The Cozy Cookbook is here! These homemade Chinese chicken fingers are JUST like from a restaurant. Crispy and golden on the outside and filled with juicy chicken on the inside. Perfect with sweet and sour sauce!
Be sure to try my Crispy Crab Rangoon and Chicken Fried Rice!
Okay. I have a question for you guys. It’s about Chinese Chicken Fingers. (Go figure.)
…Do they have Chicken Fingers like this on the Chinese food menu by you? (And if I may, where are you from?)
I’m beginning to wonder if this is a regional thing, because if it is, then you’re going to have to move to New Hampshire.
The thick, golden brown batter is so crunchy and satisfying, I don’t even know how I managed to take a picture of these without just dropping my camera and mowing them down. (It wasn’t easy.)
The secret to these guys is in the self rising flour.
Self Rising Flour vs. All Purpose Flour
- Self rising flour contains a leavening agent that helps make baked goods rise. It’s often used to make biscuits and other fluffy baked goods.
Homemade Self Rising Flour
- 1 + 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt for each cup of flour.
Try These Next!
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- Sweet and Sour Chicken
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- Crab Rangoon
-
- Firecracker Chicken
-
- Chicken Fried Rice
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- Chinese Chicken Salad
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- Beef and Broccoli
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Chinese Chicken Fingers
Ingredients
- 2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup self-rising flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 cup Seltzer water
- 1 quart canola oil
Instructions
- Sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl and mix them until well-combined.
- Slowly add the seltzer water and mix until well combined. The batter should be slightly thicker than pancake batter. If needed, add more seltzer water or flour to adjust the consistency.
- Cut the chicken into strips and sprinkle with salt.
- Dunk the chicken into the batter, ensure each piece is thoroughly covered.
- Carefully lower the chicken into a preheated deep fryer and cook for about 10 minutes, until golden brown. They will be white for a while before they turn brown and start to look like real chicken fingers, have faith and be patient. You want that rich gold color! Serve warm, with sweet and sour sauce.
Notes
You'll need an oil thermometer if you’re not using a Deep fryer. Bring the heat up slowly until the oil is between 350 and 375 degrees F.
Be sure to try my Popcorn Chicken recipe next!
Nutrition
So I stumbled upon this recipe while trying to find a good Chinese chicken finger recipe to go with the fried rice I was making for tonight’s dinner. And YES, let me say that not only are chicken fingers a regional thing so is having Chinese food on New Year’s Eve! ANYWAY…I was concerned while making these for 1) I no longer have a deep fryer…(RIP Deep fryer..your missed dearly) 2) ahhh no candy thermometer here..eek! So what to do??? Well let me tell you What NOT to do..lol DO NOT turn your burner to HIGH, although I do have an electric range and I’m still getting used to it. Definitely not the same as a gas range…A good clue that you’re doing it wrong is the swarm of smoke that fills your kitchen. So I would say a good judge of when your oil is heated well enough would be somewhere between a simmer and your family running down the stairs thinking their mother has set the house on fire…at the end of what was almost catastrophe were these awesomely flavorful delicious golden chicken fingers!! I definitely recommend this recipe!! I plan on making these again, hopefully I can manage to not set my kitchen on fire the next time around!!
Hey Lori!!!! HAHA I can’t tell you how much this comment made me laugh out loud today, (and it was a long day, so I owe you one!)- I’m SO happy that this turned out well for you and that the house didn’t burn down, LOL. You’re the best!!! Thank you for making my day! -Stephanie
They have these in Maine but Maine is basically New Hampshire so ……………
Ahhhh yes!!!!! Do you like them as much as I do?! I can’t get enough!
Wondering if my previous post today was discarded – I don’t see it any longer. As I stated, this recipe is a more rugged coating for chicken fingers, better suited for robust sauces like general Tso’s. Put your mind into that Chinese take out kitchen…simple, fast, HOT pan temperatures. Keep it simple is the rule and it’s hugely important here. Chicken fingers are batter dipped. the recipe for a coating IDENTICAL to the restaurants is so (so, so, so) simple it’s mind boggling. cut your chicken breast into strips (1 breast goes a LONG way) your piece should be about 1/2″ square and not more than 1-1/2″ long. Season (marinate) the strips in a bowl with 1/4 tsp white pepper, 1 tsp sesame oil and 1 tblsp rice wine. stir together and let set about 5 minutes. Take 2 cups or self rising flour (or 2 cups all purpose flour with 2 tsp of baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt. season this with 1/2 tsp white pepper and 1 tblsp salt. Add enough water to the flour to make a thick but creamy texture that folds a little when picked up and poured back into the bowl and disappearing to level in a second or two. I use my hand in a claw position, sort of like a spider to mix in the water but you can use a mixer. Heat the oil to 375-380 and take up a good thick dollop of batter with each chicken strip. drop in the hot oil. the piece should sink but then float to the top after 3-5 seconds. Fry each piece for about 1 minute to set the batter, remove to an absorbent plate/paper towel and continue to drop the pieces and scoop them out as you progress until all pieces are cooked. If your oil is still nice and hot (it should be because you’re not shocking the oil with all the cold chicken at once) add all the pieces back to the oil and cook until golden brown -or- hold the set pieces to the side and cook small batches whenever you’re ready for them. refrigerate/freeze extras for a quick meal (but I don’t know how much quicker you can get than this recipe – takes 10 minutes to prepare, 10 minutes to cook and your family will be dipping sauces until their heart’s content.
