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Spicy Fried Chicken and Ube Waffles with Maple Chili Crème Fraîche

Spicy Fried Chicken and Ube Waffles with Maple Chili Crème Fraîche

Renée Robinson

Waffles and Fried Chicken I Finally Love.

There were a lot of decisions that went into this dish. I’ve always loved the idea of fried chicken with waffles, but I’ve never really enjoyed the reality of this combination. I don’t get how it’s even supposed to be eaten. A fried chicken drumstick sitting on top of a waffle baffles me. Are you supposed to pour maple syrup on top of all of it? And then what? Pick up that sticky drumstick and eat it in between bites of the waffle? And the waffles are usually Belgian waffles which I find too heavy to eat along with fried chicken. I could go on and on about this, but I won’t bore you to death.

Coating Chicken Breasts

Chicken Dusted with Seasoned Flour

I decided to take this on myself and came up with a recipe I love. It all begins with the fried chicken and I chose boneless and skinless chicken breasts. Not normally my choice for fried chicken, but I wanted white meat because I felt it would be a better match than fatty deeper flavored chicken thighs with waffles and I chose boneless because they’d be easy to eat with a knife and fork.  Knowing that chicken breasts are prone to drying out when cooked, I brined them overnight in buttermilk and salt. The next day I lightly covered them in a seasoned flour/cornstarch/rice flour mixture that I knew would give me a nice crust, but one which wasn’t too thick. I’m not a fan of thick breading on fried chicken. I chose to give them a heavy sprinkle of sumac as soon as they came out of the hot oil because I wanted that bright hit of tartness to offset the deep flavors of the spices. After that, it was only a matter of attending to the waffles.

Spicy Friied Check Breasts

Fried Chicken Sprinkled with Sumac

I wanted a lighter waffle than any I’ve ever tasted. But it had to be really crispy, too. And it would be a classic waffle, not a Belgian waffle. When my son suggested using ube flavoring I knew he’d hit on something I fully supported. I also added a little bit of coconut extract. Not enough to actually detect the flavor, but enough to enhance the ube. Earlier in the day, I combined all my dry ingredients and had them in reserve. Right before I cooked the waffles I added the liquids, one of which was club soda. This addition greatly influenced the light and fluffy texture of the waffles, but in order to get them as light as I wanted, I beat the egg whites separately and folded them in at the very end. Well, these waffles surpassed all my expectations. We ate the first one out of hand as it came off the waffle iron and were astonished at both the flavor and texture. They were practically lacy in the thinner parts and supremely crispy, But the insides were soft and almost creamy. And the ube flavor put these over the top. This was the waffle of my dreams!!

Waffle Texture

Light and Crispy Ube Waffle

Earlier in the day, I was talking to my friend, Jamie Parrish, from Raised Southern, and he told me about a fried chicken and waffle dish he’d once eaten that was topped with a crème fraîche chili sauce. Wow. Now that sounded incredibly interesting. Seeing as I had crème fraîche on hand, I mixed some with maple syrup, honey, chili powder and salt. This rounded out the whole dish, although these would still be good with warm spicy maple syrup or honey. Finally, fried chicken and waffles I could thoroughly enjoy.

Recipe Card

Recipe by Renée Robinson
Servings

4

servings

Light Crispy Waffles and Spicy Fried Chicken Breasts Topped with a Maple Chili Crème Fraîche Sauce.

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Ingredients

  • Spicy Fried Chicken Ingredients
  • 2 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thirds

  • 1 cup buttermilk

  • 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt

  • 1/2 cup (77g) all purpose flour

  • 1/2 cup (68g) cornstarch

  • 1/2 cup (56g) non glutinous rice flour

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon hot smoked paprika

  • 1 tablespoon sweet paprika

  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano

  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

  • 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt

  • 1 quart (4cups) neutral vegetable oil

  • Sumac

  • Maple Chili Crème Fraîche Ingredients
  • 3/4 cup crème fraîche

  • 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

  • 1 tablespoon honey

  • 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder

  • 1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt

  • Ube Waffles Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups (210g) all purpose flour

  • 1 tablespoon baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon table salt

  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar

  • 2 large eggs, separated into yolks and whites

  • 1 cup buttermilk

  • 1/4 teaspoon ube extract

  • 1/4 teaspoon coconut extract

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

  • 3/4 cup club soda

Directions

  • Spicy Fried Chicken Directions
  • Dissolve I tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt in the buttermilk. Add the chicken and refrigerate overnight. Remove from the refrigerator one hour before you’re ready to fry them.
  • Whisk together the flour and the next 8 ingredients in a medium bowl. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk one piece at a time, letting most of the buttermilk drip off. Dredge lightly in the spiced flour and place on a rack. Repeat with each piece of chicken.
  • Heat oil to 350 degrees in a wok. Add 3 pieces of chicken at a time and cook for 8 minutes. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle heavily with sumac. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.
  • Maple Chili Crème Fraîche Directions
  • Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
  • Ube Waffles Directions
  • Combine flour and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk until combined, light brown sugar, egg yolks, buttermilk, ube extract, coconut extract, and vanilla.
  • Beat egg whites with an electric mixer until medium stiff. Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients, along with the club soda and stir until well combined. Fold in the egg whites.
  • Cook in a waffle maker according to your brand’s directions. Mine makes round waffles and it took 1/3 cup of batter per waffle. Make sure you cook them until they are nice and crisp.
  • Serve topped with fried chicken and Maple Chili Crème Fraîche. Enjoy!

Equipment

  • Classic Waffle Maker

6 Responses

  1. Another ingredient I am intrigued with. Ube extract. Where do you source it and do you have a brand you prefer?

  2. Now I’m going to have to check for ube extract on my next trip north to the Asian market! Normally I’d be drooling over the chicken (and I am!) but in this case it’s the waffles I am jonesing for.

    1. Elizabeth, while I most certainly won’t be making fried chicken regularly, I will absolutely be making these waffles often. They knocked me out. I can’t wait to hear how you like them!!

  3. You know that I have been “instructed” to get this recipe ASAP. I have fulfilled my duties. The family is insistent we make it right away. It looks delicious, Renee.

    1. Thank you, Sherie! I’m really hoping this lives up to the high expectations of your family. They’re a tough crowd.

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