- 4 boneless chicken thighs
- 200ml/7fl oz buttermilk
- oil, for deep-fat frying
- 1-2 green chillies, sliced
- 2 tsp ground Sichuan peppercorns
- 1 tsp sea salt, or to taste
- 250g/9oz plain flour
- 4 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 chilli powder
- 2 tsp five-spice powder
- 1 tsp Tabasco, or to taste
- soured cream, to serve
- Marinate the chicken in the buttermilk in a shallow dish in the fridge for an hour or so.
- Heat a dash of oil in a pan and fry the sliced green chillies until crisp. Set aside.
- Combine the Sichuan peppercorns, sea salt, flour, smoked paprika, chilli powder and Chinese five-spice on a large plate.
- Heat the oil in a large pan or deep-fat fryer to 175C. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.)
- Remove the chicken from the buttermilk, dip into the spiced flour and fry in two batches until cooked through – about 10-15 minutes.
- Serve with the fried green chillies, Tabasco sprinkled over and soured cream, for dipping.