A fantastic dish, with a restaurant-style flair but air fried rather than deep fried. A dry, savory coating for the chicken has a peppercorn zing and a hint of sweetness; and bell peppers and green onions balance this dish out nicely!
This dish takes some cues from my air fryer popcorn chicken recipe, which served as a baseline for this dish.
Ingredients for chili chicken
Chicken – Cut chicken (tenders, breast, or thighs) thinly and horizontally at an angle, into irregular slices, averaging about 1” in length and 1/4″ thick.
Chicken can easily dry out while air frying. Therefore, brining chicken in advance – to help lock in moisture – is highly desirable.
Tapioca flour – Chickpea flour can substitute for tapioca flour, but tapioca flour provides a nice, dry coating that complements the chicken.
Chili peppers – Use preferred chili peppers, chopped in half and deseeded without the stem. For dry chili peppers, rehydrate them for about 15-30 minutes in boiling or hot water; then chop in half and remove the seeds and stem if necessary.
Sichuan peppercorn powder – Optionally, for better taste, you can toast whole peppercorns over medium-low heat until fragrant – being careful not to burn them – before grinding them into a powder. A few possible methods for grinding: using a spice grinder, mortar and pestle, or sandwiched between parchment paper and crushed with a rolling pin.
Notes for making chili chicken
- Take care not to crowd chicken pieces in the air fryer. When heated tapioca flour becomes sticky, so any any chicken pieces not spaced apart will glue together.
- This recipe calls for using two parchment papers, labeled parchment paper #1 and parchment paper #2 in the recipe card.
- Parchment paper, as opposed to aluminum foil, is really instrumental for providing an easy release. Less chicken sticking to the parchment paper!
- Parchment paper #1 lines a tray that inserts into the air fryer. First round chicken pieces, that is chicken pieces air frying for the first time, are placed on this parchment paper.
- For parchment paper #2, I like to punch holes through for better air circulation before lining the air fryer basket that goes into the air fryer. Once the “first round” chicken pieces are done air frying, remove, flip and transfer each chicken piece to parchment paper #2; they are ready for a second round of air frying now!
- The seasoning mix is primarily for the stir-fry; a small fraction is used to season both sides of the chicken before air frying.
Chili Chicken
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Loading...A fantastic dish, with a restaurant-style flair but air fried rather than deep fried. A dry, savory coating for the chicken has a peppercorn zing and a hint of sweetness; and bell peppers and green onions balance this dish out nicely!
Ingredients
- ¾ lb. chicken sliced (read blog)
- Oil
- The chicken marinade:
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- 1/8 tsp salt
- For the coating:
- 1/3 cup tapioca flour
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp Sichuan peppercorn powder
- ¼ tsp sugar of choice
- For the seasoning:
- ½ tsp Sichuan peppercorn powder
- ½ tsp sugar of choice
- 1/8 tsp salt or to taste
- For the stir-fry:
- ½ bell pepper, any color, cut into triangles
- 3-5 chili peppers, deseeded (optional)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 slice ginger, minced
- 2 green onions (scallions), roughly diced
- Hot chili oil (optional)
- Equipment:
- 2 pieces parchment paper fitted for an air fryer
- Air fryer
- Air fryer tray
- Air fryer basket
Instructions
Marinate the chicken. Toss chicken pieces with soy sauce, white pepper and salt. Set aside.
Prepare the coating. In a shallow dish, mix together tapioca flour, salt, Sichuan peppercorn powder and sugar.
Assemble the seasoning. In a small bowl, combine Sichuan peppercorn powder, sugar and salt.
Prepare the parchment papers. Lay parchment paper #1 down over a removable air fryer tray. Sprinkle seasoning over parchment paper #1. Punch holes through parchment paper #2 for further air circulation (optional) and lay down over a removable air fryer basket.
Coat the chicken. Roll each chicken piece in the tapioca flower mixture and place on parchment paper #1. Take care to leave space between chicken pieces so they do not touch.
Baste or spray the tops of each chicken piece with oil. Sprinkle the tops of the pieces with seasoning. Air fry at 375 for 12 minutes.
Transfer and flip each chicken piece to the air fryer basket lined with parchment paper #2. Air fry at 400 F for 6 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Stir-fry the vegetables. In a skillet over medium-high heat with oil, add bell peppers and saute until softened. Turn heat to low and add ginger, garlic, chilis and green onions. Cook until fragrant. Add chicken back in. Toss with remaining seasoning and drizzle with chili oil. Taste to add further seasoning, chili oil or salt if necessary.
Notes
he seasoning mix is primarily for the stir-fry; a small fraction is used to season both sides of the chicken before air frying.
