Absurd Bird, Spitalfields

Last weekend I enjoyed a Saturday night feast at Absurd Bird, the Spitalfields outpost, with Glen, my brother Dan and his partner. Dan had already been and praised the bottomless brunch offering, so we thought it was worth checking out.

As the name suggests, there is a wide selection of chicken available at Absurd Bird - the website's description reads 'Fried Chicken, Cocktails, Waffles and tunes', and despite that sounding a bit 'try hard', there's no denying this is a trendy little venue, in a vibrant area.

Arriving at 830 on Saturday night we had to wait 30 minutes for our table (which we had booked) as the place was jam packed, with a mixture of young hipsters, couples, and groups of friends. We were happy to wait at the bar, but with only two staff on, attending to all the tables' orders, we were in for a bit of a wait.

Once seated, three of us ordered the 'chicken tenders', which were exactly as described on the menu, deep fried, delicious and with fantastically moist chicken inside. We ordered an array of dipping sauces, which all hit the spot too, from blue cheese, honey and mustard and a sriracha mayo.

Chicken Tenders, Absurd Bird

Glen always likes to be different and chose the jalopeno cheese biscuits with apple butter - basically a cheesy scone which he enjoyed.

Jalopeno Cheese Biscuits, Absurd Bird

Inspired by the deep South, the menu boasts about being 'stateside; in portions, and they're not wrong, after the first course, I was already feeling stuffed.

Two of us, including me, chose the crispy fried chicken burger, which was excellent, served with a BBQ sauce, coleslaw and salad, it just about nailed the perfect chicken burger criteria for me. After years of craving KFC as my go-to hangover cure, and being disappointed with the reality, this basically epitomised everything I'd want after a night on the sauce. I could only manage half, which is also exactly like me on a hangover, but testament to the large portion sizes. 

Crispy Fried Chicken Burger, Absurd Bird

Meanwhile, the other two chose the Nashville hot chicken burger, similar to ours, but with hot sauce and a harissa mayo - both were devoured.

Side wise we ordered the fries which had to be returned to the kitchen as they were stone-cold, but when they returned they were great. The mac & cheese was everything you'd expect it to be, creamy, oozing cheese and just delicious. The homeslaw, was OK in comparison, nothing to write home about.

By the time the desserts arrived, I was absolutely stuffed, but still I chose the waffles with caramel
- self explanatory, with a caramel ice cream and caramel sauce drizzled over. It was sweet and wonderful but I only managed a couple of spoonfuls.

Waffled with Caramel, Absurd Bird

Dan had the chocolate chip cookies, which were fresh and warm and his partner had the vanilla ice cream which they shared (a wise choice after all the food) and Glen had the show stopper - the peanut butter cheesecake with more caramel sauce, which was a triumph.

We had cocktails and beer throughout and beforehand and the final bill was around £150 for the four of us; although we had a Groupon voucher, so had less to pay.

The craze for gentrified fried chicken is going nowhere, and I'm not complaining - I'll definitely be giving the bottomless brunch at Absurd Bird a go in the not-too-distant future.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Recently the infamous secret blend of eleven secret herbs and spices that makes the chicken from KFC so moreish was leaked all over the internet, and I must admit I am due to host all of the family to trial the recipe and see if it matches up that of the fast-food chain favourite - I'll be sure to post the results here.

For now, however, after a few years of trial and error, here is my own preferred version of Buttermilk Fried Chicken.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

I have experimented a lot taking inspiration from BBC Good Food, Jamie Oliver, Martha Stewart and a whole range of American blogs and websites, but this combination seems to go down the best - especially when served with crunchy homemade slaw and macaroni cheese.

Buttermilk is quite easy to come by in supermarkets these days, but you can make your own by combining the required amount of natural yoghurt with a tablespoon of lemon juice or even vinegar.

I use a dry brine rather than wet, but I then marinate further in the buttermilk for a couple of hours at least, to ensure the chicken is really tender and moist on cooking.

It may seem a lot of effort to marinade overnight and then for a further couple of hours but once you make this the once, I guarantee you'll be back for more. This does pack a punch so to make a milder version cut down on some of the spices and leave out the tabasco from the buttermilk marinade. We made some goujons from chicken breast for Bridget and she liked them though, so it depends on your taste buds.

This is one of the naughtiest recipes I make at home, and one of the most happily devoured, it really is delicious but best to avoid if you are on any kind of diet - this is definitely a 'once in a while' kind of dish.

