Last Updated on February 9, 2024 by Carne Diem
Protein: 
Origin: Taiwan, Asian
Method: Skillet or Deep Fryer
Jump to RecipeThese spicy Sichuan style fried chicken breasts are famous in the night markets in Taipei and Taiwan. This Taiwanese Night Market Chicken is perfectly crispy and seasoned and one of our favorite street foods in the world.
Table of contents
Background of Taiwanese Night Market Chicken
One of the greatest things about visiting Asian countries is paying a visit to their local markets. Of these, night markets are by far the most popular and date back to the Tang dynasty around 800 AD. These markets are filled with great shopping ranging from mass produced trinkets, to one of a kind hand made items. Our favorite reason to visit the markets, however, is for the street food. A couple of my favorite night markets are the Shilin Night Market and Raohe Night Market in Taipei. They are amongst the most popular night markets in Taiwan, and for good reason.
It was here that I discovered one of my all time favorite street foods: Taiwanese Night Market Chicken. These chicken breasts are pounded thin, breaded and fried. They are typically seasoned with a spicy pepper mix and some are topped with various sauces. We love the simple pepper spiced version. The blend of peppercorns adds the perfect touch of heat and the Sichuan peppercorns add the classic numbing effect found in many Sichuan dishes.
Preparing the Spicy Taiwanese Night Market Chicken
Make the Spice Seasoning Mix
Prepare the pepper seasoning by grinding the black peppercorns and the Sichuan peppercorns into a fine powder using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder. It is ok if there are still some larger pieces as long as they are cracked, so that they can release their flavor. Sichuan peppercorns are becoming more common now, but if your grocery does not carry them you can typically find them at an Asian market, and they are almost always a lot cheaper there.
Next, add in the salt, white pepper, and chili powder and mix well. Measure out and reserve 1 tablespoon of the spice mix to use in the marinade.
Prepare the chicken breasts
Butterfly the chicken breast by turning them over and finding the natural separation line of the breast. Using a knife, trim back the chicken in each direction, making sure you do not cut all of the way through the chicken breast. This is best accomplished by putting your knife at a 45 degree angle and then making a shallow cut from the base to the top of the chicken. Repeat the process on the other side of the midline. If done correctly, the chicken should open up like a tri-leaf pamphlet.
If you have one, use a Jaccard on the chicken breast to tenderize it. You can read more about a Jaccard here and why we love it. It is a great tool for providing juicy, tender chicken, especially when frying. If you do not have one, it is not a big a deal with this recipe because the chicken is thin enough that the texture should be fine either way.
To further tenderize and flatten the chicken breasts, place a piece of parchment paper over the chicken and pound with a meat mallet until the chicken is very thin. Again take care not to tear any holes in the chicken.
Marinade the chicken
Prepare and combine the marinade ingredients in a 1 gallon bag or a medium sized bowl. Mix thoroughly to combine all of the marinade ingredients.
Place the chicken breasts in the marinade and let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes to 2 hours. Again, the chicken is pretty thin and it takes up the marinade quickly, so there is no need to go any longer than 2 hours.
Coating the Taiwanese Night Market Chicken
When you are ready to cook, remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible.
Beat the eggs with 2 tablespoons of water and set aside.
Prepare 1 large plate with the beaten eggs and another plate with the flour mixture. We like to use a flour mixture containing 1 cup of potato starch and half a cup of all purpose flour, or equal parts potato starch and rice flour. The potato starch does not contain gluten so you will get lighter coating.
The coating also does not tend to brown as much as American fried chicken that uses regular flour. We have found that the addition of a small amount of all purpose flour helps add a bit of browning to the chicken, without compromising on the light texture of the coating.
First, dredge the chicken through the flour and shake of any excess. Then, dip the chicken in the egg mixture, followed by the flour mixture again. Make certain all of the nooks and crannies of the breast are covered. Shake off the excess gently, and then place the chicken in the hot oil.
Frying the chicken
Heat your oil in a wok or frying pan, over medium heat. We like to add a few dashes of chili oil to the wok as well for a little extra heat.
Cook the chicken for about 2-2.5 minutes per side, and until the internal temp of the chicken is at least 165 degrees. Note, the potato starch is not going to brown as deeply as regular flour, so do not expect it to look like traditional fried chicken at this point.
When the chicken is done cooking, remove it to a paper towel lined plate and season liberally with the pepper seasoning. Allow the fried chicken to sit for a couple minutes before digging in.
