Kat's 9 Lives

Here is a rare time for my home cooking. Ever since college my parents have always made me make the Taiwanese Style Salt & Pepper Chicken. It might not be your traditional recipe and I never use a recipe so it has changed throughout the years. Each batch is different, but always crowd pleasing. This year I had already bought a small fryer in preparation for holiday dishes. Since I don't keep a recipe, it's really hard for me to share the measurements... but I can give you a short list of ingredients that I use for the most part. Of course certain things I use on a whim are privy only to myself. I like to Iron Chef things by creating food solely on my sense of taste and smell.
Ingredients:
Marinade: Salt & Pepper, both Black & White Pepper, Corn Starch, Soy Sauce, Chinese Cooking Wine (Xao Xing Giao), Sugar (I use fake sugar since my parents are diabetic), Garlic, Sesame Oil, Vinegar
Breading: Salt & Pepper, both kinds, Potato Powder, Sugar
Most of my cooking doesn't take long to marinade for it to pop in flavor, but I still like to let it sit for a little bit so that the flavor can be soaked in. When you are ready to eat, heat up the oil slowly so that you can maintain the temperature. I usually do this by feel but now that I have that little machine it's a little easier to control the temperature. Start breading and put them on a plate until you are ready to fry them. Be sure to only put one piece in to fry the first time to see if the oil is at the right temperature. If it begins to fry immediately when you put in this piece then it's ready for a whole batch. I recommend using a paper towel on the plate to soak the excess oil and season the freshly fried pieces with Salt & White Pepper to taste. Then Voilà! ^_^ Bon Appétit!