脆皮雞腿 | Crispy Chicken Leg (air-fried)

February 2, 2021

Besides seafoods, Cantonese love chicken the most! And we definitely have a lot of ways to cook chicken. Crispy chicken is something we order a lot in the restaurants but rarely made at home because of its long, complicated procedure. Now I am thousands miles away from hometown, locked up in the apartment for more than a year and own a air-fryer, the perfect time to make crispy chicken! Its crispy yet sweet skin, juicy meat is the perfect comfort after a long day!

QUICK TAKEAWAYS

be patient! marinate in sealed back for at least 2 hours in fridge; dry leg quarters without cover in fridge overnight to dehydrate skin!
if do not want to wait overnight, can use hairdryer to dry skin
be diligent! check on leg quarter in air-fryer more often! brush with honey sauce every 2-5mins
temperature and time are not definite, adjust according to your air-fryer, just CHECK MORE OFTEN!
honey gives the crispy skin~!! and sweet taste!

RECIPE

Portions: 2

Duration: 2 days, leave overnight in fridge for seasoning and skin-dehydrating

2 chicken leg quarters
2tbsp soy sauce
1tbsp dark soy sauce
1tbsp oyster sauce
1tsp salt
2-3tbsp honey
1tbsp rice wine
1tsp ground black pepper
1tsp ground white pepper

DAY 1 from ~lunch time:

Step 1: for frozen leg quarters, defrost in salt water; otherwise, wash; poke holes on the back of leg quarters with fork/knife/toothpick and dry leg quarters so they can absorb sauce better later.

Step 2: mix the following ingredients in a bag, mix well and taste; it should be a bit more salty. But if tooo salty, add more honey and rice wine:

2tbsp soy sauce
1tbsp dark soy sauce
1tbsp oyster sauce
1tsp salt
2-3tbsp honey
1tbsp rice wine
1tsp ground black pepper
1tsp ground white pepper

Step 3: put dried leg quarters in seasoning bag, “massage” leg quarters for 1-2mins, then store in fridge for at least 2 hours. Flip a few times so both sides are marinated.

Step 4: remove leg quarters from seasoning bag, transfer to a container large enough for both leg to be placed without overlapping. Place leg quarters in container with skin facing up; do not discard sauce, keep marinating the bottom part of leg quarters. Leave in fridge WITHOUT COVER overnight so the skin dries up.

if do not wish to leave in fridge overnight and wait for next day, can use hair-dryer to dry the skin

DAY 2:

Step 1: remove leg quarters from fridge; brush honey sauce: 1:1:1 ratio of melted butter, honey and water.

Step 2: air-fry skin side for 10mins, 300F. Brush with honey sauce every 5mins. Wrap the bone part, thinnest skin, with foil paper to prevent them from getting burnt!

Step 3: flip and you will see the back of leg quarters are still raw and red, air-fry the back side also for 8-9mins, 300F; brush with honey sauce every 5mins. 10mins could be too long, but depends on the size of leg quarters and their position in air-fryer tray.

Step 4: flip back to skin side, skin has become golden. Now brush honey sauce again, air-fry at 300F for another 5mins, take a look every 2 mins!! Can also air-fry at 350F for shorter time, I have not tried this way yet though!