Purposefully Accidental

Chapter Forty-eight

"Should I cut these at an angle?" I ask him, holding up the eggplants in my hands. "You know. To make it prettier."

Jonah looks up, tilts his head to the side, and hums. "I mean, you don't have to. But it doesn't hurt?"

"I'm gonna cut 'em at an angle."

He chuckles. "Sure, Hannah. Just make sure the sizes are more or less the same, so they cook evenly."

The kitchen area in his hotel room is pretty cramped, so his hips keep bumping into me as he moves around me to prep the chicken while I deal with the eggplants—but we manage to make it work. "Done. I cut 'em all up."

"Okay. Now sprinkle salt all over it—generously—then toss it for a second. Then we'll let it rest for a while and you can help me with the chicken in the meantime."

"Did you just... debone all of these by yourself?" I ask once I finally notice the discarded bones next to the clean-looking boneless chicken thighs with the skin on, neatly arranged on his side of the kitchen counter. I know I definitely bought them bone-in at the store earlier.

He quirks an eyebrow. "... Yes?"

"Within the same timeframe it took me to cut up two eggplants?" Which was definitely less than five minutes.

He tries to hold back a smile. "Well, I've had practice."

"Uh-huh."

"C'mon. Let me show you the secret to make it extra crispy."

I season the thighs as he says, sprinkling them with salt and pepper on both sides. Jonah pats them dry before then giving them a light coating of corn starch. I mirror what he does—only messing up the flour a little—and finish the rest of the chicken, patting away the excess corn starch so it won't get clumpy. Meanwhile, he gets the pan ready on the stove.

Then, it's time to pan-fry the chicken, skin side down. He explains to me how to tell they're cooked with visual cues. He deals with the frying and I mix the ingredients for the sauce, following his direction.

"Oooh, they really do look crispy," I say in amazement as he removes the chicken from the pan, "and juicy at the same time."

"Right?" he agrees. "Okay, now we pour your sauce into the pan and let it simmer for a quick minute. We'll put the chicken back in the sauce once it's a bit thicker."

"And it'll stay crispy?"

"Yup. Like magic."

Half an hour later, we're sat at the small dining table by the window, plates of steaming food ready to be devoured in front of us: the glazed pan-fried chicken, eggplant and broccoli stir-fry, and two bowls of rice.

I groan in delight, "Shut up, this is so good."

"I literally haven't said a word," Jonah says with a chuckle.

"Why haven't you put this in your cookbook?"

"Well, I didn't really invent it. It's inspired by a lot of Chinese-style takeouts I used to get." Jonah shrugs. "My favorite for when I need something quick and simple."

Incredulously, I say, "Deboning whole chicken thighs is quick and simple to you? Of course it is."

He laughs at that. "You can just buy them boneless."

"They're usually also skinless, though. And this dish wouldn't be the same without the crispy skin."

"True," he agrees. "So, you like it?"

I nod feverishly. "Is the fact that I've nearly finished my bowl not enough for you?"

He smirks, taking in the praise. "I wanted to show you how to cook something that's really easy and almost fool-proof, but flavorful and healthy. No need to rely religiously on a cookbook and memorize the steps and the measurements. Just throw in some veggies into the pan and add the seasoning by heart."