Ingredients
Units
Scale
Fried Chicken Pieces
- 3 lbs Chicken (cut into 1-inch size pieces. See notes 1 for options)
- Beer Batter Mix (See Notes 2 for details)
- 12–16 oz Light Colored Beer (like a golden Ale (See notes 3 for substitutes))
- Peanut Oil (Or vegetable oil for Frying)
Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Chinese cooking wine (AKA Shaoshing / Shaoxing wine (See notes 4 for substitutes))
- 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
- 2 1/4 cups orange marmalade ( or an 18 oz jar)
- 2 Tablespoons light soy sauce (see notes 5 for details on this)
- 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 3/4 cup chicken broth/stock
Topping
- 1 Tablespoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- beer batter Make the [wprm-ingredient text="Beer Batter Mix" uid="8"] in a medium-large bowl
- Chicken Add the [wprm-ingredient text="3 lbs Chicken" uid="7"], folding the batter over the chicken pieces until well coated.
- fry Drop a few pieces into the [wprm-ingredient text="Peanut Oil" uid="14"] (you want a single layer as the float, I would say no more than 8-10 pieces at a time so you don’t cool the oil down too fast), fry until golden brown and float.
- cool Take out and lay on a cooling rack.
- sauce Then make the sauce (See notes 6 for details): Heat [wprm-ingredient text="¾ cup chicken broth/stock" uid="1"], [wprm-ingredient text="sesame oil" uid="5"], [wprm-ingredient text="1 Tablespoon Chinese cooking wine" uid="0"], [wprm-ingredient text="rice wine vinegar" uid="2"], and [wprm-ingredient text="2 Tablespoons light soy sauce" uid="4"] in a pan on medium-high heat in a wok or skillet (I’ve used either) until boiling, add the [wprm-ingredient text="orange marmalade" uid="3"] and continue heating for about 2-3 min. It will start to thicken.
- sauce continued Ladle a good amount of liquid into a small bowl, add the cornstarch, and whisk together until all clumps are gone (see note 7 for details on this step). Add this creamy-looking liquid into the pan, and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until it thickens into a thick syrupy sauce. Remove the sauce immediately from the heat.
- toss in chicken Add the chicken into the wok/pan and toss until all pieces are completely coated.
- sesame seeds Transfer the chicken onto a platter/shallow bowl, and top with the [wprm-ingredient text="sesame seeds" uid="10"] of your choice.
- serve Serve with rice and veg of your choice (We like to put ours right on top, but you can have them in individual dishes).
Notes
- You can use breasts or thighs, just make sure they are boneless and skinless (otherwise, you will need to remove the bones and skin)
- My Beer Batter Mix is enough for all the chicken. If you choose store-bought, you’ll have to look at the cooking instructions and see how much meat (usually fish) is recommended. I find most boxes are for 1 pound, so you would need 3 boxes.
- If you don’t want to use beer you can use Mineral Water, Seltzer Water, N/A Beer, or even Plain Water (since I use baking powder, it will still create the lift for a puffy crunchy crust. However, the beer does add a wonderful taste to it, that you won’t get with water).
- If you can’t find Chinese Cooking Wine, you can use sherry or extra chicken broth/stock
- Light Soy Sauce is NOT low sodium or “lite”. It’s actually saltier than Soy Sauce and it is both saltier and thinner than Dark Soy Sauce.
- You can cook the sauce first and set it aside on warm until you’re done with the chicken. But honestly, the sauce doesn’t take long at all.
- This step is pivotal. If you don’t do it you’ll end up with white clumps and the sauce won’t thicken correctly.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner, lunch
- Cuisine: Chinese American
Nutrition
- Calories: 868
- Sugar: 111
- Sodium: 4275
- Fat: 10
- Saturated Fat: 2
- Carbohydrates: 136
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 61
- Cholesterol: 174