Cantonese Crispy Fried Chicken
Whole chicken, scallions and chinese five-spice powder come together in this chicken β 70 minutes, 7 steps, and the kind of result worth repeating. You'll find the full ingredient list (with a scaler to change the servings), 7 steps of method, substitutions, and ideas for what to serve alongside.
You'll mainly reach for frying pan / skillet and large pot. At medium difficulty across 7 steps, it's manageable with a little attention.
What you'll need
Shopping list (4)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
π Unit converter
How to make it
- Pat the whole chicken dry and rub the cavity with 1 tablespoon of the salt, the five-spice powder, half the sichuan peppercorns, two crushed scallions and several ginger slices, then leave to marinate for at least 1 hour.
- Bring the poaching water to a gentle simmer with the remaining ginger, scallions, sichuan peppercorns, salt and the MSG, then lower in the chicken and poach very gently, never boiling hard, for about 25 minutes until the juices run clear and the thickest part of the thigh reaches 74 C.
- Lift the chicken out, drain it well and hang or rest it on a rack to dry; meanwhile stir the maltose and rice vinegar into a little hot water to make a glaze.
- Brush the glaze evenly over the whole skin and let the chicken air-dry, uncovered and ideally refrigerated, for at least 3 hours or overnight so the skin tightens and will crisp.
- Heat the frying oil to 180 C in a deep wok or pot, then carefully lower in the chicken and ladle hot oil continuously over the exposed parts, frying and basting for 8 to 10 minutes until the skin is deep mahogany and crackling.
- Drain the chicken on a rack, rest for 5 minutes, then chop through the bone into bite-sized pieces and arrange on a platter.
- Serve hot with a small dish of toasted ground sichuan peppercorns mixed with salt for dipping.
You'll use: Frying pan / skillet Β· Large pot Β· Saucepan Β· Wok
Ingredient substitutions
- Honey
- maple syrup Β· agave
- Rice Vinegar
- apple cider vinegar Β· white wine vinegar
Tips & common questions
How long does Cantonese Crispy Fried Chicken take to make?
About 70 minutes from start to finish β an estimate based on the 7 steps and 11 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of honey?
Try maple syrup. See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes β use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
How should I store leftovers?
Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate in an airtight container, and eat within 3 days. Reheat until piping hot throughout.
Related recipes
Cantonese Crispy Fried Chicken is an original recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Crispyfriedchicken.jpg by tissue_fleur, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top β how we source recipes.