Asian fried chicken is one of the most famous around.
From the ubiquitous orange chicken, sesame chicken, or honey garlic chicken, to favorites like chicken karaage or Taiwanese popcorn chicken, it’s clear that the world loves all things Asian fried chicken. And, believe it or not, along with being quick and easy, air frying is one of the best ways to make any Asian fried chicken recipe period.
How does Asian fried chicken differ?
Asians love texture to a fault; it’s just a fact. I have a running joke that if I ask Steph how good a Chinese restaurant is, she will only describe their textures, like “they do really crispy fried chicken” or “they have really chewy noodles”. It is taken for granted that food tastes good.
Likewise with the wings, Asian fried chicken emphasizes texture. Sometimes this means crisp, but sometimes it also means “it used to be crunchy, but now it’s crunchy”. You have to taste it to understand it.
How to make the best fried chicken
Almost all Asian fried chicken is made the same way:
- First marinate the chicken (if it is not covered with sauce).
- It is then dredged in a coating of flour or starch and then fried
- Then brush on the sauce while it’s hot or sprinkle with seasonings, if needed.
It doesn’t matter if it’s Korean fried chicken or Thai fish sauce wings, the basic steps are the same.
Best Coating to Use for Fried Chicken: Potato Starch vs. Cornstarch vs. Flour
In most cases, we use potato starch or corn starch. Potato starch can be hard to find (although Amazon is now a thing, and Bob’s Red Mill carries it everywhere), but it produces the best, lightest, and freshest results. Cornstarch comes in a close second and you can get it anywhere. Sometimes, we will use rice flour or cake flour. If you really have nothing else, try to avoid all purpose or bread flour. The lower the gluten, the lighter and fresher the wings.
How to Make Asian Fried Chicken in an Air Fryer
The air beater is perfect for making light and crispy wings. The movement of the air fan allows for even cooking, while the lack of extraneous oil means you get a lighter end product. Here’s how you do it:
- We arrange and marinate the chicken (as desired). Salt and pepper your chicken and let sit for 5 minutes or so. If you’re making a chicken that calls for a marinade, do it now, too.
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Water produces steam and steam is our enemy now.
- chicken with light oil. This is to help promote tanning as well. You can/should use an oil spray for this, but you can also toss the chicken in 1 tablespoon of oil over high heat as well.
- Toss chicken in potato/cornstarch. I like to use a ziplock bag or, even better, a compostable produce bag.
- Air fry the chicken. Airbrush your fryer basket with oil using a spray bottle or brush. Then arrange the chicken in a single layer with at least 1/4” of space between each piece.
- Turn the chicken over. I don’t like the shaking method, I’ve found it’s best to just use tongs to flip the chicken so the other side is consistently even. Besides, you need tongs to get the chicken out anyway.
- Sauce or salt? Remove the chicken immediately so that a) it doesn’t overcook and b) the sauce or spice powder adheres better.
and that’s it, perfect Asian fried chicken, every time.
What can you do with this recipe?
- Vietnamese Fried Chicken: After frying, dust with our Vietnamese Chicken Seasoning (equal parts sugar, white pepper, onion powder and garlic powder).
- Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken: Toss with 1 teaspoon soy sauce, then marinate with 1 teaspoon white pepper and 1 teaspoon five spice. After browning, sprinkle with another 1 teaspoon of white pepper and 1 teaspoon of five spice.
- Korean Fried Chicken: After frying, brush with Korean spicy chicken sauce (1 tablespoon each of ketchup, gochujang, honey, brown sugar, and garlic, and half a teaspoon of soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, and grated ginger).
- Japanese Karaage Wings: Marinate them with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, sake, minced ginger and crushed garlic, as well as 1 teaspoon of sugar.
- Thai/Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings: After frying, coat with vinaigrette with our fish sauce (1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of lime juice, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 Thai chili).
- Orange Chicken: After frying, brush with our 5-Ingredient Orange Chicken Sauce (1/4 cup orange juice, soy sauce, sugar and rice vinegar, plus a tablespoon of cornstarch for thickening).
The list is endless!
Tips for the best fried chicken
- Always season your chicken
- Dry your chicken thoroughly, steam is the enemy of crispiness
- For maximum browning, you can brown the chicken twice by letting the chicken rest for 5 minutes after browning on both sides, then putting it back in for another 5 minutes.
Best Air Blown Asian Fried Chicken Wings
- 1 £ chicken wings
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 3 tablespoon corn starch
- salt and pepper
