Peanut-crusted chicken w/thai hot/sweet sauce

Yield: 4 Servings -

Ingredients:

1 c Dry roasted peanuts; ground -fine
1/3 c Yellow cornmeal
4 1/2 tb Garlic; minced
1 tb Fresh ginger; minced
2 Stalks fresh lemongrass
1/2 ts Black pepper
12 tb Coarse salt
1 1/3 c Rice flour
2 c Buttermilk
3 1/2 lb Chicken; quartered
1/2 c Distilled white vinegar
1 c Sugar
2 4" dried hot red chilies
1 1/2 tb Nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
1/2 c Water

Instructions:

Discard outer leaves of the lemongrass. Slice thin the bottom 4" and mash to a paste in a mortar with pestle. In a shallow bowl stir together the peanuts cornmeal 2 Tbsp. of the garlic gingerroot lemongrass black pepper salt and 1/3 cup of the flour. Have ready in 2 separate shallow bowls the remaining 1 cup of flour and the buttermilk. Dredge the chicken pieces well in the flour shaking off the excess dip them in the buttermilk letting the excess drip off and roll them in the peanut mixture transferring them as they are coated to an oiled shallow baking dish. Bake the chicken covered tightly with foil in the middle of a preheated 350F oven for 45 minutes remove the foil carefully and bake the chicken for 20 - 25 minutes more or until golden (the chicken will crisp as it cools). In a small saucpan combine the vinegar sugar remaining 2 1/2 Tbsp. garlic crushed red chilies nam pla and the water bring the mixture to a boil and simmer it until it is reduced by half. Serve the chicken with the sauce. (Gourmet 12/91)