| Crispy fried chicken | |
| Country: | China |
| Region: | Hong Kong, Guangdong |
| Course: | Main dishes |
| Main Ingredient: | Chicken |
Crispy fried chicken is a standard dish in the Cantonese cuisine of southern China and Hong Kong.[1] The chicken is fried in such a way that the skin is extremely crunchy, but the white meat is relatively soft.[2] This is done by first poaching the chicken in water with spices (e.g. star anise, cinnamon, nutmeg, Sichuan pepper, ginger, fennel, and scallions), drying it, coating with a syrup of vinegar and sugar, letting it dry thoroughly (which helps make the skin crispy) and deep-frying.[3]
The dish is often served with two side dishes, a pepper salt (Chinese: 椒鹽) and prawn crackers (Chinese: 蝦片).[4] The pepper salt, colored dark white to gray, is dry-fried separately in a wok.[5] It is made of salt and Sichuan pepper.[3]
Traditionally this dish is eaten at night. It is also one of the traditional chicken dishes served at Chinese weddings and other Asian weddings.[2] [6]