Recipes and styling Brita du Plessis Photographs Sean Calitz

Ingredients:

For the chicken

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1. cups of buttermilk
• 2t sriracha sauce
• 2 cups rice flour
• 1/2 cup self-raising flour
• 1t onion powder
• 1t paprika
• 1t chilli powder
• salt and pepper, to season
• vegetable oil for cooking

For the maple bourbon syrup

• 1 cup of maple syrup
• 1/4 cup of bourbon
• 1/2t vanilla extract
• 2T red wine vinegar

For the slaw

• 2 green apples, finely sliced and shredded
• 1 fennel bulb, finely sliced and shredded
• 3 spring onions, finely chopped
• 1 green chilli deseeded and finely chopped
• ⅓ cup Italian white wine vinegar
•  1/4 cup olive oil
• 8 mini tortillas

Directions: For the chicken mix the pieces, buttermilk and sriracha sauce in a bowl and refrigerate for about an hour. Combine the flours and spices together and season. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk mixture, toss in the flour and then put back into the mixture, then again into the flour. Before cooking shake off any excess flour. Heat the oil in a large saucepan to 190°C (test with a small piece of bread which should turn golden in 40 seconds). Cook the chicken for 3–4 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.

For the syrup, simmer the maple syrup in a pot for 10 minutes over medium heat. Remove from the heat, add the bourbon, vanilla and vinegar and stir through.

To make the slaw, mix the apple, fennel, spring onions and chilli in a large bowl. Combine the vinegar and olive oil together and pour over the slaw.

To assemble the tacos, place a little slaw in the middle, top with the crunchy chicken and drizzle with the maple bourbon sauce. Serve immediately.

Makes 6–8

Note: Sriracha sauce is a hot Thai sauce found at well stocked delis and supermarkets. Italian white wine vinegar is available at Woolworths.

For more delicious tortilla recipes, check out the January/February 2015 issue of House and Leisure. On sale now!