{"id":27309,"title":"Universal Popcorn chicken batter","modified":"2025-02-06T11:37:42+01:00","plain":"A Chinese technique\n\n\n\nMy favorite recipes? General tao's chicken, sweet and sour beef, sweet and sour pork (lots of Chinese crispy chicken, yes, I love it, don't judge me).  \n\n\n\nIf you're interested in Chinese cuisine in any way, you'll find that many recipes follow the same procedure: deep-frying followed by a sauce.  \n\n\n\nDelicious crispy Chinese chicken deliciously topped with sweet and sour sauce just can't be described to someone who's never tasted it.  \n\n\n\nHoney chicken, a favorite.  \n\n\n\nHaving said that, in Chinese cooking, \"Fry 1 until lightly browned, then fry 2 until golden brown\" is actually hidden under frying...  Why?\n\n\n\nIt's all about the crunch\n\n\n\nBasic breadcrumbs are made from salt, cornstarch, wheat flour and baking powder. The latter is what gives the nuggets their \"puffed\" appearance.   \n\n\n\nWheat flour adds consistency and cornstarch adds crunch, so it's the latter that we'll be basing ourselves on at the end of this article, when I'll unveil my universal batter recipe. With it, you can make crispy chicken, crispy beef, etc., whatever you like!  \n\n\n\nA magnificent orange chicken\n\n\n\nWhen first fried, the water around the fried ingredient migrates outwards, softening the breadcrumbs.  \n\n\n\nOnce in a sauce, and an acidic one at that, the sauce will tend to detach... so you'll end up with pieces of breadcrumbs and meat \"naked\" in a sauce. No doubt very tasty, but nothing like what we want. \n\n\n\nNot very appetizing, is it? Well, it is, but far from the desired effect. \n\n\n\nThat's why Chinese and other Asian cuisines use double frying! Think of it this way: The first pass forms a preliminary crust, and when cooled, the water migrates to the crust.   \n\n\n\nFrying a second time will vaporize this water and resolidify the crust, this time for good!  \n\n\n\nVery light yellow fritters when first fried\n\n\n\nUniversal frying batter\n\n\n\nNow you know the reasons for double-frying.  \n\n\n\nBut there are other factors at play, such as the ratio of cornstarch to wheat flour, and the length of time the sauce is put in.  \n\n\n\nSauces with a \"sour\" component will soften the breadcrumbs over time... so it's important that the breadcrumbs are made of solid ingredients to last!  \n\n\n\nDespite the highly acidic sauce, General Tao's chicken will remain crispy.\n\n\n\nAs the cornstarch provides the crunch, we'd be tempted to simply dip the meat in and fry.  \n\n\n\nThat's what a lot of recipes do, because it's simple and effective! There's nothing wrong with it, it's very good.   But we can do better.\n\n\n\nHere's an exclusive recipe for a universal batter that, when combined with double-frying, will stay crisp for hours!\n\n\n\nThe recipe for my universal batter\n\n\n\n\n6 tablespoons cornstarch\n\n\n\n6 tablespoons wheat flour\n\n\n\n16 tablespoons cold water: thermal shock improves crispness\n\n\n\n0.5 teaspoon baking powder for \"General Tao's chicken\", use 1 teaspoon for \"honey chicken\".\n\n\n\n1 pinch salt\n\n\n\n\n\nHoney chicken with 1 teaspoon baking powder\n\n\n\n\n\nGeneral tso's chicken with 1\/2 teaspoon baking powder\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\tUniversal popcorn chicken batter\n\t\t\n\t\tA universal batter recipe suitable for all Asian fried foods\t\n\t\n\t\tAsian fryer\t\n\t\n\t\t6 tablespoons cornstarch6 tablespoons wheat flour16 tablespoons cold water0.5 teaspoon baking powder (use 1 for a fuller look)1 pinch salt\t\n\t\n\t\tMix until smooth and homogeneous. It should have the consistency of thick cream. Add flour if necessary. \t\n\t\n\t\t\nCold water creates a thermal shock with the oil, improving crispness.\nThe dough should have a thick yoghurt\/cream consistency. If it's too runny, add flour. \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\tAsianbatter, breadcrumbs, meat frittersMa\u00efzena, Sans sucre","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27309\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}