Brooklyn’s vibrant culinary landscape has just become even more exciting with the opening of Pecking House, a remarkable eatery rooted in Chef Eric Huang’s love for Southern-style fried chicken and respect for his Taiwanese upbringing. With a well-designed, intimate 45-seat dining area to complement its delivery and take-out services, the much-anticipated restaurant offers a carefully crafted, expanded menu showcasing Chef Huang and Maya Ferrante’s unique blend of flavors and techniques that have already made waves in popups across the city.
Savoring a Fusion of Taiwanese and Southern-Style Fried Chicken at Pecking House
“Pecking House is a soulful representation of the Asian-American experience,’ Chef Huang explained. “Our signature dish, the Chili Fried Chicken, was derived from a childhood of eating KFC as well as Taiwanese fried chicken and combining those memories to create something wholly new and fresh. There is a lot more common ground at the intersection of Chinese cuisine and country cooking than people realize, and that crossover is where we start all of our recipe ideas from.”
The fun and flavorful menu has two and three-piece meals of either white meat, dark meat or even cauliflower for those seeking a plant-based option. The Starters and Sandwiches section includes fun fusion tastes with items like the Orange Pepper Wet Wings, Oyster Mushroom Po’boy and the “Sloppy Po” – Ma Po Tofu Sandwich.
“The menu at Pecking House exists exactly at the same focal point as the chili fried chicken—the rock upon which this church has been built—that point being the intersection of Southern country cooking meets Chinese cuisine, as interpreted by a Chinese-American and self-described bad Taiwanese person,” Huang explained. “The chili fried chicken has always been described as Taiwanese fried chicken meets Nashville hot chicken, and we have kept that pattern rolling ever since. We are taking classic Southern sides and dishes but approaching them with the intention of making them unique and influenced by my background growing up in a Chinese-American restaurant.”
The menu fuses the best of the two cuisines in a genuinely unique way. “I always suggest newcomers try our signature dish, the chili fried chicken and enjoy it with green garlic ranch,” Huang suggested. “I also highly recommend the salted egg yolk chicken with Alabama White truffle sauce. These are kinds of dishes, dare I say it, that don’t really exist anywhere else.”
Lovers of either (and especially both) cuisines will be wowed by the fun flavors. “Chili Fried Chicken, my firstborn child, is still one of my favorites. In particular, having chili fried chicken with green garlic ranch is still pretty damn good,” Huang told us. “As someone who has grown quite disgusted by fried chicken, I am pleasantly surprised by how much I still enjoy that combo. Red-braised collard greens and dirty fried rice are also well-loved in our hearts. Oyster Po’Boy is a bit of a sleeper, also.”
