Crispy chicken, Asian style
When it comes to food, my weakness will always be fried, crispy chicken. I have been lucky enough to travel the world sampling each culture’s tasty version of the fried bird.
So you can imagine my delight when I visited my local Thai and Vietnamese restaurant here in Malaysia and came across this concoction of salted crispy chicken served with blistered scallions.
What was that you may ask? It turns out that it is dark meat chicken (such as legs and thighs), cut up and cured with salt and sugar then battered and fried. Before it is all done and served up on a plate, it is then tossed with quick wok-fried onion, scallions and fresh chopped chiles.
Needless to say, I was smitten. I mean, who wouldn’t be in love with that combination of flavors with fried chicken? I like to serve this dish with steamed jasmine rice and extra chili sauce on the side.
As always with anything fried chicken-wise, it is best to serve with a light and vinegary vegetable side dish. I recommend Spicy Vietnamese Quick Pickled Vegetables but if you feel like this is just too much spice, simply omit the jalapeno peppers.
Spicy Salted Crispy Chicken with Scallions
- Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: Serves 2-3 1x
Description
Salted and fried chicken tossed with red chilis, scallions, onions and a touch of vinegar. A tasty combination of flavors you can’t resist. #chicken #fried #spicy
Ingredients
- 2 boneless chicken legs or 4 boneless chicken thighs
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1 egg mixed with 2 tbsp of water
- 1/2 tsp – 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- oil for frying
- a handful of scallions (base chopped off, white parts plus 1-2 inches of the green stem)
- 1 onion (sliced)
- 2 small red chilis (chopped) or 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice or rice wine vinegar (optional)
Instructions
- Mix 2 tsp of sea salt with 2 tsp of sugar and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Sprinkle both sides of chicken chops with the salt sugar mix.
- Place over a grate or sieve with a container underneath to catch the liquid that drains off. Chill in the refrigerator for 2-5 hours.
- When ready for cooking, rinse chicken with water in order to remove excess salt and sugar. Drain excess water off and pat dry with paper towels.
- Cut into pieces no bigger than 1 in/ 2 cm squared.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cornstarch and black pepper. Mix until thoroughly combined.
- In a separate bowl, beat 1 egg with 2 tbsp of water.
- Dip chicken pieces in cornstarch/flour mixture, then beaten egg, then flour once more.
- In a large frying pan or wok, heat a generous amount of oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot (you’ll know if you drop a little bit of batter into it and the oil bubbles around it), shake excess flour off meat and add chicken.
- Keep oil hot but not so hot that the outside burns before the center is cooked. Keep the oil at a steady medium-high heat with a fairly moderate bubble. Nothing too hot or with a furious sizzle.
- When chicken is golden brown on all sides (about 5-7 minutes), remove from oil and drain excess oil on paper towels.
- Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large wok over high heat.
- Add chopped chilis, scallions, and sliced onion. Mix and stir fry for a minute, then add fried chicken pieces. Stir fry for a minute together, then turn off heat and cover. Be careful of the fumes given off from the fried chilis.
- Before serving, drizzle with 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice or vinegar (optional). Toss until evenly coated then serve.
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Frying
- Cuisine: Asian
Keywords: Chicken, Asian, Fried, Spicy, Scallions
Recipes for like-minded fried chicken fiends:
Karaage Chicken (Japanese Fried Chicken)
Extra Crispy and Spicy Malaysian Chicken Chop
Ginger and Garlic Brined Spicy Fried Chicken
Looks delicious!!