We love Taiwanese food, and frequent a particular Taiwanese food outlet in Chinatown almost every weekend. I have been thinking of deep-frying the famous Taiwanese snack for a long time but have refrained from cooking this dish because it uses so much oil! But atlast, my cravings get the better of me and I succumbed to temptations... The consolation is that I know what I am eating and I used fresh oil to deep-fry the chicken. I bet the restaurants recycle the oil over and over again in their cooking.
I have used chicken thigh instead of the breast meat and they turned out really tender yet crispy. And I find that the chicken pieces go really well with Japanese mayonnaise. Yum... Go try it out yourself.
The ingredient that makes the chicken crispy - tapioca flour in rough bits 粗颗粒地瓜粉. I love this Taiwanese brand, it's the same brand as the dried shallots and garlic I bought the other time.
Ingredients
500g boneless chicken thigh
Tapioca powder
Oil for deep-frying
Marinade
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine
2 tsp five-spice powder
Few dashes of pepper
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Method
Cut chicken into 2-inch pieces. In a bowl, mix chicken with marinade sauces and spices, cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
Dredge chicken pieces in tapioca flour.
Deep-fry the chicken, in batches, in hot oil until they are golden brown and crispy. Remove and drain on paper towels.
Add a few dashes of pepper and chili powder before serving.
I love using the tapioca flour as well. It gives the meat a slight crunch and seals the juices in.
ReplyDeletep/s Thanks for linking to my blog. I will be adding yours to my blogroll.
The tapioca flour makes wonder, isn't it? :)
ReplyDeletewhere r you going to buy?(地瓜粉)
ReplyDeleteHi Reno, I am not sure where you are from but most Chinese shops in Australia sell 地瓜粉. It's usually made in Taiwan.
ReplyDelete