ramyaramesh3007This vegan fried ‘chicken’ street snack is crispy, addictive, dusted with spices and tossed with crisp basil leaves – it’s so popular in Taiwan for a reason!
Taiwanese fried chicken, also known as “Taiwanese popcorn chicken” or “salt and pepper chicken” emerged in Taiwan recently and quickly became a popular street food and night market staple!
The dish typically consists of bite-sized pieces of chicken (in this recipe, we’re using beancurd skin) often marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, shaoxing wine and various spices, then coated in a flour mixture before being deep-fried until crispy. It’s often served with a dusting of seasoning, such as salt, pepper, or a blend of spices, adding a savoury and aromatic flavour.
In this recipe, we use frozen beancurd skin to get a layered texture. This dish is entirely vegan and gluten free as we’ll be using tapioca starch to fry off the bites. Remember to use gluten free soy sauce!
What Ingredients Do I Need?
- frozen beancurd skin – thaw the beancurd skin overnight and thaw in microwave for about 2 minutes. Squeeze out and drain excess water.
- light soy sauce and shaoxing wine – to marinate the tofu
- 5-spice powder – a blend of spices like star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns and fennel seeds
- white pepper – has a more milder and smoother flavour compared to black pepper
- corn starch
- tapioca starch
- thai basil leaves
Vegan Taiwanese Fried ‘Chicken’
Ingredients
- 4-5 pieces large beancurd skin you can use smaller pieces or 300g tofu as well
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce gluten free
- 2 tbsp shaoxing wine
- 2 tsp 5-spice powder
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 1 cup tapioca starch
- 1 tsp black salt
- 1 cup thai basil leaves
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine soy sauce, shaoxing wine, five-spice powder, white pepper, salt and corn starch. Add the beancurd skin pieces to the marinade and mix until well coated.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 4 hours – overnight for best flavour.
- In a shallow dish or bowl, add tapioca starch. Heat oil in a pan.
- Remove the marinated beancurd from the refrigerator. Dredge each piece of beancurd skin 'chicken' in the flour mixture until evenly coated, shaking off any excess flour.
- Carefully lower the pieces into the hot oil, in batches, to avoid overcrowding the fryer. Fry for 5-6 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through, stirring occasionally for even cooking.
- Toss in basil leaves and fry until crisp. Ensure basil leaves are as dry as possible and beware of any oil splattering.
- Once cooked, use a slotted spoon or spider strainer to remove the beancurd skin from the oil and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain excess oil.
- Add fried basil leaves for extra flavour. Enjoy!