How to make Asia's crunchiest fried chicken in a deep fryer I'm a food blog I'm a food blog

Asian fried chicken is among the most famous in the world, from ubiquitous orange chicken, sesame chicken or honey garlic chicken, to favorites like karaage chicken or pop chicken – Taiwanese horn, it's clear that the world loves all of them. Asian fried chickens. And, believe it or not, in addition to being quick and easy, the air fryer is one of the best ways to prepare an Asian fried chicken recipe.

How is Asian fried chicken different?

Asians like texture to a fault; It's just a fact. I have a joke that if I ask Steph how good a Chinese restaurant is, she will just describe their textures, like "they make very crispy fried chicken" or "they have very fluffy noodles". It is assumed that food tastes good.

Likewise for wings, Asian fried chicken emphasizes texture. Sometimes it means crunchy crunchy, but sometimes it also means "once crunchy but now cranky." You have to try it to understand that.

How to make the best fried chicken

Almost all Asian fried chicken is made the same way. The chicken is marinated first if it is not covered in a sauce. It is then dredged in a layer of flour or starch, then fried, then put in hot sauce or sprinkled with spices, if necessary. It doesn't matter if it's Korean fried chicken or Thai fish sauce wings, the basic steps are the same.

Best coating for fried chicken: potato starch vs cornstarch vs flour

Most of the time, we use potato starch or cornstarch. Potato starch may be hard to find (although Amazon is now a thing and Bob's Red Mill is carried everywhere), but it offers the best, lightest, crunchiest results. Cornstarch comes right after and you can get it everywhere. Sometimes we will use rice flour or cake flour. Unless you really have nothing else, try to avoid flour or all-purpose bread. The lower the gluten, the lighter and crispier the wings.

The Best Way to Make Asian Fried Chicken in an Air Fryer

The air fryer is perfect for making light and crispy wings. The movement of the air fan allows for even cooking, while the lack of extraneous oil means you get a lighter final product. Here's how to do it:

1. Season and marinate the chicken (optional). Salt and pepper your chicken and let it rest for about 5 minutes. If you are making a chicken that requires a marinade, do that now too.

2. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Water creates steam, and steam is our enemy right now.

3. Lightly oil the chicken. This helps promote even browning. You can/should use an oil spray for this, but you can also toss the chicken in 1 tablespoon of high heat oil.

4. Mix the chicken with the potato/cornstarch. I like to use a ziplock bag or, better yet, a compostable produce bag (we have city compost).

5. Air fry the chicken. Grease your air fryer basket with the spray bottle or a brush. Next, arrange the chicken in a single layer with at least 1/4" of space between each piece.

6. Turn the chicken. I don't like the shaking method, I found it better to use tongs to turn the chicken so the other side is evenly smooth. Plus, you need the tongs to remove the chicken later anyway.

7. Sauce or salt? Immediately remove the chicken so that a) it is not overcooked and b) the sauce or pinch of spices adheres better.

and that's it, perfect Asian fried chicken, every time.

What can you make with this recipe?

Vietnamese fried chicken: After frying, sprinkle with our Vietnamese chicken spice (equal parts sugar, white pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder).
Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken: Mix with 1 teaspoon soy sauce, then marinate with 1 teaspoon white pepper and 1 teaspoon five spice. After frying, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon white pepper and 1 teaspoon five spice.
Korean fried chicken: After frying, top with Korean spicy chicken sauce (1 tablespoon each of tomato sauce, gochujang, honey, brown sugar and garlic, and half a tablespoon each of soy sauce, toasted sesame oil and chopped ginger).
Japanese karaage wings: Marinate with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, sake, chopped ginger and crushed garlic, as well as 1 teaspoon of sugar.
Thai/Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings: After frying, top with our fish sauce vinaigrette (1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1 tablespoon lime juice, 2 cloves garlic, 1 Thai pepper)
Orange chicken: After frying, top with our 5-ingredient orange chicken sauce (1/4 cup orange juice, soy sauce, sugar and rice vinegar, plus XNUMX tablespoon cornstarch to thicken).

The list is endless!

Tips for the best fried chicken.

• Always season your chicken
• Dry your chicken at best, steam is the enemy of crunch
• For the ultimate crispiness, you can fold the chicken over by letting it rest for 5 minutes after frying both sides, and then return it for another 5 minutes.