This homemade Chinese Salt and Pepper Chicken is made with tender chicken thighs lightly battered, pan-fried till crispy, and tossed with plenty of chillies and garlic. It only takes 30 minutes to prepare and cook, and it tastes so much better than your favorite takeaway.
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It is the perfect fakeaway dish to spoil your family on a Friday night. Serve it with a bowl of Spicy Egg Fried Rice and a bottle of cold beer for a real treat!
Why This Recipe Works?
- With my simple recipe, you can cook these crispy Salt and Pepper Chicken at home better than your local takeaway.
- I use eggs in this recipe to coat the chicken before dipping it into corn flour, which makes it extra crispy and flavorsome.
- You only need a few ingredients to make this popular Chinese takeaway dish.
- This quick and easy salt and pepper chicken dish is perfect as a party snack, as an appetizer, or as a main course when paired with Egg Fried Rice and stir-fried vegetables.
- You can adjust the amount of the spice to your taste, just replace some of the chilies with bell peppers if you prefer a milder dish.
- The leftovers are great for making wraps with some lettuce and spicy and garlicky sauce.
Ingredients You'll Need
Please scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredients list with measurements, complete recipe method, recipe notes, and nutritional information.
- Chicken thighs - I prefer them to the chicken breast for this recipe, as they stand up better to this high heat cooking without drying out while the chicken breast will become dry and stringy.
- Cornflour - You can buy cornflour from every grocery store. Alternatively, you can use cornstarch or potato starch if you don’t have corn flour.
- Eggs - They create structure and stability within a batter as well as color and crispness.
- Rice wine - It is made by the fermentation of rice starch, traditionally used in Asian cooking. You can substitute rice wine with Shaoxing wine or sake.
- Chinese five-spice - It is a very popular ingredient in Chinese and Asian cuisine and works brilliantly in this recipe. This spice powder gives Chinese dishes its iconic taste combination.
- Corn starch - It absorbs the moisture from the chicken which makes the coating crispier. You can substitute it with wheat starch or potato starch.
- Chilli - The type of chili you choose depends on how hot you like it. You can replace it with red and green bell pepper if you don't like the heat at all.
- Garlic - Fresh garlic is a great flavoring that adds sweetness and nuttiness to dishes. I use two large or three small fresh garlic cloves for this recipe. You can always use more and adjust the amount to your taste.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prepare the Vegetables
Finely slice the chilies (deseed them first if you don't want them too hot), spring onions, red peppers, and garlic. Set them aside on a plate.
Batter the Chicken Pieces
Mix the cornflour, eggs, rice wine, salt, Chinese five-spice, and black pepper in a bowl. Put the cornstarch separately onto a large flat plate.
Dice chicken thighs into even bite-size pieces and then cover them with batter. Remove the chicken pieces from the batter and then add them to the plate with cornstarch.
Toss the chicken pieces until they are all evenly coated. Don't let the coated batter sit too long before putting them in hot oil, or the moisture of the chicken will soak up the cornflour.
Fry the Chicken Pieces
Heat ½ cup of oil in a wok. It might take a while until it gets really hot, depending on your pan and stove. Add the coated chicken pieces to the pan and then fry for a few minutes, until lightly browned. Do it in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
Stir the chicken pieces to brown the other side, and cook for a further 5 to 6 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and brown and crispy on the outside.
Remove the chicken pieces from the pan, and then set them aside on a piece of kitchen roll to get rid of excess oil. Keep them warm while stir-frying the vegetables.
Stir Fry the Vegetables
Add chilies and garlic to the same wok, add a little oil if needed, and then sauté for a minute. Stir in the spring onions and salt, and cook for another minute.
Add the cooked chicken pieces to the wok, stir well to coat them in the vegetable mix, and then cook for a few more minutes. Remove from heat and serve on a bed of rice or noodles.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve this delicious fakeaway dish with some vegetable noodles and a bowl of refreshing Asian Din Tai Fung Cucumber Salad.
You can also enjoy it as a snack or appetizer. The leftovers are great to make wraps with some lettuce and spicy and garlicky sauce such as Thai Style Tomato Chili Jam or Tirokafteri (Spicy Whipped Feta Dip).
