Learn how to cook a quick-er Fried Chicken Ala Max!

This iconic Max fried chicken, born out of Max Restaurant and remembered fondly by several generations is a very simple fried chicken dish the Filipinos love. Before the Jolibee and Mcdo era, I remember Sundays, going to the Church then Max for lunch.

Fried Chicken Ala Max is iike the original Filipino Fried Chicken, it is not coated and doesn’t have breading (as opposed to the Chinese fried chicken that is also not coated but has different spices). Max fried chicken is then served with Jufran banana ketchup and soy sauce.

See? I told you, fried -simple. But this chicken does take a very long time to cook. The trick here is to get the fried chicken crispy outside but still juicy inside.

If you find this chicken recipe online, it will tell you to first, brine the chicken overnight, then steam for about an hour, then fry -twice. ! Plus the in-between time for drying and resting. If you’re cooking this chicken, you need to schedule it a day ahead so you can prepare everything without cutting corners.

But since you’re here, you probably are doing exactly that, cutting corners. Haha, I know you! :P

If you want a faster cooking time, this Max chicken recipe copycat is a quicker solution that does not require brining overnight. Though arguably that original Max chicken recipe tastes better and juicier (in my opinion) because of the brine.

This technique does not exactly bring the cooking time to 30 minutes and still has a lot of steps but at least it brings the cooking time to under a day, or all morning if you’re really cutting it close.

Fried Chicken Ala Max Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 large chicken (get the largest you can find because they shrink)
• 2 medium onions (quartered)
• 1 finger sized ginger (chopped)
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 Knorr cube beef
• 1 roll spring onions (tied)
• 1/2 margarine
• 2 tbsp fish sauce

Instructions:

1. Clean the whole chicken thoroughly by scrubbing it with salt. Be careful that you don’t break the skin! (as I did)
2. Add water in a big pot, just enough to cover the chicken (test just to make sure so your pot will not overflow later when you put in the chicken). Add all the ingredients except the margarine and fish sauce.
3. Boil the water. When water is boiling, add chicken slowly and set timer for 5 minutes then turn off fire. Leave for 10 minutes then turn back fire on. Let boil again for 5 minutes then turn off. Repeat the procedure until you have let the chicken boil for 3 times. (Alternately, you can just let the chicken simmer on low fire for 30 minutes, :P)
4. Remove chicken from liquid. Dry thoroughly. Brush the chicken with fish sauce liberally. Let it come to room temperature as it dries. Preferably, put it in a wire rack so the liquid falls off and does not pool under your chicken which is a recipe for disaster). If you have extra time, put it in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes.
5. When ready to fry the chicken, insert the margarine (or lard if you happen to have it) inside the chicken cavity.
6. Heat up enough oil to submerged the chicken. Turn the chicken around and cook until lightly brown.
7. Remove from oil. Dry with paper towels. Let chicken rest for about 10 minutes.
8. Heat up oil again and fry chicken until skin is crisp.
9. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before cutting into serving pieces.
10. Serve your Fried Chicken Ala Max with Jufran Banana Ketchup and some soy sauce! Yumm!

Menu Suggestion:

Serve with Chopsuey or Pancit Canton or try my favorite side dish –Quick Pickled Onions.

PS: Don’t throw the chicken soup! I made some Hainanese Chicken Rice with it and it was awesome! (Just cook your rice per usual but use the soup instead of water.)

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