Malaysia has some of the best foods that the world has to offer and I am not even biased.
If you have traveled to Malaysia, you would know what I mean.
Foodies all become an instant fan with our food.
Lucky for little G, I take him back to Malaysia every summer and he agrees that Malaysian food is absolutely delicious.
This Malaysian Belacan Fried Chicken is his favorite dish.
His eyes lit up when I told him that I was making him fried chicken for dinner.
Belacan is shrimp paste, which is a key ingredient in Malaysian recipes.
Much like fish sauce to Thai and Vietnamese cuisines, belacan is pungent but it adds amazing flavors and taste structure to our food.
For this recipe, you want to use shrimp sauce in a bottle, and not in a block.
This Malaysian Belacan Fried Chicken is extremely delicious, much like Thai Fried Chicken.
It calls for only a handful of ingredients.
Give me a choice, I would always go for Asian fried chicken. Enjoy!
How Many Calories Per Serving?
This recipe is only 312 calories per serving.
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Belacan Fried Chicken Recipe
Belacan Fried Chicken - crispy and juicy Malaysian fried chicken marinated with cilantro and Asian seasonings. So delicious!
Ingredients
- 6 small chicken drumsticks (about 20 oz.)
- 1 tablespoon cilantro stems juice
- 1 tablespoon shrimp sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 egg white
- 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Directions
-
1
Rinse the chicken with water and pat dry with paper towels. Set aside. Prepare the cilantro juice by cutting off the bottom 2-inch part of cilantro (the stems). Using a mortar and pestle, pound the stems and extract the juice from the stems using your hand.
-
2
In a big bowl, whisk the shrimp sauce, sugar, egg white, sesame oil, cilantro juice, corn starch and flour together until smooth. Add the chicken, coat well and marinate for at least 4-6 hours.
-
3
When ready, heat up a pot of cooking oil or use a deep fryer. Drop the chicken gently into the oil and deep fry the chicken until crispy and golden brown (the inside should cook thoroughly but remains juicy). Transfer the fried chicken out on a plate lined with paper towels to soak up the excess oil.
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4
Serve the fried chicken immediately with chili sauce.
Joanne
Hi,
Is it possible to bake in the oven rather than deep fried the chicken ? If yes, please advise temperature and how much time is required to bake in the oven ? Thanks
Rasa Malaysia
Not, you need to deep-fry for the best results. I don’t recommend baking.
Mei
Hi Rasa Malaysia!
I’m really really excited to found your website full of Malaysian recipe! Balacan chicken is my all time favourite. Exciting to try out it’s authentic Penang flavour recipe! The only problem is I can only find Belacan block from where I live, is it possible and how do I substitute that to the shrimp sauce in this recipe?
Rasa Malaysia
You can get Lee Kum Kee brand fine shrimp sauce.
Mei
Thanks for replying! No shrimp sauce available from where I live. T-T Might do it next time
jennifer
it really taste good my kids love ❤❤❤❤it thanks for sharing the recipe???
Kelly
What is the recipe for the chili sauce that the chicken is served with?
Rasa Malaysia
There is no recipe, just a bottled chili sauce.
elle
i like how smooth the batter looks. is there any way i can make it look the same without cilantro juice and shrimp sauce?
Rasa Malaysia
The shrimp pasta (belacan) is that makes this Belacan fried chicken. You can skip the cilantro juice.
Susan
About how many minutes in the frier?
Debashis Barman
Really it looks very delicious and crispy. I hope you will share more delicious food for us regularly. Thanks.
Rasa Malaysia
I always do share! :)
Rita Schecht
Can you use an alternate to the actual cilantro stem juice? Knorr has a premade cube and other brands carry cilantro flavoring.
Rasa Malaysia
You can skip it. I wouldn’t use curry cilantro flavor.
Julia
Looks really Delicious. Makes me want to try!