Salt and Pepper Chicken

5 from 2 votes

Homemade salt and pepper chicken, a delicious Chinese-style takeaway that you can easily make at home (with frying and baking instructions).

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Course: Poultry

Cuisine: Chinese

Servings:

Calories: 522kcal

Author: Adina

Slice the onion and the garlic. Cut the green onions into thin rings. Deseed the peppers and slice them as well. Set aside until ready to cook.
½ onion + 4 garlic cloves + 3 green onions + ½ red bell pepper + 1 long green chili

Cut the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces and season it.
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs/ 900 g + each ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt and pepper
Batter: Mix cornstarch, salt, pepper, and Chinese five-spice powder in a large bowl.
⅓ cup cornstarch + ¾ tablespoon fine sea salt + ¾ tablespoon ground black pepper + ¾ tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder
Heat the oil in a pan, wok, or skillet (Note 2).
1 cup vegetable oil/ 230 ml
Batter chicken: When the oil is hot, place ½ of the chicken pieces into the bowl with the cornstarch and spices and toss until coated.
Fry chicken: Immediately and carefully place them into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes, moving the pieces a few times in between. Check if the meat is cooked through by cutting a piece in the middle. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on kitchen paper towels to remove the excess fat.
Repeat with the second batch, only coating the chicken pieces with cornstarch just before adding to the frying pan.
Stir fry vegetables: Pour away all the fat from the pan, keeping only about 2 tablespoons of it. Add the vegetables and stir fry for about 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper, and mix well.
Combine: Mix with the chicken pieces and serve.

Preheat the oven to 350°F/ 180°C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Mix salt, pepper, and Chinese five-spice powder in a large bowl.
1 tablespoon vegetable oil + ¾ tablespoon fine sea salt + ¾ tablespoon ground black pepper + ¾ tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder
Cut the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces. Toss with the oil, add to the bowl and toss to coat with the spices. Place on the baking sheet.
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs/ 900 g
Bake for 10 minutes.
Broil: Place under the grill (or turn on the oven grill) and grill for about 2-3 minutes to make the chicken crispier. Keep an eye on the grill, the chicken should not get too dark.
Cook vegetables: While the chicken bakes, prepare the vegetables and stir-fry them in a large pan with 1-2 tablespoons oil.
Mix the chicken and veggies and serve.

Basically, the same ingredients without the cornstarch. I've tried both versions; the oven-baked chicken tastes better without the cornstarch.
Oil temperature: Make sure the oil has the right temperature for frying, about 355°F/ 180°C. You can also check by frying a cube of bread, if it takes about 10-15 seconds to get brown then the oil has the right temperature.
The nutrition for the fried chicken is calculated considering only 4 tablespoons of oil, as you will discard most of the frying oil anyway. The nutrition calculation is only an approximation. The oven-baked chicken has about 420 calories per serving.