I still recall the first time I had this fried chicken at my aunt’s kitchen in Trinidad, topped with the juice of lime pepper sauce which had been marinating for a couple months. The succulent pieces of chicken was just outstanding with the drops of spicy sauce, but the crispy skin stole the show. It’s just one of those things (moments) which will forever be engraved in my memory. The recipe itself is very simple and even with minimal ingredients, the flavor really stands out.
You’ll Need…
1.5 cups light soy sauce
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 chicken (about 4 bs)
Vegetable oil for frying
Notes: You can add a 1/2 teaspoon of Chinese five spice powder to the marinade for extra flavor and a little finely chopped scotch bonnet pepper will add the “wickedness” to everything. You’ll also need the juice of a lime or lemon to wash the chicken.
Here’s a tip to know how much vegetable oil you’ll need for frying so you won’t have a dangerous mess with overflowing hot oil when you add the seasoned chicken to the pot. It will also help you determine how large a pot you’ll need. Place your chicken (before seasoning) into the pot you plan on using to fry, then using a measuring cup, pour in water until the chicken is covered. Be sure to write down how many cups of water it took to completely cover the chicken (this will be how much oil you will need). After covering the chicken with water, make sure there is about 3 inches of space before the rim of the pot. Since as you add the chicken to the hot oil it may rise and try to flow over.
Now remove the chicken and get ready to marinade.
Wash the chicken with cool water and lime or lemon juice, drain and pat dry with paper towels. Then place in a large zip lock bag and place the bagged chicken in a bowl which can fit in your fridge. So in the event of a leaky bag, you won’t have a mess in your fridge. All you have to do now is pour in the soy sauce and grate the ginger directly into the bag. Squeeze out as much air as you can as you seal the bag.. then massage the entire chicken so the marinade gets up-close and personal with the entire bird.
Allow the now seasoned chicken to marinate in the fridge overnight. The next day, remove from the fridge and allow to come back to room temperature as you heat the oil for frying (get it to about 325F). Using paper towels, dry off the chicken so we won’t have any liquid causing problems when we introduce it to the hot oil.
With my oil nice and hot (med/high flame) I gently added the chicken to it.
Depending on the size of your chicken, it can take between 40 and 50 minutes to cook all the way though and get you that lovely crispy skin. If you’re using chicken pieces, it should be fully cooked after about 25 minutes. I then placed the fried chicken to cool on a cooling rack in a baking tray. So the excess oil will drain into the tray.
Since we’re using soy sauce to marinate the chicken, you may find that the chicken may turn out to be a bit salty (why we went for light soy sauce). You can certainly rinse the chicken with cool water after marinating overnight to help with that, but the sort of salty base is what’s unique about this fried chicken.. get some Hoisin sauce and the sweetness will work as a good balance for the chicken. Don’t forget to have some good Caribbean pepper sauce ready as well.
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Would this work in an air fryer? Or even a turkey fryer.
Author
yes for both. I’ll do an airfryer version very soon.
thank you very much for this recipe. this chicken was a big hit. I did however added some trini hot sauce together with the marinade. it was awesome…..thanks again!!!!
Going to try your recipe tomorrow
can you do a recipe for curry chataigne chris?
Yes please do!
Looks delicious! Will try this weekend
Just want to say great work…I am reading a lot of yur recipes and almost all so far are spot on /w a little of my own changes things are fine….keep it up my brother.
This is my fav chicken recipe Chris!
This chicken recipe is so good it cannot be put into words. This has now become one of my favourite recipes. Easily the best chicken I have ever prepared and the recipe was easy to follow.
This site is so good it is unbelievable. Keep up the good work,
i love chinese chicken ,, thank you for this recipes i have to try this 🙂
haven't tried i yet (the recipe) but it is veru comprehensible. that's what i like abou your recipes they are very straight forward. thatnks going to try it soon.
Ive just finished serving this Chinese style chicken to the 'in-laws'. I added scotch bonnet to the seasoning for a little extra 'wickedness' & served with Thai chilli sauce. It definitely impressed!
This chicken has the taste and crispiness of the Aromatic duck we get in good Chinese restaurants. The soy sauce marinade gives it a moreish-ness that is literally finger lickin'.
I cooked mine for 50 mins… but next time will cook for less time as it was a little over dry. Other than that, it was Perfection on a plate, and so easy to make.
Thanks Chris. x
Hi Chris, I've done Chinese roast chicken before but not the fried. That looks realy scrumptious, I should be trying it soon
I tried your recipe using chicken wings and I must say it was delicious! Thank you so much
I've never done a chicken like this but my brother does something similar . I always think about what am I going to do with the oil after . We don't do a lot of fry foods either but I do know about that taste.I remember it also from my childhood.
Tried this simple recipe today. My favorite from now on, I did add a little tweak to mines in the marinade. But delicious
Bit heavy for my diet but I know someone who doesn't have that problem.
Thanks
Andy
P.S. Would you be so kind as to send me my login name and a new password to my e-mail address. I have so many for my job that I have clean forgotten what my Caribbeanpot Login is. Sorry!!
Chris….you make cooking so pleasureable
Lovely> Never knew you could fry a whole chicken. Will try it one of these days.