Crispy fried chicken (simplified Chinese: 炸子鸡; traditional Chinese: 炸子雞) 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]

Crispy fried chicken
CourseMain dishes
Place of originChina
Region or stateHong Kong, Guangdong
Main ingredientsChicken
Crispy fried chicken
Traditional Chinese炸子雞
Simplified Chinese炸子鸡
Hanyu Pinyinzhàzǐjī
Jyutpingzaa3zi2gai1
Literal meaningfried chicken
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinzhàzǐjī
Bopomofoㄓㄚˋ ㄗˇ ㄐㄧ
IPA[ʈʂâ tsɹ̩̀ tɕí]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanizationjajígāi
Jyutpingzaa3zi2gai1
IPA[tsāːtsǐːkɐ́i]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJtsà-tsí-ke

The dish is often served with two side dishes, a pepper salt (椒鹽) and prawn crackers (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]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ 39World. "39World.com Archived 2009-07-17 at the Wayback Machine." 炸子鸡. Retrieved on 2008-11-19.
  2. ^ a b Guangzhou Cuisine Archived 2009-01-08 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  3. ^ a b Fessler, Stella Lau (1982). Chinese Poultry Cooking. New American Library. p. 50. ISBN 0-452-25365-9.
  4. ^ The Same Restaurant Twice Archived 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  5. ^ Pictorial Recipe: Cantonese Fried Chicken (炸子雞) Archived 2011-07-10 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  6. ^ Macau Wedding Packages - Chinese Wedding Dinner Menus Archived 2009-04-13 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2009-10-20.