Restaurant-Style Extra Crispy Chicken

4 cups water

1 tablespoon salt

½ teaspoon monosodium glutamate

1 (4 pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces

4 cups oil for deep frying

1 egg, beaten

1 cup milk

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 ½ teaspoons salt

¾ teaspoon ground black pepper

¾ teaspoon monosodium glutamate

In a large glass dish or bowl, combine the water, salt and monosodium glutamate and mix together. Add chicken and turn to coat; cover and refrigerate to marinate for 20 minutes, turning a few times.

In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together egg and milk. In a separate shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and monosodium glutamate. Remove chicken from marinade (discarding remaining marinade) and drain.

Preheat oil in deep fryer to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

One at a time, dip chicken pieces into flour mixture, then egg/milk mixture, then flour mixture again, making sure each piece is well coated. Stack coated pieces on a plate or baking sheet.

Drop chicken, one piece at a time, into hot oil. Fry half of the chicken pieces (4 pieces) for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown, then fry remaining pieces for the same amount of time. (Note: Stir chicken around halfway through the frying time, so that each piece cooks evenly). Drain fried chicken for about 5 minutes on paper towels or a wire cooling rack before serving.