Here's how:

• 4 pieces if chicken, thighs are best but you can use drumsticks
• 1 litre rapeseed, vegetable or ground nut oil

The dry brine:

• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp celery salt
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 4 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp mustard powder
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• Zest of 1 large or 2 small lemons

The wet marinade:

• 1 tub of buttermilk (250-300ml)
• 1 tsp tabasco
• 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• Juice of half a lemon
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and halved

The flour coating:

• 220g plain flour
• 3 tbsp cornflour
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp black pepper.

Firstly in a small bowl combine all of the dry brine ingredients. Now place the chicken into a marinade bag or bowl and scatter over the brine. Try to ensure each piece gets a good coating by using your hands to rub in. Now zip up and place into the fridge overnight, or for a good 10-12 hours.

When ready for the next stage, place the buttermilk, tabasco, lemon juice, garlic and Worcestershire Sauce into a large bowl or another marinade bag and then place each piece of chicken inside. Zip up then use your hands on the outside to ensure each piece is immersed in the buttermilk. Return to the fridge and leave for a couple of hours.

Chicken marinading in buttermilk

Pre-heat the oven to around 100 degrees – it’s just to keep the chicken warm once cooked if cooking in batches.

Now pour your oil into a fryer - or if like me you don't own one, a good quality wok or metal, heavy bottomed pan and place on a medium heat.

Meanwhile combine the flour coating ingredients, stir and set aside.

Test the oil is hot enough by dropping in a breadcrumb, when it sizzles, you know it's ready.

Now take each piece of chicken and coat in the flour, all over, tossing to ensure an even spread.

Now use tongs or a metal slotted spoon to lower the chicken into the hot oil - be careful. If using a wok or pan you'll need to do this in stages of 3-4 pieces at a time.

After 6-7 minutes, use the tongs or spoon to turn over the chicken pieces. Now cook for the same amount of time on the other side, or until cooked through and golden brown and very tempting looking on the outside.

Now place onto a wire rack in the oven and repeat the process until all the chicken is cooked, then place onto some kitchen towel on a plate to absorb any excess grease.

Buttermilk fried chicken

Serve with your choice of accompaniments. Enjoy!

Buttermilk fried chicken

Suda

Since working in the Soho area I’ve picked up my colleagues’ habit of frequenting the same tried and tested lunchtime eateries. The favourites du jour includes a mixture of Pepe – an Italian pizza, pasta takeaway place, Benito’s Hat, Young Cheng, and the occasional Nando’s and KFC when I’m particularly hung over (don’t judge me).

Every now and then I might venture somewhere new and recently I did just that with my friend Stephanie and my brother Daniel - we tried Thai, Suda in St Martin’s Courtyard.

The interior has to be mentioned – it is quirky wood everywhere, with random ornaments of animals made out of cane, quite unusual to be honest, but at least a little different from the sometimes over-the-top opulence that is so often associated with Thai restaurants in London. I have to mention the stools we sat at as these were literally teeny tiny – as a woman who enjoys her food, I can’t say these were the most comfortable, and not the best start when you’re hoping to enjoy some food, but hey-ho.

We started with the mixed starters. We each had a chicken satay on a stick (good, but not exceptional) and a fish lollipop. This wasn’t a particularly good start – the ‘lollipop’ was made up of some seriously processed fish, it reminded me a spiced crab stick, in a bad way. After this our hopes weren’t particularly high.

For the mains we chose off of their lunchtime menu, Daniel and I predictably chose the same meal; the Goong Tod Sauce Ma-Karm. This comprised of some seriously chunky king prawns, in a panko-style coating deep fried and in a sticky tamarind sauce, with a some stir-fried green vegetables and a small mound of jasmine rice. It was a triumph and after the fish lollipop disaster we were both completely won over after this. The tamarind had that wonderful sweet yet sour stickiness and made for a completely delicious sauce which was devoured by both of us. There were only three king prawns – however considering the £8.50 price I felt this was reasonable enough, as they were large ones.

Steph opted for the Yum Nua Yang, a salad of beef infused with lemongrass and chilli. Now all three of us are fans of spice, we like it hotter than your average mortal, but my word this certainly packed a fiery punch. It was G-O-O-D. The beef was thin slithers and not over-cooked, but merely seared to a nice, tender, melt-in-the-mouth consistency and it was the salad dressing itself which put one in mind of taking a bite of very tasty fire. The texture was great too, with a combination of crunch and moisture.

We were only drinking soft drinks and the entire meal came in at just over £30 which frankly I thought was completely bargainous considering the main courses were both very, very good. I would definitely re-visit Suda however I would strongly advise against the fish lollipos!