My Mother's Fried Chicken

Firstly, I'd like to apologize for the radio silence. Wrapping up the first year as a full-time professor and planning (then traveling!) for a long trip to Paris ate up all my time. I imagined I would be blogging furiously upon my return, dishing on my culinary adventures in la ville lumiere. As it turned out, I brought something unexpected back to New York--my second child. So, I've had a rather bad case of morning (and night) sickness to occupy my time. The good news is that I've been able to stomach Filipino dishes and threw a favorite together the other night. Coffee, garlic, and tomato-based soups? Not so much.

Filipinos love fried chicken. There's an entire international empire with a bee mascot hawking fried chicken and a chain restaurant specializing in the dish. The main difference between this dish and traditional Filipino fried chicken is the complete omission of batter, though you can always drench the marinated chicken with some flour and egg prior to frying. But who wants the extra calories?

Ingredients:
A 1 lb. package of bone-in chicken* (no shortcuts here! bone-in chicken yields the most flavor and juice)
1/2 c. of soy sauce
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 whole lemon, sliced
A few pinches of pepper
Enough oil to cover an inch deep in a frying pan

*Double the recipe according to how much chicken you have. I tend to buy smaller portions.

With the exception of the oil, combine all ingredients together, squeezing the lemon juices. Leave the slices in the marinade. Marinate from half an hour to an hour.
Heat up the oil over medium heat. You'll know it's ready when you throw a piece of bread in the pan and it floats up after sinking. With long tongs, carefully place the pieces in the pan, skin side first. Do not crowd the pan. After 10 minutes or when one side is golden brown, flip over to the other side for another 10 minutes.
If cooking in batches, place cooked pieces on a cooling rack to keep them crisp.
As always, enjoy with Mang Tomas and white rice.