Description
This Salt and Pepper Chicken recipe offers crispy, spicy, and utterly irresistible chicken thigh fillets coated in a seasoned cornflour mixture, fried to golden perfection, and tossed with aromatic onions, fresh chillies, garlic, and spring onions. Perfect for a flavorful and satisfying meal served hot and crunchy.
Ingredients
Scale
Coating Mix
- 60 g (1/2 cup) cornflour (cornstarch)
- 1 tbsp table salt (divided into ¾ tbsp and ¼ tbsp)
- 1 ¼ tbsp ground black pepper (divided into 1 tbsp and ¼ tbsp)
- 1 tbsp Chinese five-spice powder
Chicken
- 6 skinless chicken thigh fillets, quartered
- Vegetable oil for frying (around 240 ml / 1 cup)
Vegetables and Aromatics
- 1 onion, peeled and chopped into large chunks (about 1.5-2 cm)
- 1 red chilli, chopped into small pieces
- 1 green chilli, chopped into small pieces
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 3 spring onions (scallions), roughly chopped
Instructions
- Prepare coating mix: In a bowl, mix together the cornflour, ¾ tablespoon of table salt, 1 tablespoon of ground black pepper, and Chinese five-spice powder until evenly combined.
- Coat chicken: Sprinkle the seasoning mixture over the quartered chicken thigh fillets and toss well to evenly coat each piece.
- Heat frying oil: Pour the vegetable oil into a large frying pan, reserving one tablespoon aside. Heat the oil over high heat until it is hot enough to bubble when tested with a wooden spoon or chopstick.
- Fry chicken batch 1: Add chicken pieces gradually to the hot oil in batches to prevent overflow, and fry for 5-7 minutes, turning once, until golden brown and cooked through.
- Drain chicken batch 1: Use tongs to transfer cooked chicken onto a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain excess oil.
- Fry chicken batch 2: Repeat the frying process with the remaining chicken pieces, then turn off the heat once all chicken is cooked.
- Cook aromatics: In a separate frying pan, heat the reserved tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion, red and green chillies, remaining ¼ tablespoon salt, and remaining ¼ tablespoon black pepper. Fry for 2-3 minutes until onions begin to soften.
- Add garlic and spring onions: Reduce heat to medium, add minced garlic and chopped spring onions, and fry for another minute, stirring frequently.
- Toss chicken with aromatics: Add all the cooked chicken pieces into the pan with the onion and chilli mixture, tossing everything together for about 1 minute to combine flavors.
- Serve: Turn off the heat and plate the salt and pepper chicken immediately while hot and crispy.
Notes
- Work in batches when frying the chicken to avoid overcrowding and ensure crispiness.
- Adjust the amount of chillies to modify the spiciness according to your taste.
- Use skinless chicken thighs for tenderness and better coating adhesion.
- Reserve some oil for frying the aromatics separately, which adds depth of flavor.
- Serve immediately for the best texture; leftovers may lose crispness.
