A recipe for Ji Pai (Taiwanese Fried Chicken Steak)! Large, flat pieces of chicken are marinated in a sweet and salty soy sauce mixture, coated in flour/sweet potato flour, and fried until golden and crispy.
Ji Pai (Dà jī pái, 大雞排) are huge, flat pieces of fried chicken from Taiwan. They are popular as a street food with vendors selling pieces nearly 12 inches wide. Chicken breasts are pounded until they are the size of a steak, coated in flour/egg/sweet potato flour, then deep-fried until crisp.
Before frying, the Ji Pai are marinated in a sweet and salty soy sauce mixture. It is best to let the chicken refrigerate 6 hours to overnight, but 30 minutes will work in a pinch. Right before serving, I sprinkled the Ji Pai with a seasoned salt and pepper mixture. I paired the chicken with fries, but you can also slice the pieces into thin strips and serve alongside a salad and rice.
Even though I fried the chicken twice (the second fry is only for 10 seconds to help seal in the flavor), this chicken wasn’t greasy. It has a crisp coating while the chicken inside remains tender and juicy.
I made a finishing powder with salt, black and white peppers, and five spice powder. There are a few other variations that I have come across. Some even include ground dried plums or sugar. Feel free to add a little more five spice powder if you want that flavor to shine through.
Taiwan Duck has a video on her site of how to prepare Ji Pai. She also butterflies one large chicken breast to create a huge flat piece instead of slicing it in half like I did.
Sweet potato flour (camote/kamote flour, sweet potato starch) is made by drying sweet potatoes and grinding them into a powder. The resulting flour is gluten-free and adds a slight sweetness. The color of the powder ranges from orange to beige.
You can find sweet potato flour in international markets featuring South American or Southeast Asian ingredients or in health food stores (particularly those with a gluten-free section). I haven’t attempted it yet, but you can make your own. If you are unable to locate it, substitute with cornstarch.
Looking for more fried chicken recipes?
Try
Ji Pai (Taiwanese Fried Chicken Steak) Recipe
Adapted from Taiwan Duck and Ang Sarap
Ji Pai (Taiwanese Fried Chicken Steak)
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice wine
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon five spice powder
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
- Vegetable oil for frying
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sweet potato flour
Salt and Pepper Powder:
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon ground white pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon five spice powder
Instructions
- Slice each chicken breast horizontally through the middle to form two thin halves. Pound each of the halves until thin and wide, about 1/4 inch thick.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, five spice powder, white pepper, baking soda, garlic, and sesame oil. Add the pounded chicken pieces, turning to coat. Cover and refrigerate 6 hours to overnight.
- Pour oil into a wide saucepan at least 2 inches deep. Place over medium heat to 350˚F. Spread the flour over one plate. In a wide bowl, beat together the eggs. On another plate, spread out the sweet potato flour. Line another plate with a towel.
- Take one of the chicken pieces out of the bowl, allowing the excess marinade to drip off. Coat both sides in the flour, then the egg. Allow the excess egg to drip off, then coat in the sweet potato flour.
- Gently transfer the chicken to the heated oil. Fry until golden, then flip and fry the other side until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a towel-lined plate and repeat with remaining chicken.
- Once the chicken pieces are fried, make sure the oil is thoroughly heated and fry each piece again for 10 seconds. Remove from oil and drain on towel.
To make the Salt and Pepper Powder:
- In a small bowl, mix together the salt, black pepper, white pepper, and five spice powder. Sprinkle over hot chicken and serve immediately.
sue | theviewfromgreatisland
Wow, what a unique recipe —and I love that I can make it with ingredients I already have!
maria @closetohome
those look as good as anything you can get at a restaurant.
peter @Feed Your Soul Too
Tara, I so enjoy visiting your blog to see what you come up with next. This is a new recipe for sure and an interesting one to sink my teeth into.
Annemarie @ justalittlebitofbacon
Awesome! Sweet potato flour is something I’ll have to search out. I love the idea of a different, gluten free coating for frying.
Renz
I have a recipe from an old magazine saved for this for so long and never tried it. Yours looks really good and has much more seasonings (which I prefer). Pinning this
lk529
Nicely done!
Amber
Supremely delicious, and a HUGE success with my partner and his fam—despite an issue with my thermometer (only later realized my oil was overly hot yikes) & it being my first time following this recipe. Just as satisfying as what those ji pai night market stalls whip up in TW!
Notes: I finely hand ground my ground black pepper & coarse sea salt put my spice/salt topping in a salt shaker—helped make it easy/quick to sprinkle. Did chicken thighs (super juicy) & several pressed x-firm tofu slices for variety. Served with a light veggie soup to help w/ digestion. Also used ~1/3 less tamari instead of the full qty soy sauce I’m the marinade, and wouldn’t have wanted it saltier since there’s salt in the topping (I used ~1/3 less salt in the topping too). Without paper towels & to be resourceful I used the inside of brown paper grocery bags (with the bottom cut off) for draining the fried food. Big thumbs up. Craving satisfied, heart and stomach full. Hope to cook it for my parents sometime; I bet it’ll be nostalgic for them. Thank you!
Tara
Hi Amber! Thank you so much! Now I am craving this all over again. Will definitely have to make again soon.