Taiwanese Fried Chicken 台灣炸雞排 (tái wān zhà jī pái) is one of my favourites! The meat is tender and juicy. Not to mention, the outside has a very light crunchiness to it and the seasoning powder is essential to get the authentic Taiwanese taste.
Traditional Chinese fried chicken is typically marinated and then deep-fried with no batter or coating. Cantonese restaurants usually have 炸子雞 (zhà zǐ jī), deep-fried whole chicken which is pretty much a whole chicken that is deep-fried and then cut up into pieces.
In Taiwan, during the 80’s, street vendors created economical foods that could be that had to smell good! (Taiwan has one of the best selections of street foods. I’m actually salivating as I write this and think about the night market streets filled with yummy food and drinks!) The food must be able to withstand the hot and humid summers without spoiling easily. Fried chicken was a perfect street food! No need for fancy equipment, just a big wok full of oil. Crispy, tender, hot and soooo aromatic! They basically used the traditional method of marinating Chinese fried chicken and then made it better, in my opinion!
The main ingredients in the marinade for Taiwanese Fried Chicken 台灣炸雞排 is ginger and 5 spice powder. These 2 ingredients are the signature flavours in the chicken meat. Coarsely ground sweet potato starch that forms the outside crust is equally important. Sweet potato starch adheres extremely well to the chicken and it holds its crunch after deep-frying compared to other starches. Last but not least, the seasoning powder is the essence in achieving the overall taste of Taiwanese Fried Chicken 台灣炸雞排. The must-have ingredients in the seasoning powder is 5 spice powder, chicken broth powder and sugar.
In my Taiwanese Fried Chicken 台灣炸雞排 recipe, I’ll show you how to make it just like at restaurants. Your family will think you got take-out!
Just for fun, I like to make a couple of little side dishes and serve everything on a tray just like you’d find at a Taiwanese restaurant. You can serve it on its own, with rice or noodles. Enjoy!
For more Taiwanese dishes, check out my Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup 紅燒牛肉麵. Taiwan Night Market Steak 台灣夜市牛排, or Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken 鹽酥雞.
Taiwanese Fried Chicken 台灣炸雞排
Ingredients
- 2 De-boned chicken legs or chicken breast
- 100 g Sweet potato starch , preferably the course kind
- 500 ml Oil
Ingredients for marinade:
- 1 Egg
- ½ tsp Sugar
- ¼ tsp 5 spice powder
- 1/8 tsp Ground black pepper
- 1 tsp Light soy sauce
- 3 slices Ginger , can also be minced
- 3 cloves Garlic , chopped or minced
Ingredients for seasoning powder:
- ½ tsp Chicken broth powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Sugar
- ¼ tsp White pepper powder
- ¼ tsp 5 spice powder
- ¼ tsp Garlic powder
Instructions
- Debone chicken leg, if not already done. Debone by making a vertical cut to expose the bone and then use a sharp knife to cut around the bone
- Maximize the area of the chicken by making a butterfly cut or cuts in the thickest part of the chicken and then open flat like a book
butterfly cut is when you cut horizontally (parallel to the outer surface) without cutting through to increase the area of the meat - Marinate the chicken with 1 egg, ½ tsp sugar, ¼ tsp 5 spice powder, ⅛ tsp ground black pepper, 1 tsp light soy sauce, 3 slices ginger, and 3 cloves of chopped garlic. Let sit for at least 30 minutes. 2 hours of marinating would be optimal
If you like ginger, you can mince or even grate the ginger so that it will adhere to the chicken - Make seasoning powder by combining ½ tsp chicken broth powder, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp sugar, ¼ tsp white pepper powder, ¼ tsp 5 spice powder and ¼ tsp garlic powder. Pour into a spice shaker for easy dispensing.
I used a small strainer which worked too - Pour approx. 100g of sweet potato starch onto a plate
- After marinating, mix the chicken around the marinade one last time to absorb as much of the marinade as possible. Place a piece of chicken onto the sweet potato starch and cover completely on both sides. Use a spoon to help spread it evenly. Place on a plate. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes before frying so that the starch can better adhere to the chicken. Repeat for all the chicken pieces. Add more sweet potato starch if necessary
- Pour 500ml of oil into a pan. Oil should be able to cover at least half of the thickness of the chicken
- Heat oil to 160˚C or 325˚F, add chicken one piece at a time while making sure that the chicken doesn’t touch one another. Cook each side for approx. 3 minutes. Remove from oil and let rest on a cooling rack. Repeat and continue to fry the other pieces of chicken, if any are left
- Turn heat up to 200˚C or 400˚F.
- Fry the chicken a second time for around 30 seconds each side or until you get a golden brown colour. Remove from oil and let rest on cooling rack
- Sprinkle seasoning powder on both sides of the chicken
- Cut into strips or leave as is
- Serve on its own, with rice, noodles or bread.
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