How come when I fry chicken the skin of the chicken comes out soft?!
Answers: And how come when I cook rice it's always hard? I know I can't fix the simplest things. I suck @ cooking:(
with your chicken you have to make sure that the oil is very very hot. drop a small corner of bread in the oil, if it sizzles like crazy, then it's hot enough..
with your rice, you're probably not adding enough liquid, or you're cooking it at too high a temp so the water boils off too soon. that happens to me as well. Make sure you add 2 cups liquid for 1 cup rice, and cook on a medium-low simmer for the right amount of time (it'll tell you on the rice package).
Good luck! :)
Your oil isn't hot enough and you probably didn't dry the chicken enough after you rinsed it off and dipped it in the other ingredients. Check the temperature of the frying oil to make sure it is correct. Some parts of cooking are really science not art.
Paula Dean has a good cook book, a couple of them to be exact. Her recipes are fool proof and turn out just like they are supposed to without the worry of them not turning out that way.
She does fried chicken with the lid on a cast iron skillet. May be what you are looking for. When you fry chicken the oil has to be hot enough to fry first. You can always know if it is perfect to drop the first piece in by inserting the handle of a wooden spoon in the oil. If it bubbles around the end of the handle it is ready. Make an egg wash with egg, mustard and hot sauce. Whisk it and dip the chicken in and role it in flour. The mustard allows it to fry up to a golden brown and the hot sauce, well it is a Paula Dean secret. You don't taste it unless you soak it.
Rice. If you can not cook the real stuff right get a box of Minute Rice and be happy with that.
Cooking does not have to be hard and recipes do not have to be a page length to be good. You just have to find what works best for you.
My mother-in-law can not cook unless she has a recipe and she has to follow every single detail to the end. I cook better without recipes and if I ever follow one I follow it once and then I am on my own with it.
My guess is that you are frying the chicken with the lid on. Leave the lid off for crispy skin.
Your oil is probably not hot enough to make the skin crispy. If the oil is not hot enough the skin, along with whatever you rolled it in, will absorb the oil and become soggy.
The rice needs to be cooked longer if it is still hard.
Heres a trick for you. Brine the chicken in salt and water overnight. That gets rid of excess water in the skin. Pat dry, and coat with a combination of 1/2 part cornstarch and 1/2 part rice flour. Fry that until the chicken is cooked through and make SURE you leave it till its brown all over!! I guarantee u will have crispy skin!
Your not cooking at a high enough heat for your chicken and you need to add more water when you make your rice.
Get a good cook book and if you want to cook edible things you will.