Rice Paper Wrapped Chicken 米紙包雞 is my version of the once famous Cantonese Paper Wrapped Chicken 紙包雞. I remember some restaurants having this dish on their menus as a kid but throughout my adult life, I don’t recall seeing this dish anymore. Its laborious process is probably why it’s gone.
In the original Paper Wrapped Chicken, they use a type of sand paper 沙紙 for food application to wrap the marinated chicken into small packets. (I’m not sure how it got its name, sand paper, since it’s more like a lighter version of parchment paper and it’s not gritty in texture at all. Salt baked chicken 鹽焗雞 also uses this paper for baking the chicken in.) They then deep-fry these little packets at low temperature. You would eat the chicken inside and discard the paper. The chicken comes out full of flavour and is super tender and juicy. But it’s a tedious process for the cook and unwrapping the chicken is dirty work! For whatever reason, most people in my generation can only reminisce about this almost obsolete dish.
Paper Wrapped Chicken is a dish that has over 2000 years of history! It has a famous story where the King of South Yue, Zhao Tuo 趙佗 gifted the first emperor of Han Dyansty and famous strategist, Liu Bang 劉邦, some paper wrapped chicken annually as a token of respect. (South Yue included Fujian, Guangzhou, Hainan, Hong Kong, Macau and the northern part of Vietnam.) This dish was only enjoyed by royalty and dignitaries during ancient times.
Now, back to present day....I want to bring back Paper Wrapped Chicken! In my Rice Paper Wrapped Chicken 米紙包雞, I've slightly tweaked the original version. I use rice paper, the ones in Vietnamese salad rolls. This way, there’s no greasy paper you have to take off and there’s added crispiness. I use thinner slices of chicken to reduce frying time. The marinade is also simplified but it is still mostly able to maintain the original flavours.
You can try my Rice Paper Wrapped Chicken 米紙包雞 either pan-fried of deep-fried. The pan-fried version will be a bit chewier than the deep-fried version. But both are delicious. Give my modernized Paper Wrapped Chicken a try and help keep this ancient dish alive!
Looking for more classic recipes? Try my Ancient Chinese Egg Fried Rice 金包銀蛋炒飯
Rice Paper Wrapped Chicken 米紙包雞
Ingredients
- 350 g Boneless chicken (approx. 2 chicken legs)
- 2 stalks Green onions , 25mm segments
- 3 cloves Garlic , minced
- 2 slices Ginger , minced, julienned or sliced
- 12 sheets 9” Rice paper , approximately (these are also used for making Vietnamese spring rolls)
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Light soy sauce
- ½ tsp Dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp Oyster sauce
- 1 tsp Shaoxing wine
- 2 tsp Sesame oil
- ¼ tsp White pepper powder
- ¼ tsp Garlic powder
- 1 ½ tsp Corn starch
- 500 ml Oil or deep-frying
Instructions
- Cut the boneless chicken into approx. 25mm or 1” pieces and place in a bowl
- Cut green onions into 25mm or 1” segments, mince 3 cloves garlic and prepare 2 slices of ginger. Add them to the bowl with the chicken
If you like to eat ginger, you can mince or julienne them so they will get wrapped with the chicken. If you’re like me and don’t like to eat pieces of ginger, then just use the sliced pieces or omit it altogether. - Marinate the chicken with 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp light soy sauce, ½ tsp dark soy sauce, 1 tsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp Shaoxing, 1 ½ tsp corn starch, ¼ tsp white pepper powder and ¼ tsp garlic powder. Mix well. Add 2 tsp sesame oil and mix well again. Marinate for at least 2 hours in the fridge. Marinating overnight would be best
- After marinating, remove from fridge and give it a mix
- Using a plate or large bowl, add hot water. There should be enough water to submerse the rice paper fully
- Prepare a plate and brush it with some oil. You will place the wrapped rice paper chicken on it
- Submerse rice paper for a few seconds and remove from the water. Place it flat on a working surface
- Place a piece of chicken and green onions onto the lower middle section of the rice paper. Do not add any of the liquids from the marinade to it. Wrap it up into a little package as shown in the picture.
Rice paper is very sticky to itself so after you wrap it, brush each one with some oil. You can also dust the ends with some corn starch to prevent them from sticking to each other during frying - Continue wrapping until you have wrapped all the chicken
- Prepare oil for deep-frying. Heat oil to 200˚C or 400˚F
Whenever you deep-fry with rice products, you need to use higher than regular heat to make it crispy. Low heat will make the rice paper chewy - Deep fry for approx. 3 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. Do not overcrowd. Check that the chicken is cooked through. Check using a meat thermometer or cut one open to confirm.
- Serve
Thanks for this recipe. Flavours are delicious. Can you advise ? First time I had 2 which burst. Second time I had only 2 that did not burst. How do you prevent the rolls from bursting? I deep fried at 190 as this is the max for my deep frier. In basket I had only 3. They are pesky in that they tended to stick together. However my bursting problem occurred when I cooked with just one. The first batch I folded when the wrapper was not fully soft. Bit like plastic. 2nd time I allowed the wrapper to be fully soft, by hydrating in the water for longer. Is this the problem?
Hi David, thanks for trying the recipe! I think it may have bursted for one or a combination of the following problems. 1) heat not high enough, making cooking time longer and added pressure inside 2) chicken pieces too big also requiring longer cooking time and creates added pressure 3) rice paper too wet causing rice paper to be too soft in certain areas 4) wrapping each one too big or not having a double layer of rice paper "bag" for each 5) chicken not at room temperature when wrapped and fried. This can cause excessive pressure inside the bag because temperature of the chicken is cold. These I think would be the common problems.
Things you could do to prevent this are 1) be sure that the chicken is at room temperature before frying 2) wet the rice paper until foldable and can stick together only 3) cover the outside of each "bag" with a light layer of corn starch to prevent sticking 4) cut the chicken into smaller pieces (but then the chicken will not be as juicy) 5) use 2 pieces of rice paper, wrap with one and then with the other, to fortify it.
Hope this helps! Please let me know how it goes!
Thanks. I've had another go. I wasn't organized enough to have chicken at room temperature. I folded the rice paper after a few seconds of soaking. Then coated with corn starch once wrapped. Great. Worked. No bursting. At all!. Great flavour. Crispness is lost over minutes after cooking. Maybe cool on wire rack vs paper after cooking. My wife suggested 2 rice papers per piece. My next cook. However I believe this is a great recipie. Going for perfection! My take: wrap with rice paper not fully hydrated. It will hydrate over time. Powder with corn starch. = easier to handle. No sticking. Adds (potentially) crunch. Thanks for awesome recioe.
Hi David, thanks for the update! It sounds like you're going professional with Rice Paper Wrapped Chicken! I'm going to try it with corn starch next time too. Perseverance is the key to perfection! Can't wait to hear your perfect way of making this dish. If you don't mind sharing your recipe, I'll post it and call it "David's Rice Paper Chicken"! Happy cooking!