Hi Kevin!! I actually just hadn’t had a chance to read or approve the comment yet, I feel bad that you just retyped so much. I still haven’t had a chance to read through it yet but I’m going to approve so that you don’t retry a third time. Thank you for your thoughts!
I just purchased a wok going too try your recipe cant wait. Thank you
Hi Stephanie – I just came across your website and everything looks yummy. I will definitely be trying some of your recipes. I did a search for Sweet & Sour Sauce but could not find it on your site. Do you have a good recipe for that? Thanks
Hey Lynne! I don’t have one on my blog, but this is one that I found on a site that I like, it looks delicious! 🙂 I’m excited that you’ll be trying some of my recipes as well! Wahoo!
I look forward to making these Chinese chicken strips this week. Do you make your sweet & sour sauce or is it store bought?
I can’t believe I read through the instructions a dozen times and missed It
Is it listed anywhere how hot to heat the oil???
You’ll need a deep-fry or candy thermometer if you’re not using a deep fryer. Bring the heat up slowly until the oil is between 350 and 375 degrees F.
Stephanie I tried this just as the recipe says but most of my batter fell off and down into the tray below the air frying grate. My family suggested I dunk the chicken into flour, then dunk it into the batter, then finally dunk the battered chicken into either flour again or Panko (commercial bread crumbs). The first flour dunking will help my batter to stay on the chicken and the second dunking will give me a crispy crust;( Panko will be kinda like extra crispy chicken at KFC) and the flour hopefully like the pictures you have.
My family enjoyed the flavor very much though and commented they occasionally got a bite with batter! We didn’t need the extra batter anyway, they said. I am blessed with a nice, polite family).
I’ll try them again for sure! Btw I set the air fryer at about 370-375° and it took about 20-25 minutes for the chicken to be done. The tray I had them on was kind of full so I did turn the chicken after about 10 minutes per instructions in the air frying manual.
Thanks and God Bless.
Hi Kelly! I’m so sorry that I didn’t get a chance to respond to your question last night. I actually don’t recommend using an air fryer for this, for a few reasons, the main one being the issue that you encountered. The fast moving air in the air fryer causes the batter to run off into the cooking basket. Here is a resource, (check out #7 on the list), that explains how you could potentially try to mitigate this. I personally say that if you’re going to indulge, go all the way and deep fry them. They won’t taste the same as you remember if you don’t! 🙂 Thank you for sending me an update on this though, I appreciate it as it will help others who may make the same attempt!
Stephanie thank you! I’m so excited that I took chicken out of the freezer and put it in the refrigerator to thaw at 12:30 A.M.!
I have a question though, I’m using a new Air Fryer that’s part of our new Cuisinart toaster/oven/air fryer (includes a convection oven) and I’m wondering what temperature I should set the air fryer to thoroughly cook these wonderful Chinese Chicken Fingers? I’d appreciate any insight you can give.
My family, who never lived in Boston and only came to visit, have no idea why I’m so excited and ask me to explain what I was making. I showed them your beautiful pictures and read your Introductions (which is hilariously true) and continue to try to explain because they still had puzzled looks on their faces. I told them they are just strips of chicken, breaded and air fried, but at the same time so much more than that.
After tonight, they too will be Chinese Chicken Fingers enthusiasts.
Thanks again Stephanie for sharing this recipe that I have literally been drooling anticipating tasting.
God Bless you.
I’m going to have to try these soon! I used to go on the way home from medical school and pick up Chicken Fingers at Hong Kong Restaurant in Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA. I ate these at least 5-6 times a month because they were so delicious. Now I live in CA and no restaurants have them! You ask for ‘chicken fingers’ and they look at you like your have lost your mind! I have been craving chicken fingers for years and hope this recipe does the trick. Thank you for sharing.
Hey Kelly, YES! You can totally appreciate this, I know exactly what you mean! I thought the entire world knew what Chinese Chicken Fingers were until I went to New York, and had the same massive confusion about what the heck I was talking about! That’s what inspired this post, they are just too good and must be accessible no matter where you live! I’m excited for you to try them, I really hope you enjoy them! 🙂 -Stephanie