When chef Elias Taddesse pivoted from working at high-end French eating places in New York Metropolis to exploring Ethiopian flavors in his personal kitchen, he knew he needed to open his first store within the nation’s capital. “What’s a greater place to do it than D.C., with the most important Ethiopian inhabitants subsequent to Ethiopia,” he defined. Now he’s working one-of-a-kind fried hen store Doro Soul Meals, serving up buttermilk-marinated fried hen with an additional kick from berbere and mitmita spice blends.
Taddesse walks by way of how he creates his well-known crispy hen dipped in a sizzling oil glaze. First, he meticulously breaks down complete chickens each different day, working by way of 15 to 25 circumstances. Then he makes his dry rub seasoned with classics like garlic powder and turmeric, plus a berbere spice mix that packs a punch. He combines bread flour, all-purpose flour, and self-rising flour within the marinade to create the proper crunchy exterior that received’t get too soggy over time or be too thick to chew by way of. After marinating within the fridge, the hen is dredged in that very same triple flour mix, plus a mixture of tapioca starch, potato starch, and cornstarch. Every portion is double fried, with moist items of hen being flash fried to order for that good crisp chunk. Lastly, every bit is served both bare, coated in a berbere glaze, or dipped in further spicy mitmita sizzling sauce made with chicken’s eye chiles.
Loads of central elements are made in home, just like the niter kibbeh (clarified butter), spiked with korerima (black cardamom) and besobela (dried Ethiopian basil), and the doro wot, a spice paste made with richly spiced caramelized onions cooked down for hours. Kibbeh is added to virtually all the things within the kitchen and the the doro wat is a central a part of the mac and cheese roux, giving a deep earthy taste to the creamy facet dish. Taddesse is simply getting began together with his perform hen operation, with plans to open a big sit-down restaurant sooner or later.
Watch the newest episode of Specialists to see each stage of Taddesse’s course of for making crispy, berbere-spiced hen.
