Cook Like A Chef30 Minutes

Southern fried chicken with coleslaw

Name: Southern fried chicken with coleslaw
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients: 4 chicken legs, split into drumstick and thigh; For the brine:; 100g yoghurt; 100ml milk; 2 tbsp salt; 1 egg white; For the spice mix:; 2 tbsp paprika; 2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper; 1 tbsp garlic powder; 1 tbsp dried oregano; 1 tsp cayenne pepper; For the chicken flour:; 200g plain flour; 50g corn flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 200ml vegetable oil; For the coleslaw:; ½ a white cabbage, finely sliced; 2 carrots, peeled and grated; 1 red onion, finely sliced; Handful dill, chopped; Handful coriander, chopped; Handful mint, chopped; 1 tbsp white wine vinegar; 1 tbsp salt; 1 tbsp ground coriander; 2 tbsp mayonnaise; 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

Mark MoriartyFrom the series · Cook Like A Chef

30 min totalServes 2Easy

Time30 min

Serves2

SkillEasy

ShowCook Like A Chef

Method

Mix the spices together to make the spice blend and set aside.

Mix the yoghurt, milk, and salt together with 1 tbsp of the spice mix and add the chicken. Allow this to marinate for at least 4 hours but ideally overnight.

The next day, mix the plain flour, corn flour and baking powder with the remaining spice blend.

Preheat the oven to 160c and set up a baking tray with a wire rack.

Remove the chicken from the brine and dredge through the flour mix. Allow to rest for 15 minutes before dredging through the flour a second time and placing on the wire rack.

Cook the chicken in the preheated oven for 35 minutes at 160c until the internal temperature at the bone reaches 75c. Remove from the oven and chill.

To make the slaw, place the sliced cabbage in a bowl with the vinegar, salt and ground coriander. Add the grated carrot, sliced red onion, chopped herbs, mayonnaise, mustard and mix. Set aside for serving.

Heat a large deep pan with vegetable oil. Once the oil reaches 200c, fry the chicken on all sides until golden brown and crispy. Serve with the freshly made coleslaw.

Cook's notes

Give the chicken the full overnight sit in the spiced yoghurt-and-milk brine — it seasons the meat right through and keeps it juicy under the crust.
The cornflour in the dredge is what gives the extra crunch, and pressing the flour firmly onto the chicken is how you build those crispy, craggy edges.
Double dredge with the 15-minute rest in between: the first coat hydrates as it sits, which gives the second something to grip.
Because the chicken is baked to 75c at the bone first, the 200c oil is only there for colour and crispness — use a thermometer for both numbers, as guessing on either is where fried chicken goes wrong.
Salt the sliced cabbage with the vinegar and ground coriander first and let it sit, so the slaw stays crunchy and fresh — you need its sharpness to cut through the richness of the chicken.

Serve with The coleslaw is the essential foil, but this is made for a pile of chips or a soft white bap, and a few pickles or a drizzle of hot sauce won't go amiss. An ice-cold beer is the obvious pour.

Make ahead & storage Fried chicken is best eaten fresh while the coating's crisp. Leftovers keep a couple of days in the fridge and are honestly good cold, but if you want them hot again, crisp them in a hot oven rather than the microwave, which turns the crust soft. The undressed slaw keeps 2 to 3 days.

30 Minutes

Recipe by Mark Moriarty · From the series Cook Like A Chef · Photography © Appetite Media
Published 15 July 2026

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