Recipe

May 5, 2026

Double-spiced Fried Chicken

Recipe: Donna Hay

“I like to start preparing this dangerously good fried chicken the night before, so all that’s left to do after a perfect beach day is a quick coating and cook up!” — Donna Hay

Ingredients

Marinade

  • 2½ tbsp Sichuan peppercorns or white peppercorns
  • ½ teaspoon chilli powder
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 4- to-5”-piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 2 tbsp firmly packed brown sugar
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • ¼ cup water, plus about 100 mL

Fried Chicken

  • 8 chicken thigh fillets, trimmed
  • Vegetable oil, for frying
  • 1½ cups fine rice flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder

Lime Mayo

  • ½ cup whole-egg mayonnaise
  • 1 tbsp lime juice

For Garnish

  • 1 tsp sea salt flakes
  • Cilantro leaves
  • Lime wedges
  • Sliced long red chilli or crispy chilli oil

Directions

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

Marinate Chicken

  1. Place peppercorns in small frying pan over medium heat and toast for 2 to 3 minutes or until fragrant. Place peppercorns and chilli powder in small food processor and process until very finely chopped. Remove ½ teaspoon of peppercorn mix and set aside.
  2. Add garlic and ginger to food processor and process until chopped. Add sugar, soy, vinegar and ¼ cup water and process to combine.
  3. Place chicken in large non-reactive bowl made from glass or stainless steel, add peppercorn mixture and mix to combine. Cover and allow to marinate in fridge for 6 hours or overnight.

Fry Chicken

  1. Fill large saucepan with 2½” of oil and place over medium heat until temperature reaches 347°F on deep-frying thermometer.
  2. While oil is heating, combine rice flour and baking powder. Add to chicken and mix to combine, adding enough extra water to create thick batter.
  3. In batches, deep-fry chicken for 7 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Drain on absorbent kitchen paper.

Make Lime Mayo

  1. To make the Lime Mayo, combine the mayonnaise and lime juice.

Serve

  1. Place chicken onto serving platter. Combine salt and reserved peppercorn mix and sprinkle over. Serve with Lime Mayo, cilantro, lime wedges and chilli.
Source:

Photography © Chris Court and Con Poulos. From Sunshine, Lemons, and Sea Salt by Donna Hay (HarperOne)