The first time I went to Taiwan, I was blown away by the food. Granted I had someone take me to the best restaurants, but everywhere I went, I knew I would be craving that dish many months later. Now that I'm back home, I still frequently think of the fried baby shrimp in chili sauce, the steamed pork buns, the breakfast burgers and so much more. So today, in memory of my trip, I have put together a crispy Asian fried chicken with chili sauce. Although this is not a copycat of any dish I've had in Taiwan, the flavors are reminiscent of their cuisine.
Crispy Asian Fried Chicken with Chili Sauce
Ingredients
Marinade
- 2 lb chicken thighs skinless, boneless
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 scallion chopped
Sauce
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 scallion chopped
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 Thai chile minced
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon ground Sichuan pepper
Chicken
- ½ cup corn starch
- oil for pan-frying
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Combine ingredients for the marinade including soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, granulated sugar, black pepper, ginger, garlic cloves, and chopped scallions. Add chicken to marinade, tossing to coat. Let sit for 30 minutes.
- Combine chopped cilantro, scallion, garlic, Thai chile, soy sauce, sugar, water, lime juice, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and Sichuan pepper in a medium bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes.
- Heat enough oil in a large pan over medium-high to come up ½ -inch. Dredge the marinated chicken in the corn starch, shaking off the excess. Shallow fry chicken until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and drain on a paper-towel-lined plate. Repeat with the remaining chicken. Drizzle sauce on top and serve immediately.
**Helpful tips and common mistakes
The great thing about this Asian fried chicken with chili sauce is that even though you have to marinate the chicken, it's only for 30 minutes, meaning this can all be made in 45 minutes!
While your chicken is marinating, make the chili sauce and rice if serving. I like to measure out the ingredients for both the sauce and marinade at the same time since they use a few similar ingredients.
To make the sauce, all you have to do is combine all of the ingredients together. Let it sit for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to marry.
Heat enough oil in a deep saute pan to come up about ½-inch. Instead of deep-frying, we're going to shallow fry the chicken.
If your pan is particularly small, cook the chicken in batches. If you overcrowd the pan, the chicken won't cook evenly. Also, once you add the chicken to the oil, the temperature will decrease dramatically, especially if you add too many pieces at once. It's best to add just a few to get even cooking.
I absolutely loved this Asian fried chicken with chili sauce. The sauce was a little tangy and spicy, making it a perfect complement to this well-seasoned, crispy chicken. One bite and my eyes popped out of my head at just how good this chicken was. I urge you to give this recipe a try!
For more chicken inspiration check out this Indian popcorn chicken!
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