Fifteen ingredients and forty minutes. The batter is whisked in a bowl rather than dredged from a tray, which is what makes this coating puff rather than crag.
The glaze is made while the chicken drains, and the chicken is tossed in it just before serving. Any earlier and the crisp coating the recipe spends its first two steps building starts to soften.
Why This Recipe Works
- Equal flour and cornstarch give a batter that fries light rather than bready.
- Cold water keeps the batter from developing gluten and turning tough.
- 350 degrees is hot enough to set the coating before the inside dries out.
- A minute of simmering plus a cornstarch slurry turns a thin sauce dark and glossy.
- Tossing at the last moment is what keeps crisp chicken crisp under a wet glaze.
Ingredient Notes
- Flour and cornstarch, equal
- Half a cup of each. Equal parts is what makes this batter light; more flour would give something closer to a bread coating.
- Cold water
- A third of a cup, and cold specifically. It keeps the batter slack and stops it toughening as it is whisked.
- Cornstarch, in two places
- Half a cup in the batter and a teaspoon in the slurry. The same ingredient making a coating crisp and a sauce glossy.
- Cooked white rice
- Four cups, and the chicken is served over it. It is named in the recipe and visible under the chicken in the finished bowl.
How to Make It
Whisk a thick wet batter
Whisk flour, cornstarch, egg, cold water, and salt into a thick batter. Coat chicken pieces well.
Fry at 350F to 165F
Fry in 350 degree Fahrenheit oil until crisp, deep golden, and the chicken reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Drain on a rack.
Simmer and gloss the sauce
Simmer honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and garlic 1 minute. Stir in cornstarch slurry until the sauce turns glossy and dark.
Toss just before serving
Toss fried chicken in the glaze just before serving and scatter heavily with sesame seeds and scallion.
Over white rice
Serve over white rice.
Three Stages, and the Order Is the Recipe
Everything here is arranged around one fact: a fried coating and a wet glaze are enemies, and the only way to serve both is to keep them apart until the last possible second.
Stage 1 of 3
The batter - wet, and cold
Steps 1–1 of 5
1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup CORNSTARCH whisked with 1 egg, 1/3 cup COLD water and 1/2 tsp salt into a thick batter, and 1 1/2 lb of bite-size breast coated well in it. Equal flour and cornstarch fries light rather than bready; the water is cold because a slack, undeveloped batter puffs where a worked one turns tough. This is a wet batter, not a dry dredge - and that is what defines the dish.
- Whisk a thick wet batterWhisk flour, cornstarch, egg, cold water, and salt into a thick batter. Coat chicken pieces well.
Stage 2 of 3
The fry - 350F to 165F
Steps 2–2 of 5
Until crisp, deep golden and 165F in the thickest pieces, then drained on a RACK. The rack rather than paper: a battered piece resting on absorbent paper steams its own underside soft within a minute, and the whole point of the next stage is that the coating is still crisp when it gets there.
- Fry at 350F to 165FFry in 350 degree Fahrenheit oil until crisp, deep golden, and the chicken reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Drain on a rack.
Stage 3 of 3
The glaze - made during, tossed after
Steps 3–5 of 5
1/3 cup honey, 3 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp rice vinegar and 1 garlic clove simmered 1 minute, then 1 tsp of cornstarch slaked in 1 tbsp water stirred in until glossy and dark. Made while the chicken drains, and the chicken TOSSED IN IT JUST BEFORE SERVING - the recipe's own words. Then 2 tbsp sesame seeds and 3 sliced scallions scattered heavily, over 4 cups of white rice.
- Simmer and gloss the sauceSimmer honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and garlic 1 minute. Stir in cornstarch slurry until the sauce turns glossy and dark.
- Toss just before servingToss fried chicken in the glaze just before serving and scatter heavily with sesame seeds and scallion.
- Over white riceServe over white rice.
Success Tips
- Keep the water cold and stop whisking once the batter is smooth.
- Drain on a rack so the underside does not sit in its own steam.
- Make the glaze while the chicken drains, and toss at the last possible moment.
Serving Ideas
Four white bowls, the crisp battered chicken in its glossy dark glaze over a bed of white rice, scattered heavily with white sesame seeds and sliced green scallion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a dredge or a batter?
A wet batter — flour and cornstarch whisked with egg and cold water. The chicken is coated in it rather than rolled through a dry mix.
Why did my coating go soft?
Usually the glaze went on too early. Toss just before serving; a crisp coating in a wet sauce has a short life.
Is the rice part of the recipe?
Yes — four cups of cooked white rice are in the ingredient list and the chicken is served over it.