Top Tips From the Chef
- Choose your chiles based on how spicy you want the dish to be. You can replace it with extra red and green bell pepper if you don't like the heat at all.
- Do not overcrowd the pan or air frying tray with the chicken pieces. Try to cook in batches to get a perfectly fried, crispy, and brown salt and pepper chicken.
- This is a really quick recipe and the stir-frying takes less than 5 minutes so do your preparation in advance before you start cooking.
- Use a neutral-flavored, high-smoke-point oil for pan-frying such as sunflower, peanut, canola, corn, vegetable, or grapeseed oil.
- When sautéing the garlic, chili, peppers, and spring onions, use low heat to avoid them burning.
- The frying time depends on your pan and stove, take my timings as a guide and keep an eye on your chicken when frying. An electric stove and nonstick pan will take longer than a powerful gas stove and heavy-duty pan.
Recipe FAQs
When served as a main course, one portion of this dish has 545 kcal.
If there are any leftovers, you can keep them refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can reheat them in a hot oven or an air fryer. However, they won't be as crispy as freshly made!
Yes, you can. Line a baking tray with silicon paper, place the chicken pieces on and spray with oil.
Bake in a preheated oven at 220° C (425° F) for 15-20 minutes, until browned and crisped. Give them a shake halfway through, and spray them once again with oil.
Related Recipes
For more delicious chicken recipes why not try:
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
I hope you enjoy the process of making this better than takeaway Chinese Salt and Pepper Chicken as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
Bon appétit! / Afiyet Olsun!
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Salt and Pepper Chicken
Equipment
- 1 kitchen scale
- 1 Sharp knife
- 1 wok with lid
- 1 Rubber spatula
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 1 ½ lbs chicken thighs (700 grams)
- 3 ½ oz cornflour (100 grams)
- 2 small eggs
- 1 tablespoon rice wine
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon Chinese five spice
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup corn or wheat starch
For the Vegetables
- 1 red chilli (finely sliced)
- ½ sweet red pepper (finely sliced)
- 3 cloves garlic (finely sliced)
- 4 spring onions (finely sliced)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- vegetable or sunflower oil for frying
Instructions
- Mix the cornflour, eggs, rice wine, salt, Chinese five-spice and freshly ground black pepper in a bowl.
- Put the corn starch onto a large flat plate.
- Dice chicken thighs into even bite-size pieces and then cover them with batter.
- Remove the chicken pieces from the batter and then add them to the plate with corn starch.
- Toss the chicken pieces until it is all evenly coated. Do not let the coated batter sit too long before putting them in hot oil or the moisture of the chicken will soak up the cornflour.
- Heat ½ cup of oil in a wok. It might take a while until it gets really hot, depending on your pan and stove.
- Add the coated chicken pieces to the pan and fry for a few minutes, until lightly browned. Do it in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
- Stir the chicken pieces to brown the other side, and cook for a further 5 to 6 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and brown and crispy on the outside.
- Remove the chicken pieces from the pan, and set them aside on a piece of kitchen roll to get rid of excess oil. Keep them warm while cooking the vegetables.
- Add chilies, red peppers, and garlic to the same wok, add a little oil if needed, and sauté for a minute.
- Stir in the spring onions and salt, and cook for another minute.
- Add the cooked chicken pieces to the wok, stir well to coat them in the vegetable mix, and cook for a few more minutes.
- Remove from heat and serve on a bed of rice or noodles.
Notes
- Choose your chiles based on how spicy you want the dish to be. You can replace it with extra red and green bell pepper if you don't like the heat at all.
- Do not overcrowd the pan or air frying tray with the chicken pieces. Try to cook in batches to get a perfectly fried, crispy, and brown salt and pepper chicken.
- This is a really quick recipe and the stir-frying takes less than 5 minutes so do your preparation in advance before you start cooking.
- Use a neutral-flavored, high-smoke-point oil for pan-frying such as sunflower, peanut, canola, corn, vegetable, or grapeseed oil.
- The frying time depends on your pan and stove, take my timings as a guide and keep an eye on your chicken when frying. An electric stove and nonstick pan will take longer than a powerful gas stove and heavy-duty pan.
- When sautéing the garlic, chili, peppers, and spring onions, use low heat to avoid them burning.
Brenda says
I made this recipe tonight and we absolutely loved it.