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Tony Bad
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Roosevelt Ave - Queens, NY
Fri, 09/5/08 11:16 PM
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This area has an amazing variety of foods, and before every Met game I attend with my friend and guide Bill, we search out something new. Today's adventure was Korean Fried Chicken at UFC...Unidentified Flying Chickens.    What is Korean Fried Chicken? Well, other than very good, I had no idea, so I checked it out, and here is what I found...
Korean-style fried chicken is radically different, reflecting an Asian frying technique that renders out the fat in the skin, transforming it into a thin, crackly and almost transparent crust. (Chinese cooks call this “paper fried chicken.”) The chicken is unseasoned, barely dredged in very fine flour and then dipped into a thin batter before going into the fryer. The oil temperature is a relatively low 350 degrees, and the chicken is cooked in two separate stages.
After 10 minutes, the chicken is removed from the oil, shaken vigorously in a wire strainer and allowed to cool for two minutes. This slows the cooking process, preventing the crust from getting too brown before the meat cooks through. It also shaves off all those crusty nubs and crags that American cooks strive for.
After 10 more minutes in the fryer, the chicken is smooth, compact, golden-brown, and done. Then, it’s served plain (with a small dish of salt and pepper for seasoning) or lightly painted with sauce. When it’s done correctly, the sauce is absorbed into the crust, adding savor without making it soggy.
As I said, it was very good. The chicken was moist and tasty, and the thin crust was crunchy and very flavorful. We opted for the "hot" and "soy-garlic". Both were excellent.
These were the "hot". Spicy, but not in the typical chicken wing sense. I am not a fan of heat for the sake of heat, so these were just right for me.
These are the soy-garlic variety. We opted for two small plates, each with three legs and 6 wings. It was a good amount of food.
We also tried their french fries, which were also excellent, well seasoned, and not tasting like they had been frozen.
They don't serve beer, and these just cried out for that pairing, so we hit the deli/grocery directly across the street to remedy this problem.
After eating our fill of chicken, and since it was way to early to go to the ballpark, we decided to sample a few taco carts and trucks along our walk up Roosevelt Ave.
We had the same, carnitas taco, at each so we could compare fairly.
At our first stop, a cart near 80th street we had this gem. Well cooked meat, excellent sauce.
Next, around 90th street...10 blocks per taco is pretty good mileage for tacos...we found Tia Julia. I really liked this one, especially the meat and the fresh avocado.
The third stop was closest to Shea Stadium, and was very good, but the meat was not on par with the previous two stops. I did like the radishes and lime.
Shortly after downing the last taco we were at Shea. The 45 block stretch we walked held an unbelievable number of restaurants , carts, and trucks. One could eat at a different one every night for a year or more.
Oh, and the Mets lost.
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