Malaysian
Salted Egg Chicken
Deep-fry cornflour-coated chicken thigh until crisp, then toss it in mashed salted egg yolks foamed in butter with garlic, bird's eye chilli and curry leaves; about 50 minutes for 4.
Salted egg chicken is a modern Malaysian Chinese favourite: crisp fried pieces of chicken thigh coated in a sandy, frothy sauce of mashed salted egg yolks cooked in butter with garlic, bird's eye chilli and crackling curry leaves. It is rich, salty and fragrant, and best eaten straight from the wok with plain rice. Cook the yolk sauce over low heat so it foams instead of turning grainy and dry.
- Serves 4
- Prep: 25 min
- Cook: 25 min
- Total: 50 min
- Cuisine: Malaysian Chinese
Ingredients
Chicken
- 500 g boneless chicken thigh, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 1 egg white
- 80 g cornflour, for coating
- 750 ml cooking oil, for deep-frying
Salted egg sauce
- 4 salted egg yolks, from salted duck eggs
- 30 g butter
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 3 bird's eye chillies (cili padi), sliced
- 3 sprigs curry leaves, leaves picked
- 60 ml evaporated milk
- 1 tsp sugar
Method
- If the salted egg yolks are raw, steam them for 10 minutes until firm. Mash the cooked yolks with a fork into fine crumbs.
- Toss the chicken with the soy sauce, sugar, pepper and egg white and leave it for 15 minutes. Toss it in the cornflour until every piece is coated, then shake off the excess.
- Heat the oil in a wok to 170°C (340°F). Fry the chicken in 2 batches for 5 to 6 minutes each, until golden and cooked through, and drain on a rack. Heat the oil to 190°C (375°F) and fry all the chicken again for 1 minute until crisp. Drain well.
- Pour the oil out of the wok and wipe it. Melt the butter over low heat, add the garlic, chillies and curry leaves and fry for 1 minute until the leaves are crisp.
- Add the mashed yolks and stir for 2 minutes until they foam and look sandy. Stir in the evaporated milk and sugar and cook for 30 seconds until thick and bubbling.
- Add the chicken and toss over low heat until every piece is coated. Serve at once with steamed rice.
Tips
- Salted eggs: buy cooked salted duck eggs at Asian grocers or wet markets. Use the leftover whites in steamed egg or fried rice.
- Drier style: leave out the evaporated milk for a dry, crumbly coating that clings to the chicken.
- Prawns: use 500 g large prawns, shell on or peeled, and fry them for 2 minutes in step 3.
- Heat: the sauce burns easily. Keep the heat low from step 4 onwards and take the wok off the heat if the yolks start to brown.
Questions
Where can I buy salted egg yolks?
Cooked salted duck eggs are sold at Asian grocers and wet markets. Raw salted eggs or yolks are also sold; steam them for 10 minutes before mashing.
Why is my salted egg sauce dry instead of frothy?
The heat was too high or the yolks were not mashed finely enough. Mash them into fine crumbs and cook them in the butter over low heat until they foam.
Can I make salted egg chicken in an air fryer?
Yes. Air-fry the coated chicken at 200°C for about 14 minutes, turning once, then toss it in the sauce made in the wok.
What can I do with the leftover salted egg whites?
Use them in steamed egg, fried rice or congee. They are salty, so add little or no other salt.
Is this salted egg chicken halal?
The recipe is pork-free and lists no alcohol. It is not halal-certified: use halal-certified chicken and check that the soy sauce, butter and evaporated milk carry halal certification.
A Dada Cooking original recipe. Quantities are metric first, with US amounts in brackets.