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]
Course | Main dishes |
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Place of origin | China |
Region or state | Hong Kong, Guangdong |
Main ingredients | Chicken |
Crispy fried chicken | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 炸子雞 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 炸子鸡 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Hanyu Pinyin | zhàzǐjī | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Jyutping | zaa3zi2gai1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Literal meaning | fried chicken | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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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
editReferences
edit- ^ 39World. "39World.com Archived 2009-07-17 at the Wayback Machine." 炸子鸡. Retrieved on 2008-11-19.
- ^ a b Guangzhou Cuisine Archived 2009-01-08 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
- ^ a b Fessler, Stella Lau (1982). Chinese Poultry Cooking. New American Library. p. 50. ISBN 0-452-25365-9.
- ^ The Same Restaurant Twice Archived 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
- ^ Pictorial Recipe: Cantonese Fried Chicken (炸子雞) Archived 2011-07-10 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
- ^ Macau Wedding Packages - Chinese Wedding Dinner Menus Archived 2009-04-13 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2009-10-20.