut two 6 oz. chicken breasts into smaller bite size pieces. Set aside.
  9. Grab two bowls. To one, whisk together the dry ingredients—1 cup of all purpose flour, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of paprika, 1 tsp of baking powder, and 1 tsp of chili flakes.
  10. In the other bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients—3/4 cup of milk, 1/4 cup of water, and 1 tsp of cornstarch.
  11. Dip the chicken pieces in the wet, and then the dry and then directly into the hot oil. Fry one ach side for 3-4 minutes—or until cooked through. Set on a cooling rack after.
  12. While the chicken is resting, whisk together 1/2 cup of coconut aminos, 1 tsp of coconut sugar, 1 tbsp of gochujang paste, 1 tbsp of tomato paste, 1 tsp of sesame oil, and 1 tsp of grated ginger in a sauce pan over low heat. Bring it to a simmer, whisk, and then turn off the heat.
  13. Toss and coat the crispy chicken in the sauce.
  14. Steam your buns on medium for 10 minutes and let them get super puffy!
  15. Once the buns are done, fill them each with two pieces of the Korean style fried chicken, and top with sliced cucumber, cilantro, and sesame seeds

This recipe was provided by Ben Ripple of Big Tree Farms & Skylar Sokolowski of Soko’s Kitchen.

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