Taiwanese Style Fried Chicken

(Original Post Date:  March 31, 2010)

Whether we are talking about American Southern fried chicken, Japanese Chicken Katsu, Austrian Chicken Schnitzel, Italian Chicken Milanese (to name a few)… pretty much every country has a national recipe for “fried chicken”.  Taiwanese style fried chicken may not be as familiar to most people as Schnitzel or Katsu – but it is really good, and deserves it’s place in the fried chicken hall of fame!

5-spice powder and white pepper give this chicken it’s unique flavor:

Taiwanese Fried Chicken:

2 chicken breasts

Marinade:

• 1/2 c. soy sauce
• 2 T. michiu (Chinese rice cooking wine)
• 2 T. sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 T. 5-spice powder
• 1/ tsp. white pepper
• 1 tsp. salt

Breading:

• 1 egg
• 4 T. cornstarch
• 1 c. potato starch
• 1/2 T. 5-spice powder
• 1/2 tsp. white pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1.  Cut the chicken breasts into thin, flat pieces.  Combine marinade ingredients, and mix into chicken pieces in a bowl.  Cover and store overnight in refrigerator, or at least 1 hour.  If you don’t have or can’t find Michiu, you can substitute with Mirin (Japanese rice cooking wine) or sherry.

2.  Mix the egg and cornstarch into the marinating chicken.

3.  Combine the potato starch, 5 spice powder, white pepper, and garlic powder.  (You could probably substitute the potato starch for cornstarch if you can’t find any.)

4.  Dredge the chicken pieces into the potato flour mixture, and allow to sit for a few minutes.

5.  Heat 2 T. of oil in a large cast iron skillet on medium high.

6.  Fry the chicken for 2-3 minutes per side until done.  Drain on paper towels.