Traditionally, this is served as a handheld, wrapped in some paper so you can continue enjoying the market. Feel free to enjoy this juicy piece of heaven any way you wish.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave us a comment and a like below, and don't forget to tell your friends about us. Sharing is caring!
Looking for more chicken recipes? Check out our Poultry page. For more great Taiwanese and other Asian recipes check our some of our favorites:
- Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup with Smoked Beef
- Thai Holy Basil Stir Fry: Pad Krapow
- Flat Top Chicken Fried Rice
- Korean Corn Dogs: Gamja Dog
- Grilled Tiger Cry Beef
Frequently Asked Questions
The night market fried chicken has more of a numbing spicy due to the Sichuan peppercorns, but is not overly spicy. If you want to kick up the heat, add a bit of cayenne pepper to the seasoning mix as desired.
The fried chicken should be cooked to 165 degrees for food safety.
If you can't find potato starch cornstarch, tapioca starch, arrowroot powder, rice flour, or coconut flour make good substitutes. We find a mixture of cornstarch and rice flour works well.
Thank you for taking the time to visit our blog. If you tried and enjoyed our recipe, please share with others and please leave us a comment and review. We also love to see your pics so don’t forget to tag us @Carne_Diem_Culinary or #CarneDiemBlog. To be notified of future recipes please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest, or sign up for our e-mail notifications. Until next time, Carne Diem!
📖 Recipe
Taiwanese Night Market Fried Chicken
Equipment
- Skillet or deep fryer
Ingredients
- 2 Large Chicken Breasts
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Cup Potato Starch
- ½ Cup All Purpose Flour or Rice Flour
- Avocado, Canola, or Vegetable Oil for frying
- Chili Oil
Pepper Seasoning
- 1 Tablespoon Sea Salt
- 2 teaspoon Chili Powder
- 1.5 teaspoon Sichuan Peppercorns
- 1.5 teaspoon Black Peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon White Pepper
Marinade
- 2 Tablespoon Finely Diced Ginger
- 1 Large Garlic Clove minced
- 2 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Mirin
- ½ teaspoon Potato Starch
- 1 Tablespoon Pepper Seasoning
- ½ teaspoon Chinese 5 Spice
Instructions
Seasoning Mix
- Prepare the pepper seasoning by grinding the peppercorns into a fine powder using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder. Then add the remaining spice ingredients and mix well. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the mix for the marinade.
Prepare the chicken
- Butterfly the chicken breast by turning them over and finding the natural separation line of the breast, then using a knife trim back the chicken in each direction, making sure you do not cut all of the way through the chicken breast. This is best accomplished by putting your knife at a 45 degree angle and then making a shallow cut from the base to the top of the chicken. Repeat the process on the other side of the midline. If done correctly, the chicken should open up like a tri-leaf pamphlet.
- If you have one, use a Jaccard on the chicken breast to tenderize it. It is a great tool for providing juicy tender chicken, especially when frying. If you do not have one, it is not a big a deal with the recipe because the chicken is thin enough, that the texture should be fine either way.
- Place a piece of parchment paper over the chicken and pound with a meat mallet until the chicken is very thin, but again take care not to tear any holes in the chicken.
Marinade
- In a 1 gallon bag combine all of the marinade ingredients.
- Place the chicken breasts in the marinade and let sit in the fridge for 30 minutes to 2 hours. The chicken is pretty thin and it takes up the marinade quickly, so no need to go any longer than 2 hours.
- When you are ready to cook, remove the chicken from the marinade and pat it dry with paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible.
Cook the chicken
- Prepare a wok or pan with your frying oil and if you would like to kick it up a notch, some chili fire oil. Start heating up the oil at a medium temperature.
- Beat the eggs with 2 Tablespoons of water.Prepare 1 large plate with the flour mixture (potato starch and flour) and another plate with the egg.
- Dredge the chicken through the flour mixture, then shake of any excess. Then dip the chicken in the egg, and then followed by the flour mixture again. Make certain all of the nooks and crannies of the breast are covered. Shake off the excess gently, and then place the chicken in the hot oil.
- Cook the chicken for about 2-2.5 minutes per side, and until the internal temp of the chicken is at least 165 degrees. Note the potato starch is not going to brown as deeply as regular flour, so do not expect it to look like traditional fried chicken at this point.
- Remove the chicken to a paper towel lined plate and season liberally with the pepper seasoning. Allow to sit for a couple minutes before digging in.
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