Crunchy Fried Chicken w/ Salt and Pepper Seasoning

In a blender cup, add 2 cloves of garlic, 1 slice of ginger, 1 piece of white part of scallion, 2.5 tbsp of soy sauce, 1.5 tsp of salt, 2 tsp of 13-spice powder (can be substitute with five-spice powder, curry powder), 1.5 oz of apple, 1.5 tbsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Blend everything into a puree. And that is our marinade.

Marinate 2 lb of chicken wings in a sealable bag. Massage them to make sure all the pieces are coated with that delicious sauce. Squeeze out the air and seal the bag. Let it sit in the fridge overnight.

Make the Jiao Yan - Chinese salt and pepper. If you want a short cut, you can use regular salt and pepper. Toast 2 tbsp of sea salt, 2 tbsp of Sichuan peppercorns, 1 tbsp of white peppercorn in a cast-iron skillet on low heat for a few minutes. Use a spice blender to grind everything into a fine powder. Jiao Yan is a popular seasoning that we use to put on all kind of fried food, such as squid, shrimp, fish chip, potato wedges, anything that is deep-fried and crispy, you can use this.

The next day, in a mixing bowl, combine the following ingredients: 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup of corn starch, 2.5 tsp of baking powder, 2 tsp of 13-spice powder, and 1 tsp of salt.

Coat the chicken wings with the flour-cornstarch mix. Chill for 15 minutes before deep frying so the flour and the starch will have enough time to bond together. If you fry them immediately, the coating will fake off which not only affects the final texture of the chicken wings but also ruins the quality of the oil.

Bring the oil to 350 F. Keep the heat at medium or medium-low. Deep fry the chicken for 6-8 minutes. Take it out and let the chicken rest for 10 minutes. If possible, fry the chicken in 2 -3 batches. If you dump all the chicken in once, it will drop the temperature a lot. Then you end up fry the chicken in a very low heat which could take twice as long for them to be cooked through. By that time, most of the moisture inside the chicken is evaporated and they won’t be as juicy as they can be.

Bring the oil temperature to 390 F. Double fry the chicken wings for 1-2 minutes. Take them out. Serve with the Chinese salt and pepper that we made or your favorite hot sauce. Enjoy.