Fried chicken in every sauce

Contrary to what the fast-food industry has been trying to sell us for decades, fried chicken isn't a single, low-quality recipe. Beneath its regressive crispness and comforting softness lies much more culinary history.

In Japan, karaage is a deep-fried cooking technique. In South Korea, "korean fried chicken" bears witness to the American presence during the Korean War in the 1950s. In the United States, the consumption of fried chicken has been closely linked to the South since the 18th century, when Scottish immigrants brought the recipe with them in their suitcases. The African-American population adapted it to the "soul food" sauce, spicing it up with Cajun spices. Now it's the turn of French chefs and restaurateurs to revisit this culinary bastion of street food, in the same façon as the burger has earned a new reputation with the help of top chefs such as Yannick Alléno and Hélène Darroze. From Paris to Rouen, here are some of the best.

Paris - MoSugo

When restaurateurs had no choice but to pull down the curtain on the very first containment in March 2020, young Mory Sacko imagined a takeaway offering that blended the Japanese culinary influences dear to his heart with the flavors of his West African roots. The sauce takes shape in a recipe for fried chicken, inspired by Louisiana. The chef injects Cajun spices into the marinade and intensifies the flavor of the chicken fillets, before they crisp up with a Japanese panko-based breading. The mayonnaise pays homage to the land of the rising sun, with the fifth flavor, umami, promised by miso. All of this is accompanied by sweet potato fries that are generously dipped in Cajun sauce. In the end, MoSugo survived the health crisis and is now available all year round, with a new take on fried chicken by MoSuke's chef. Nota bene: don't forget to try the plantain-based veggie version...

• 22, rue Raymond Losserand, 75014 Paris
• Lafayette Gourmet - 35, boulevard Haussmann, 75009 Paris
• www.mosugo.com

Lille - Le Tendre

"The burger has long been an emblem of fast food, until we saw a premiumization of its offering. And we realized that this wasn't at all the case with fried chicken," says Marion Permal, co-founder of Lille's Le Tendre bar, which opened last March. Alongside her partner and chef Laura Cornart, the two young entrepreneurs have completely reworked the product, offering three recipes using only free-range chicken. Each has its own marinade, which is left to rest for 24 hours. For the breading, all are adapted, with panko for the yakitori-style fried chicken, or onions and cornflakes for the "tender roast". "And for the welsh, I use rusks to recall the bread of the original recipe" notes the chef, who makes the marinade with a beer from Lille for this delicious nod to one of the flagship dishes of the northern repertoire. The duo's creativity is also evident in their "poul'tine" offering, which is nothing less than a revisiting of the famous Quebec poutine, using the fried chicken of their choice, poultry jus and curd cheese.

• 60 rue Saint-André 59000 Lille
• www.letendrelille.com

Paris - Nakatsu

It's no coincidence that this brand-new counter takes its name from a Japanese town in the south of the archipelago. In the land of the rising sun, Nakatsu is to fried chicken - known as karaage - what Nice is to socca. Except that in Paris, we devour this emblematic Japanese street food recipe, traditionally marinated in soy sauce, in a well-crafted burger. For no less than a year, Charles Cagnac and Matthieu de Seigneurens searched for the poultry that would be soft enough to offer a chewy mouthfeel to match the crispness of the breading. The two young entrepreneurs chose a farm in the Perche region of France, which raises its chickens for 120 days.

• 25, rue Ramey 75018 Paris
• www.nakatsu.fr

Rouen - Restaurant Philippe

Launched a year and a half ago, this neighborhood bistro's chicken karaage has become a signature recipe. "We can't take it off the menu, even though it changes every month," concedes Mathis Molinié, co-manager of Restaurant Philippe in Rouen. This was the condition for sharing the management of the family table alongside his father: to have sufficient latitude to inscribe voyageur dishes alongside the boss's French recipes. "When I presented him with my idea for Asian-style fried chicken, he wasn't keen, but he's delighted now to see the success!" says the son, who has become an Instagram darling with 486,000 followers, with a smile. This appetizer is all the more interesting in that it stands out from many fried chickens by incorporating no breadcrumbs! "I only use chicken thighs and keep the skin on. The crispness is guaranteed by a second cooking at 190°C, which follows a first bath at 150°C," explains the young chef.

• 54 rue aux Ours, Rouen, 76000
• Read Gault&Millau's review of Restaurant Philippe

Paris - Bistrot Mee

In the traditional recipe for this Korean street food classic, pieces of poultry are coated in a spicy sweet and sour sauce. Bistrot Mee, which has chosen to establish itself in the Paris neighborhood that was once home to the capital's very first Japanese restaurants, cooks it in a less fatty version, spiced up with caramelized herbs. The charmingly decorated table, with its rough wood and school chairs, serves it as a bite before the main courses. It's crispy, the chicken is juicy and it melts!

• 5 rue d'Argenteuil, Paris 75001
• www.instagram.com/bistrot_mee