Fried Chicken Cutlet
Taiwan is a sucker for industry sponsored food spectacles. We have beef noodle soup competitions, a milkfish museum, and, in 2026, Taiwan's Council of Agriculture decided they were going to host a food festival centered around fried chicken cutlets, a popular night market snack. As part of the initiative, they decided to track down the first known person to sell the dish. So they parsed through chicken wholesale orders over the decades and eventually found a woman known as Auntie Zheng in Taipei, who, according to the records, has been selling the dish for more than 30 years. Auntie Zheng's stall started out at the outskirts of a military village, where she sold cheap sandwiches and hamburgers to residents, but she eventually pivoted to deep-fried chicken breasts when she realized it was a cheaper cut of meat. In Taiwan, juicy morsels of dark meat are usually preferred over white meat because they are much moister; chicken breast is considered a unwanted cut because it has a tendency to dry out. However, Auntie Zheng found out that deep-frying helped the breast retain its moisture, and thus an icon was born.
Ingredients
- 2boneless chicken breasts, butterflied, about 1 pound in total weight
- 2 tablespoonsHEYDOH Classic Soy Sauce
- 1 tablespoonTaiwanese rice wine or cooking wine
- 2garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoonswhite sugar
- 0.5 teaspoonfine sea salt
- 0.5 teaspoonground white pepper
- 0.25 teaspoonfive spice powder
- 2 tablespoonsall purpose flour
- 0.25 teaspoonbaking powder
- 6 cupscanola or soybean oil
- 1 cupthick sweet potato starch
- 0.5 teaspoonchili powder, any type
- 0.5 teaspoonground white pepper
- 0.25 teaspoonfine sea salt
Instructions
- 1
MAKE THE CHICKEN: With a meat mallet, pound the chicken breasts so that they are about 1/2 inch (1cm) thick. In a large bowl, combine the chicken breasts, soy sauce, rice wine, garlic, sugar, salt, white pepper and five spice powder, and massage the marinade into the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- 2
In a small bowl, combine the all purpose flour and baking powder (if using), and mix thoroughly. Add it to the chicken marinade, massaging it into the chicken so that everything is thoroughly mixed together.
- 3
In a wok set over medium high heat, warm the oil until it reaches 350F (175C) on an instant-read thermometer.
- 4
Place the thick sweet potato starch on a plate and, working in batches, press the chicken into the starch until both sides are fully coated. Shake off the excess starch.
- 5
Working with one chicken breast at a time, gently slide a chicken breast into the hot oil and cook until light golden brown, turning it over often so both sides are completely submerged., 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oil with tongs, and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate or a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet to drain. Skim off and discard any leftover crumbs in the oil with the ladle. Repeat with the remaining chicken breast.
- 6
Increase the temperature of the oil to 375F (190C) over medium-high hear again and slide in a fried chicken breast. Fry until the chicken is golden brown and until the thickest part of the meat registers 160F (70C), about 2 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a paper towel-lined plate or a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet to drain again. To check if the chicken is done, pierce one with a chopstick; the juice that runs out should be clear. Repeat with remaining chicken.
- 7
SEASON THE CHICKEN: While the chicken is still hot, season with the chili powder, white pepper and salt, adding more of each if you would like. Enjoy immediately.