aka 生炸雞脾 (san-ja-gei-bei). The perfect crispy fried chicken leg, with the ultimate crunch – Hong Kong café style.
If you’ve never had this in a cha chaan teng (Hong Kong style café), you’ve been missing out your whole life. I first had this in a Hong Kong style café many years ago and I was blown away. It was SO CRISPY, and full of flavours and spices.
This is not your average fried chicken. It’s first marinated in a variety of spices and seasonings, then deep fried until golden brown. It ends up being super juicy and has the perfect crunch. Fried to perfection, literally.
Well, I did mention in the recipe that you should marinate it for at least 4 hours, but I highly recommend marinating it overnight for more flavour. I always like marinating my meats overnight in the fridge because I would rather the meats have more flavour, than lacking flavour.
After frying, I like topping it off with some pepper salt, to enhance the flavours even more. It just blends in with the chicken SO WELL, so I highly recommend you trying it too. You can get pepper salt from any Chinese grocery store.
If you do try out this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and/or give it a rating! I’d also love to see your creations so don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!
Perfect Fried Chicken Leg (HK Style)
Ingredients
Marinade
- 2 large chicken legs
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground white pepper
- 2 tbsp Chinese five spice
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 large egg
Frying + Assembling
- Neutral oil (for frying)
- Pepper salt
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken legs in the marinade ingredients in a large bowl for at least 4 hours, or overnight in the fridge for more flavour.
- Remove the chicken legs to room temperature for 20 minutes before frying.
- In a large pot/wok, add in the oil. Heat it up until it reaches a temperature of 311°F/155°C.
- Fry the chicken legs for 3 minutes on each side (skin side down first), flip and fry until both sides are golden brown and the chicken is cooked through. Remove and set aside.
- Sprinkle on pepper salt as much as you desire. Enjoy!
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