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
• 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)
• 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

Steps

1. 1

   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

2. 2

   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

3. 3

   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

4. 4

   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

5. 5

   Pour approx. 100g of sweet potato starch onto a plate

6. 6

   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

7. 7

   Pour 500ml of oil into a pan. Oil should be able to cover at least half of the thickness of the chicken

8. 8

   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

9. 9

   Turn heat up to 200˚C or 400˚F.

10. 10

    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

11. 11

    Sprinkle seasoning powder on both sides of the chicken

12. 12

    Cut into strips or leave as is

13. 13

    Serve on its own, with rice, noodles or bread.