Crispy Fried Chicken (Cantonese Style)
A signature Cantonese chicken dish with crispy skin and tender meat, a classic choice for birthday and wedding banquets.
Ingredients
whole chicken (weight unspecified)
1
salt
to taste
Shaoxing wine
to taste
ginger juice
to taste
Sichuan peppercorns
to taste
star anise
to taste
dried tangerine peel
to taste
cinnamon bark
to taste
black cardamom (tsaoko)
to taste
sugar
to taste
white vinegar
to taste
Chinkiang vinegar
to taste
cornstarch
to taste
water chestnut starch
to taste
white liquor
to taste
Sichuan pepper five-spice powder
to taste
Instructions
1
Seasoning the cavity
Wash the chicken and rub the cavity evenly with the seasoning (salt and ginger juice).
2
Poaching the chicken
Place the poaching spices (Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, dried tangerine peel, cinnamon bark, ginger, and black cardamom) in a cloth bag. Add 10 cups of water and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Remove the bag, add salt, Shaoxing wine, and the chicken, and continue to simmer over low heat until the chicken skin puffs up. Remove the chicken.
3
Applying sweet-and-sour coating
Mix the sweet-and-sour coating (sugar, white vinegar, Chinkiang vinegar, cornstarch, water chestnut starch, and white liquor) until smooth, steam over simmering water until dissolved, then brush it over the chicken body. Rub the cavity evenly with the seasoning (salt and Sichuan pepper five-spice powder). Hang the chicken in a breezy spot; once the skin is slightly dry, brush on another layer of the sweet-and-sour coating. Repeat the brushing four to five times, and finally blow the chicken until completely dry.
4
Deep-frying
Heat a generous amount of oil until very hot, lower the chicken in, and fry until deep golden. When the leg meat tightens and pulls in, the chicken is done. Chop into pieces, arrange on a plate, and serve.
