Food & Receipts

Salted Crispy Chicken: A Culinary Masterpiece for the Home Chef

If you had the pleasure of tasting a Shanghai-style fried chicken, you couldn't forget its mind-blowing taste.

Administrator

3 May, 2024

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Here’s how to cook a delicious, tantalizing dish of salt-crusted fried chicken:

How to choose the best chicken

To choose the best chicken for this dish, ensure it’s hygienically raised by keeping a few things in mind:

Avoid very large chickens, as their meat tends to be tough and less flavorful. Ideal chickens weigh between 1.5-2 kg.
Examine the meat’s color when purchasing. Good chicken has a light pink hue, thin, smooth skin with a pale yellow color, and some parts like the wings, breast, and back may have a deeper yellow color.
Fresh chicken has a distinctive aroma; avoid any chicken with an off or foul smell.
Gently press the meat; if it feels mushy, soft, or lacks elasticity, it may be injected with water.
Another way to identify good quality chicken is to check its neck; observe it closely. If it appears glossy, has no blood clots, and has no small red bumps, it indicates a healthy, tasty chicken.

Ingredients for the salt-crusted fried chicken

1kg free-range chicken
1 egg
1 small bowl of cornstarch
5 kaffir lime leaves
10 lemongrass stalks
Seasonings: Fish sauce, black pepper, salt, cooking oil

Ingredients for the salt crust

1 small bowl of glutinous rice
1 small bowl of regular rice
1 teaspoon peeled mung beans
1 teaspoon white salt

Cooking instructions

Step 1: Preparing the ingredients

Crack the egg into a bowl, separating the egg white.
Rinse the chicken, then rub it with vinegar and salt to remove any unpleasant odor; rinse again and cut it into bite-sized pieces.
Once the chicken is prepared, marinate it in a bowl with 1/2 teaspoon of MSG, 2 teaspoons of fish sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, and the egg yolk; mix well.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it marinate for about 30 minutes, allowing the flavors to absorb.
Peel the ginger, rinse it, smash it, and slice it into thin strips.
Rinse the lemongrass, cut it into long pieces, then shred it. Clean the kaffir lime leaves and chop them finely.

Step 2: Making the salt crust for the chicken

Rinse the glutinous rice, regular rice, and mung beans thoroughly, keeping each type separate, and soak them in water for about 20 minutes to soften.
Next, roast each ingredient in a pan until cooked through; toast the mung beans until they turn golden brown and have an appealing aroma.
After roasting the glutinous rice, regular rice, and mung beans, grind them in a blender until they form a fine powder.
Put the white salt in a pan and dry-roast it, then crush it into small pieces.
In a bowl, combine all the roasted ingredients and mix them well.

Step 3: Cooking the salt-crusted chicken

Place a pan on the stove and add 3 tablespoons of cooking oil. Note: It’s recommended to use a deep, non-stick pan for easier frying.
Pour the cornstarch into a bowl, coat each chicken piece with the cornstarch.
Once the oil is hot, add the cornstarch-coated chicken pieces and fry until golden brown, then remove them.
Add the lemongrass, ginger, and kaffir lime leaves to the pan and fry until crispy; remove them and place them on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb any excess oil.
Finally, place a dry pan on the stove, add the fried chicken, along with the salt crust mixture and the lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves; stir continuously for about 3-5 minutes, then turn off the heat. For those who prefer a spicier dish, add chili peppers, fry them, and mix them with the chicken, giving the dish an extra kick.

Step 4: Presentation and serving

Once you’ve completed the steps for making salt-crusted fried chicken, arrange the chicken on a plate and garnish it to make it visually appealing.
The salt-crusted fried chicken tastes even better when dipped in chili sauce. The dish has an attractive golden color with a light golden crust around each chicken piece.
When you take a bite, you’ll experience a burst of flavors, from the rich saltiness to the aromatic roasted rice powder combined with mung beans, all complemented by the crispy texture of the cornstarch-coated chicken.

The completed salt-crusted fried chicken

These are the steps involved in cooking a delicious and tantalizing salt-crusted fried chicken.

Frequently asked questions

For the chicken:

1kg free-range chicken
1 egg
Cornstarch (small bowl)
5 kaffir lime leaves
10 stalks of lemongrass
Seasonings: Fish sauce, black pepper, salt, cooking oil

For the salt crust:

Glutinous rice (small bowl)
Regular rice (small bowl)
1 teaspoon peeled mung beans
1 teaspoon white salt

Step 1: Prepare the ingredients

Separate the egg white and yolk, keeping the yolk for the marinade.
Rinse and prepare the chicken, rubbing it with vinegar and salt to remove any odors. Cut into bite-sized pieces.
Marinate the chicken with MSG, fish sauce, black pepper, and egg yolk for 30 minutes.
Peel, rinse, and slice the ginger into thin strips.
Rinse and shred the lemongrass, and finely chop the kaffir lime leaves.

Step 2: Make the salt crust

Rinse and soak the glutinous rice, regular rice, and mung beans separately for 20 minutes.
Roast each ingredient until cooked, especially the mung beans which should be golden brown and aromatic.
Grind the roasted ingredients into a fine powder.
Dry-roast and crush the white salt.
Combine all the roasted ingredients in a bowl.

Step 3: Cook the chicken

Heat a deep, non-stick pan with 3 tablespoons of cooking oil.
Coat each piece of chicken with cornstarch before frying until golden brown.
Fry the lemongrass, ginger, and kaffir lime leaves until crispy. Drain on paper towels.
In a dry pan, combine the fried chicken, salt crust mixture, and fried herbs. Stir continuously for 3-5 minutes, adding chili peppers for extra spice if desired.

Step 4: Serve

Arrange the chicken on a plate and garnish. This dish is best served with chili sauce for dipping. Enjoy the burst of flavors and the crispy texture of the chicken!