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Filipino Street-Style chicken is a crispy, umami fried chicken popular amongst street vendors in the Philippines!
Ingredients and Substitutions
*The Recipe Card below includes all the full measurements for these ingredients!
Chicken: Go for chicken quarters, thighs, or legs for their tender dark meat! You may also use wings for this recipe, just adjust the cooking time accordingly since they’ll cook much faster. Chicken breasts or tenders may also be used as leaner options.
Marinade: The marinade is composed of fish sauce, liquid seasoning, calamansi juice, garlic and onion powder, sugar, and egg whites. It’s a fairly concentrated marinade, which will allow it to permeate the chicken and make it flavorful throughout. Fish sauce can be replaced with either soy sauce or salt. Liquid seasoning may also be replaced with equal parts soy sauce. Calamansi juice can be substituted with equal parts lemon or lime juice.
Cornstarch and Flour: Using a higher ratio of starch to flour gives a lighter crunch to the fried chicken.
Baking powder: A small amount of baking powder will help to produce tiny air pockets that will make our coating light and crisp! You may choose to omit this ingredient without overly altering the overall taste/texture if you’d like.
Annatto powder: This helps with giving the fried chicken a reddish/orange hue once fried. You can substitute this with turmeric or omit it entirely.
Instructions
*The Recipe Card below includes all the full detailed instructions!
Start by marinating the chicken for at least 1 hour to overnight.
Coat the marinated chicken in the prepared coating mix.
Fry the chicken in batches until golden and cooked all the way through.
Cooking Tips
Maintain proper oil temperature: Standard oil frying temperature hovers at around 350 F. Maintaining this during frying is crucial to ensure a crisp outcome! Try to avoid frying too many chicken at once, as it can drop the temperature of the oil which can cause the chicken to become soggy.
Marinate for at least 1 hour, but no longer than 24 hours: To maximize flavor, it’s ideal to let your chicken marinate for at least an hour or more. Avoid letting the chicken sit in the marinade for longer than a day, as the calamansi and salts may begin to break down the chicken and change its overall texture.
Add extra spices to your marinade: To spice things up a little, feel free to add extra spices or sauces that you see fit to the marinade. You can add anything from five spice, white pepper, paprika, chili powder, oregano, or even thyme.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
What do I serve this with?
Filipino-style fried chicken is typically served with rice on the side, along with freshly sliced vegetables, and a vinegar-based dip known as a sawsawan.
How do I store leftovers?
Leftover fried chicken should be good for up 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. To reheat, I’d recommend either oven roasting or air frying at around 325-350 F to allow the inside to be warmed while keeping the skin crisp!
What is “Street-Style”?
Street-style or “Kanto-style” refers to the fried chicken sold by street vendors in the Philippines. It uses a combination of fish sauce, liquid seasoning, and calamansi as part of the marinade, utilizing the everyday pantry ingredients accessible to Filipinos to season the chicken.
Looking for more tasty street food recipes? Here’s a couple that you might enjoy:
Filipino Street-Style Fried Chicken
3-4
servingsFilipino Street-Style chicken is a crispy, umami fried chicken popular amongst street vendors in the Philippines!
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Ingredients
1 kg chicken quarters, with slits cut on the meat
Neutral oil, for deep frying (vegetable, canola, or peanut can work)
- Marinade
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tbsp calamansi juice (may also use lemon or lime juice)
1 large egg white
2 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp liquid seasoning (may also use soy sauce)
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- Coating Mix
1 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp annatto powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
Directions
- In a large bowl, combine together all the ingredients for the marinade. Mix well to achieve a thin, paint-like batter consistency. Add in the chicken, ensuring each piece is coated well, then cover, and let marinate for at least 1 hour to overnight.
- When ready to fry, combine all the ingredients together for the coating in a large bowl, stirring well to combine. Coat the marinated chicken pieces in the coating mix, packing it well to ensure maximum coverage.
- Fry the coated chicken pieces in batches until the outside is golden and cooked all the way through. Set aside to cool on a wire rack.
*Standard frying temperatures range from anywhere between 325-350 F. If planning to do a double-fry for extra crispiness, let your chicken rest for at least 15 minutes after the first fry, then briefly fry your chicken again in oil heated to 375-400 F until golden brown.
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
What’s your sawsawan recipe?
Hi Camille, apologies for the late reply, but I have it live now on my website! It’s linked in this blog post or you can just search up “sawsawan” in the wesbsite’s search bar 🙂