Chinese Chicken Fingers Recipe: Crunchy and Fluffy Chicken Strips!
Chicken fingers or strips are popular around the world for their crispy crust and tender inside. When it comes to Chinese chicken fingers, the ingredients make a big difference in terms of taste. The Chinese recipe uses cornstarch to make the coating crispy.
For everyone who loves chicken fingers, here is the Chinese chicken fingers recipe. This authentic recipe needs only a few ingredients and a bit of your love to turn into a finger-licking goodness. I will share the detailed recipe with essential tips and tricks to make the chicken more flavorful. Let’s get started.
Table of Contents
Chinese Chicken Fingers Overview
These deep-fried chicken fingers have a considerably higher calorie count than other forms of chicken. So, you must check the following overview and be careful about the consumption.
| Cuisine: Chinese | Difficulty: Medium | ||
| Total Time: 40 minutes | |||
| Serving | Preparation Time | Cooking Time | Calories |
| 2 persons | 30 minutes | 10 minutes | 381 kcal |
Ingredients Needed for Chinese Chicken Fingers
As I have already mentioned, this recipe requires very few ingredients. All of these ingredients should be readily available in your kitchen. Check the following list.
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- Chicken: Two chicken breasts or about 400g of boneless chicken.
- Salt: ½ tsp
- Soy Sauce: 1 tbsp
- Oyster Sauce: 1 tbsp
- White Pepper: ½ tsp, freshly ground
- Cooking Wine: 1 tbsp
- Garlic: 1 tsp, minced
- Cornstarch: 1 cup
- Egg: 2 pcs. Use whole eggs
- Cooking Oil: 500g
- Salt and Pepper Parsley: 1 tsp, for garnish
Chinese Chicken Fingers Recipe: Step-By-Step Instructions
The marination greatly impacts the flavor of these chicken fingers. Let me show you each step of the marination and cooking process.
Step 1: Make Fingers from Chicken Breast
Take two chicken breasts and clean them thoroughly. Cut them into thin strips like fingers. Each strip shouldn’t be thicker than half an inch. Adjust the length according to your choice.
Step 2: Marinate the Fingers
Put the chicken fingers in a bowl. Sprinkle salt and freshly ground white pepper on them. Then, pour soy sauce, oyster sauce, and cooking wine. Add some minced garlic to the bowl.
Give the chicken fingers a nice massage so that the marinade is evenly spread. Marinate the fingers for about 20 minutes.
Step 3: Make Cornstarch Paste
Take about one cup of cornstarch in a small bowl and add two cracked eggs to the bowl. Stir them well until you get a smooth and creamy paste. Pour this mixture onto the chicken and coat the chicken fingers well.
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Massage the chicken a bit more after coating them as it will improve the texture of the fried fingers.
Step 4: Start Frying the Fingers
Heat oil in a pan. Add the chicken fingers to the hot oil one by one. While frying the chicken for the first time, keep the heat to 60%. The chicken inside should be cooked properly.
After about 3-4 minutes of frying, take the chicken fingers out and drain the oil.
Step 5: Double-Fry the Fingers
Turn the heat up and put the fried fingers again in the hot oil. Fry them for about 30 more seconds or until they have a golden brown crust. Then, take the fingers out. Let them rest on a wire rack so that the excess oil is drained.
Step 6: Garnish and Serve
You can serve these fingers directly with ketchup. For a bit more flavor, sprinkle some salt and pepper parsley.
Nutrition Facts of Chinese Chicken Fingers Recipe
Chinese chicken fingers are delicious but they are high in cholesterol. Watch out for the fat and cholesterol content of this recipe before you munch on too many fingers.
- Total Carbohydrates: 6g
- Protein: 19g
- Total Fat: 30g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 14g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 12g
- Trans Fat: 0.6g
- Total Dietary Fiber: 2.4g
- Total Sugar: 2.3g
- Cholesterol: 130mg
- Sodium: 545mg
- Potassium: 325mg
- Calcium: 34mg
- Iron: 0.9mg
- Vitamin A: 140IU
- Vitamin C: 0.9mg
Do’s and Don’ts of the Recipe
The following tips are based on my experience in making these chicken fingers that will help you cook better.
Do’s
- Make sure you are marinating the chicken for at least 20 minutes to let it absorb more flavor.
- Put a chopstick into the oil to see if it’s bubbling. If so, the oil is ready to fry the chicken.
Don’ts
- Never cook chicken fingers for too long. It dries out the chicken.
- Don’t fry the chicken on high heat during the first fry. It will color the outside before the chicken is properly cooked inside.
Chinese Chicken Fingers Recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Take two chicken breasts and clean them thoroughly. Cut them into thin strips like fingers. Each strip shouldn’t be thicker than half an inch. Adjust the length according to your choice.
- Put the chicken fingers in a bowl. Sprinkle salt and freshly ground white pepper on them. Then, pour soy sauce, oyster sauce, and cooking wine. Add some minced garlic to the bowl.
- Give the chicken fingers a nice massage so that the marinade is evenly spread. Marinate the fingers for about 20 minutes.
- Take about one cup of cornstarch in a small bowl and add two cracked eggs to the bowl. Stir them well until you get a smooth and creamy paste. Pour this mixture onto the chicken and coat the chicken fingers well.
- Massage the chicken a bit more after coating them as it will improve the texture of the fried fingers.
- Heat oil in a pan. Add the chicken fingers to the hot oil one by one. While frying the chicken for the first time, keep the heat to 60%. The chicken inside should be cooked properly.
- After about 3-4 minutes of frying, take the chicken fingers out and drain the oil.
- Turn the heat up and put the fried fingers again in the hot oil. Fry them for about 30 more seconds or until they have a golden brown crust. Then, take the fingers out. Let them rest on a wire rack so that the excess oil is drained.
- You can serve these fingers directly with ketchup. For a bit more flavor, sprinkle some salt and pepper parsley.
FAQs
You should also know the answers to some common questions about chicken fingers. Here you go.
What is the difference between Chinese chicken fingers and American chicken fingers?
The main difference is in the ingredients. Chinese chicken fingers are coated in cornstarch to give them an extra crunch. American chicken fingers are usually marinated with buttermilk, while the Chinese variant uses various sauces.
How can I make my Chinese chicken fingers more crispy?
Keeping the coating as thin as possible will help you make the chicken fingers crispier. A thick coating might result in chewy fingers.
What dipping sauce is the best for Chinese chicken fingers?
Ketchup is arguably the best dipping sauce for Chinese chicken fingers. However, it depends on your taste buds. You might find garlic mayo, or other dipping sauces tastier.
Why do Chinese chicken fingers look smoother?
The smoothness of Chinese chicken fingers comes from velveting the chicken. When you mix cornstarch and eggs with the chicken and massage the chicken for some time, the coating becomes super smooth. This results in the smooth texture of the chicken fingers.
Conclusion
Chinese chicken fingers are one of the most favorite snacks in my household. My kids love them so much that I have to make them at least once a week. I promise that your kids will love this Chinese chicken fingers recipe too. The coating is light and crispy and the inside is juicy.
Just a gentle reminder from me is you should moderate the amount of deep-fried foods your kids intake. The high cholesterol, fat, and sodium in chicken fingers can be harmful for your growing kids. As long as you are giving it to them as an occasional snack, you are all good.
