Taiwanese Fried Chicken Baos (Gua Bao) | Recipe

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⚠️ HOT STAR TAKE: the Taiwanese spin on Popeye’s chicken sandwich: gua bao (fluffy steamed buns) + Taiwanese fried chicken. Recipe is also on our YouTube channel!

Crispy Taiwanese fried chicken tossed with five spice, white pepper, sichuan peppercorns with fried basil and sage, doubanjiang, Japanese mayonnaise aioli + sage honey all wrapped in a pillowy mantou bun. This is still one of my favorite things I’ve ever made, and the dish combo you didn’t know you needed!

Taiwanese fried chicken speciality comes from its basil and honey flavor and in having a lighter batter of potato starch. You can find these classic Taiwanese street flavors at night-markets or places like Hot Star (Found in LA as well!).

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 package gua bao - you can find these at an asian or international grocery store

chicken marinade:

You can find gua bao in the frozen or refrigerated section of an asian or international grocery store!

• 4-5 chicken thighs, cut into large small pieces to fit into the gua bao buns

• 2 tbsp shao xing wine

• 1 tsp five spice

• 1/2 tsp white pepper

• 1/2 tsp ginger powder

• 1 tbsp soy sauce

• 1.5 tsp sugar

• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced

• 3 slices ginger, minced

batter up:

• 1 cup potato starch

• 1/4 cup cornstarch

• 1/4 cup tempura batter mix

• 1 whisked egg

fry baby:

• 1 cup basil leaves

• 2 stalks of sage

• canola oil or other high frying neutral oil

it’s a toss up:

• 1/2 tsp five spice

• 1/4 tsp white pepper

• 1/2 tsp ginger powder

• 1/4 tsp chili powder

• pinch of ground sichuan peppercorns (optional)

• ichimi togarashi to taste

• salt to taste

get saucy:

• 1 tbsp japanese mayonnaise

• 1/2 tbsp doubanjiang - spicy bean paste

• 2 tbsp honey

• 3-4 sage leaves

let’s cook:

1. Cut your chicken thighs & marinate your chicken for at least 25 minutes.

2. Mix your starches + tempura batter mix together in a bowl or plate, you can also season these with a bit of white pepper, five spice, salt + ginger powder if you want some extra flavor in the batter!

3. Whisk 1 egg in a separate plate/bowl.

4. Dip your chicken in the whisked egg until all sides are covered, then dip it into the starch mixture until evenly coated. Lay your starched chicken onto a separate plate, taking care to not stack them (as they will stick together and it will make the batter uneven).

5. Heat a wok or non stick pan with a tbsp of oil on medium low heat. Once hot, add in your basil + sage for 30 seconds, then quickly remove from heat, set aside & let cool.

6. Turn your wok to medium heat + add additional oil to your wok so your chicken pieces will be submerged in the oil. Cook your chicken in batches to make sure that it is not overcrowded in the wok.
   *If the wok surface gets murky from the batter, rinse the wok off and add in new oil so all of your chicken is an even, golden brown color.

7. Once your chicken is golden, remove from the wok and let cool on cooling racks.

8. Toss the fried chicken with fried basil, sage & spices.

9. To make your sauces; for the doubanjiang aioli — mix doubanjiang & japanese mayonnaise together. For the sage honey; simmer honey on low heat in a pan with a few sage leaves until it bubbles. let the honey cool in the fridge.

10. steam your gua bao per package directions, smear some aioli on the bun, throw in the fried chicken, fried sage + basil and drizzle the sage honey on top and enjoy that hard work!!