Salt and Pepper Chicken with Chips

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• The chicken stays crisp even after being tossed with the vegetables.
• Fresh chilli gives it proper heat without needing a heavy sauce.
• Chunky onions and green peppers add sweetness and a little bite.
• The homemade chips are thick, golden and fluffy inside.
• The sweet chilli dip cools everything down.
• It feels like a proper takeaway dinner, but fresher and much less greasy.

Ingredients

For the chicken

• 600g boneless chicken thighs, cut into chunky pieces
• 3 tablespoons cornflour
• 3 tablespoons plain flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice
• 1 egg
• Vegetable oil, for frying

For the pepper and onion mixture

• 1 large onion, cut into chunky pieces
• 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 3 spring onions, sliced diagonally
• 2 fresh red chillies, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

For the chunky chips

• 900g floury potatoes
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Salt, to taste

For the sweet chilli dip

• 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• Pinch of chilli flakes

Start With the Chips

I would get the potatoes going first because the chicken cooks fairly quickly once you start frying.

Cut the potatoes into thick wedges rather than skinny fries.

Some can be slightly bigger than others.

They do not need to look machine-cut.

That slightly irregular shape gives you a mix of really dark edges and softer golden sides.

Instructions

1. Prepare the chips

• Heat the oven to 220°C, or 200°C fan.
• Cut the potatoes into chunky wedges.
• Add them to a saucepan of salted water.
• Bring to the boil and simmer for around 6 to 7 minutes.
• Drain well.
• Leave them in the colander for a couple of minutes so the steam can escape.
• Tip them onto a baking tray.
• Drizzle with the vegetable oil.
• Season generously with salt.
• Toss everything together.
• Roast for around 35 to 45 minutes, turning once or twice, until deeply golden.

I like some of the edges quite dark.

The middle should still be soft and fluffy when you break one open.

2. Season the chicken

• Put the chicken pieces into a large bowl.
• Add the salt, black pepper, garlic powder and five-spice.
• Crack in the egg.
• Mix until the chicken is evenly coated.
• Add the cornflour and plain flour.
• Toss again until you have a rough, slightly uneven coating around each piece.

Do not worry if the coating looks a bit messy.

That is actually what you want.

The rough bits become the crispiest parts once they hit the oil.

3. Fry the chicken

• Heat a few centimetres of vegetable oil in a deep frying pan.
• Once the oil is hot, add the chicken in batches.
• Fry for around 5 to 6 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces.
• Turn them occasionally.
• Cook until the coating is deep golden and the chicken is cooked through.
• Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper.

Do not pile all the chicken into the oil at once.

The temperature will drop and instead of crisp chicken you will get pale, oily chicken.

Nobody wants that.

4. Cook the onions and peppers

• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large wok or frying pan.
• Add the onion.
• Stir-fry over fairly high heat for about 2 minutes.
• Add the green pepper.
• Cook for another minute.
• Add the garlic, spring onions and fresh chilli.
• Sprinkle over the chilli flakes, salt and black pepper.
• Stir-fry for another minute.

The onion should soften around the edges but still have some bite.

The green pepper and spring onions should stay bright rather than cooking down completely.

5. Add the chicken

• Add the fried chicken straight into the pan with the vegetables.
• Drizzle over the soy sauce and sesame oil.
• Toss everything quickly for about 30 seconds.
• Remove from the heat.

Keep this part quick.

You are not trying to simmer the chicken in sauce.

You only want enough seasoning to coat everything while keeping that crunchy outside.

6. Make the dipping sauce

• Add the mayonnaise to a small bowl.
• Stir in the sweet chilli sauce.
• Add the lime juice.
• Sprinkle over a few chilli flakes.
• Mix until smooth.

You can add a little more sweet chilli sauce if you want it sweeter.

I like it creamy with enough chilli running through it to still have a kick.

7. Serve

• Pile the chunky chips onto one side of the plate.
• Add the crispy salt and pepper chicken beside them.
• Make sure plenty of onion, green pepper, spring onion and chilli goes over the chicken.
• Add the sweet chilli dip in a small bowl on the side.

Serve immediately.

This dinner really does not improve by sitting around for twenty minutes.

The chicken and chips are both at their best while they are still piping hot and crisp.

 

How to Keep the Chicken Crispy

There are two things that make the biggest difference.

First, do not crowd the frying oil.

Second, do not leave the cooked chicken sitting in the vegetables for ages.

The vegetables release moisture as they cook.

If the chicken sits there too long, that crisp coating eventually softens.

Cook the vegetables first, throw the chicken in at the very end, toss everything together and get it onto the plate.

Easy.

Chicken Breast or Thigh?

I prefer thighs for this.

They stay juicy and can handle the high heat of frying really well.

Chicken breast works too, but I would cut it into slightly smaller pieces and keep a close eye on it.

Dry salt and pepper chicken is very disappointing.

The outside should be crunchy, but the centre still needs to be juicy.

How Spicy Is It?

It depends almost entirely on your chillies.

Fresh red chillies can range from fairly mild to surprisingly aggressive.

I normally use two and keep the seeds in because I actually want some heat here.

If you prefer it milder, remove the seeds or use one chilli.

You can always put extra chilli flakes on the table.

The Chunky Chips

These are not delicate fries.

They should be thick enough to have a fluffy potato centre.

Parboiling first gives them that soft middle, then roasting at a high temperature gets the outside golden.

If you have an air fryer, you can absolutely use it.

Cook the parboiled wedges at around 200°C for 20 to 25 minutes, giving the basket a good shake a couple of times.

Make It Even More Takeaway-Style

If you want the full Friday-night situation, add:

• Prawn crackers
• Egg fried rice
• Curry sauce
• Extra sweet chilli sauce
• Salt and pepper spring rolls

Personally, chicken, chunky chips and the dip are already plenty for me.

Especially once you start dipping the chips into that sweet chilli mayo.

Storage

Salt and pepper chicken is definitely best fresh.

If you do have leftovers, keep them in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Reheat the chicken in an air fryer or hot oven.

Avoid the microwave if possible because the coating goes soft very quickly.

The chips can be reheated the same way.

Keep the dipping sauce refrigerated and use it within a couple of days.

Q&A

Can I make this in an air fryer?

Yes.

Coat the chicken as directed, spray generously with oil and air fry at around 200°C until golden and completely cooked through.

It will not be identical to fried chicken, but it will still be good.

Can I leave out the five-spice?

Yes.

The flavour will be slightly different, but the chicken still works with garlic, salt and plenty of black pepper.

Can I use red bell pepper instead of green?

You can, although green pepper gives a slightly sharper flavour that works especially well here.

Why has my chicken gone soggy?

It was probably either fried at too low a temperature or left sitting with the vegetables too long.

Keep the oil hot and toss everything together right before serving.

Can I make the dip without mayonnaise?

Yes.

Mix sweet chilli sauce with Greek yogurt instead.

It will be lighter and slightly tangier.

Final Thoughts

This is exactly how I want salt and pepper chicken served.

Big crispy pieces of chicken, not tiny scraps.

Loads of onions, green pepper, spring onion and chilli caught between them.

Then thick golden chips taking up the other half of the plate and a little pot of creamy sweet chilli sauce sitting right there for dipping.

It is salty, hot, crunchy and a bit messy.

Basically, all the reasons I wanted to make it in the first place.