Grandma’s Secret Taiwanese Crispy Chicken Breast
My Grandma’s Secret Taiwanese Crispy Chicken Breast is proof that chicken breast can be super super juicy and tender! Crispy outside, moist inside, with no deep frying at all! This easy, high protein chicken recipe is actually amazing for meal prep. I marinate a ton of this chicken at once, then simply coat and pan fry whenever I’m ready to eat! Trust me, if you’re craving Night Market XXL Chicken, this is a lighter alternative you can make easily at home!
Taiwanese Crispy Pan-Fried Chicken Breast
I love my grandma’s Crispy Pan-Fried Chicken Breast. In fact, I love it even more as an adult that trains and runs often. This easy chicken breast is a delicious source of lean proteins. Plus, it’s a great healthy alternative when I’m craving those deep fried XXL Taiwanese Night Market Chicken.
This is one of those simple Taiwanese home-cooking family recipes that proves chicken breast does not have to be dry. I’ve always wondered how my grandma makes this chicken breast so juicy, so flavorful, but look so simple. Now, I’m sharing the secret tips with you! We’ll go through everything, from slicing the chicken thin, to giving it time to marinate, to coating it in tapioca starch before pan-frying, in detail!
Crispy Chicken Breast Ingredients
- 3 large chicken breasts
- 2.5 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
- ½ tsp white pepper
- ½ cup tapioca starch for coating
- 3-4 tbsp oil for pan-frying
Preparing Chicken Breast
Chicken breast is low in fat, and super high in lean proteins. It’s a pretty great protein for those looking to build muscle, or simply increase protein intake in their diet. A single piece of chicken breast is pretty thick. In order to cook it fully and evenly, we are cutting it horizontally into 3 thin cutlets. If you find it too slippery or soft, I highly suggest freezing the chicken breast for about 15 minutes. Then, the meat becomes harder and much easier to cut.
Easy Chicken Marinade
To add some extra flavor, we use a simple but familiar Taiwanese marinade of oyster sauce, soy sauce, white pepper, and Chinese cooking wine. It has a rich, aromatic, slightly peppery savory flavor that’s simple, but super delicious. This marinade actually does more than just flavor. It’s actually the key to its juiciness. The salt content actually helps retain moisture in the meat! Plus, it adds more moisture to the surface, which helps the tapioca starch stick to the chicken better.
Getting The Crispiest Crust
The best part of the chicken is that crispy crust after pan frying. This crust protects the meat inside while frying, and keeps all the moisture in so the chicken stays juicy. We are coating the chicken today with tapioca starch. It is stickier than other starches and creates a gel like consistency that fries into a crackling shell. So, the crust comes out light and crispy.
The key to that perfect crispy Taiwanese-style crust is letting the chicken sit for 5 minutes after coating with tapioca starch. This helps the starch fully absorb the moisture and stay on better. Then, while pan frying, make sure leave the chicken alone. Disturbing it and moving it too much can mess up the crust forming.
How To Make Crispy Pan Fried Chicken Breast
- Prepare the chicken: Slice each chicken breast horizontally into 3 thin pieces. You should have around 9 thin pieces total.
- Marinate: In a bowl, add the chicken, oyster sauce, soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, and white pepper. Massage everything together until the chicken is evenly coated. Cover and let it marinate for at least 2 hours, or overnight for the best flavor.
Meal prep option: The marinated chicken can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days, making it perfect for quick meals throughout the week. - Coat the chicken: When ready to cook, take the chicken out of the fridge and coat each piece evenly with tapioca starch. Shake off any excess.
- Pan-fry: Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the chicken and pan-fry for about 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown, crispy, and fully cooked through.
- Serve: Enjoy with rice, noodles, veggies, or sliced over a salad bowl for an easy meal prep lunch.
Pair With More Taiwanese Recipes To Make This A Full Meal
Grandma’s Secret Taiwanese Crispy Chicken Breast
By Tiffy Cooks
Ingredients
- 3 large chicken breasts
- 2.5 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
- ½ tsp white pepper
- ½ cup tapioca starch for coating
- 3-4 tbsp oil for pan-frying
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken: Slice each chicken breast horizontally into 3 thin pieces. You should have around 9 thin pieces total.
- Marinate: In a bowl, add the chicken, oyster sauce, soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, and white pepper. Massage everything together until the chicken is evenly coated. Cover and let it marinate for at least 2 hours, or overnight for the best flavor.Meal prep option: The marinated chicken can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days, making it perfect for quick meals throughout the week.
- Coat the chicken: When ready to cook, take the chicken out of the fridge and coat each piece evenly with tapioca starch. Shake off any excess.
- Pan-fry: Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the chicken and pan-fry for about 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown, crispy, and fully cooked through.
- Serve: Enjoy with rice, noodles, veggies, or sliced over a salad bowl for an easy meal prep lunch.
Hi, can I air fry instead of pan fry? What sauce is good to pair with this chicken?
My picky eater loved this and even suggested dipping it in some Thai sweet chili sauce. I bet it would be good with a drizzle of Japanese bbq sauce too. This was so juicy and delicious, would 100% make again.
Not gonna lie, I’m a chicken hater and especially a chicken breast hater but this was so flavorful, tender, and super quick and easy. Love it
Holy crap for such an insanely simple recipe, this is severely delicious. I didn’t have tapioca starch on hand so I went with cornstarch. Didn’t have a lot of time for it to marinade- like minutes- but it still came out juicy and flavorful.