Fried chicken ala Max’s is made by marinating chicken with calamansi juice and fish sauce boil it with garlic, onion, peppercorns, bay leaves and lemon grass. This boiled chicken is fried in oil to make it crisp. Dazzle your family when you serve this fried chicken ala Max’s recipe! Crispy on the outside, soft and flavorful on the inside. Sarap to the max!

MAX’S FRIED CHICKEN TO THE MAX!

Max’s Restaurant is one of the earliest restaurants in the Philippines, beginning their operations in 1945. Maximo Gimenez is a Filipino teacher who became friends with the American soldiers. These soldiers asked Maximo to open a cafe which then served chicken, steak and drinks. That’s a quick history on how Max’s Restaurant has been born.

Max’s Restaurant has been operating for more than 70 years. If we were to check the Max’s menu, their fried chicken is surely their best-selling dish. What’s something special with Max’s fried chicken and why does everyone love it?

Unlike Jollibee’s chickenjoy and Mcdo’s fried chicken, Max’s fried chicken has no extensive crispy breading on the outside. It is enjoyed in its purest form without any coating to interfere with the chicken’s natural flavor. The crispy and golden skin with the tender and juicy flesh is what Max’s Restaurant live for.

FRIED CHICKEN ALA MAX’S RESTAURANT

I love fried chicken. Max’s, Jollibee, Mcdo, KFC, homemade, I love all the fried chicken in this world. If there would be a ranking among my comfort foods, fried chicken will surely be on the top seat.

With all the chicken I’ve tasted, Max’s Restaurant is truly the king when it comes to fried chicken. It is a must-have every time we go to the restaurant for lunch after the Sunday mass.

During the pandemic, restaurants are limited which made us miss our Sunday lunches at Max’s. To surprise everyone at home, I made an attempt to copy and make my own version of the famous Max’s fried chicken.

Their secret? Lemongrass.Just like lechon, fried chicken will be more flavorful when stewed in a stock with lemongrass.

If you would like to know how I made this version of fried chicken ala Max’s restaurant, read and follow the recipe below. Have fun!

HOW TO MAKE FRIED CHICKEN ALA MAX’S

Max’s fried chicken are usually served as a whole. But since were #homemade, let’s make things easier and cut the chicken into two.

Marinate the chicken with patismansi for at least 2 hours before cooking or overnight. Boil the chicken in different spices and aromatics to extract its full flavor. You can do the simple onions, garlic and peppercorns but using lemongrass will result to a Max’s-like chicken flavor.

Now that the chicken is cooked, the last thing to do is to make the skin super crispy. To do this, heat a lot of oil. Put the boiled chicken to a strainer and place it above the pot with oil. Pour the hot oil over the chicken and watch the skin pop! Repeat this for a few times until the skin is brown and crispy. You can also just deep fry the chicken to save some time.

Place your fried chicken ala Max’s to a nice serving platter. You can also make homemade gravy to pair with this. Yummy!

Fried Chicken ala Max’s

Course: Chicken Recipes

Servings

servings

Ingredients

1 kilo chicken (cut in half)
6 to 8 pieces calamansi
2/3 cup fish sauce
6 cloves of garlic (crushed)
1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
1 large onion (chopped)
lemongrass
5 to 6 pieces dried bay leaves
oil for frying

Directions

Cut the chicken into two and place in a mixing bowl. Squeeze the calamansi and add the fish sauce. Mix well to coat the chicken. Let this marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Place enough water in a pot. Add the whole peppercorns, onion, crushed garlic, dried bay leaves, and lemongrass. Heat the water until boiling.
Put the chicken into the water with aromatics. Add some fish sauce or the marinade. Cover the pan and let it simmer for 30 to 35 minutes using medium heat until the chicken is tender enough but does not fall apart.
Remove the chicken from the stock. Let it dry and cool completely. You may chill it in the fridge for an hour.
Heat a lot of oil. Place half of the chicken to a strainer. Scoop the heated oil and baste it over the boiled chicken until the skin pops. Do this until the skin becomes crispy and golden brown.
Let the excess oil drip from the chicken then transfer it to a serving plate.
Serve the fried chicken ala Max’s with your favorite gravy and a lot of hot steaming rice. Enjoy!

Fried Chicken ala Max’s Recipe (TAGALOG)

MGA SANGKAP:

1 kilo ng manok (hatiin sa dalawa)
6 – 8 piraso ng calamansi
2/3 tasa ng patis
6 butil ng bawang (pinitpit)
1 kutsarang pamintang buo
1 malaking sibuyas (hiniwa)
tanglad
5 – 6 dahon ng laurel
mantika (pangprito)

PAANO LUTUIN:

Hiwain ang buong manok sa dalawa at ilagay sa mixing bowl. Lagyan ng calamansi at patis. Haluin at masahin ang manok. I-marinate ito ng 2 oras o magdamag.
Magpakulo ng tubig. Ilagay ang buong paminta, sibuyas, bawang, dahon ng laurel and tanglad.
Ilagay ang manok sa pinakuluang tubig na may pampalasa. Maglagay ng patis o isama ang tirang marinade. Takpan ang kawali at hayaan itong maluto ng 30 – 35 minuto gamit ang katamtamang apot hanggang lumambot ang manok (na hindi naghihiwa-hiwalay).
Alisin ang manok sa kawali. Palamigin at patuyuin. Pwede mo itong ilagay sa ref ng 1 oras.
Magpainit ng maraming mantika. Ipatong ang manok sa strainer. Buhusan ng mainit na mantika ang manok hanggang maging brown at crispy ang balat.
Patuluin muna ang sobrang mantika bago ilipat sa serving plate.
Ihain ang fried chicken ala Max’s kasama ng itong favorite gravy at mainit na kanin. Enjoy!