I have this Taiwanese Fried Chicken recipe saved on my YouTube playlist, and I’ve never tried it before. Finally, I decided today would be the day. Having thawed out chicken thighs, I prepared the marinade and batter. In the end, my kitchen smelled delicious, but the fried chicken pieces looked more like jerky than fried chicken.

What did I do wrong?

First off, I didn’t have Chinese white rice wine, nor did I have sweet potato flour. I skipped out on the rice wine and substituted potato flour with cornstarch. This should have yielded similar results, but it didn’t.

So I decided to mix one-half cup of flour with the cornstarch. Results: Similar to before, with some crunch.

Lastly, I decided to turn the flour-cornstarch mix into a wet batter by adding half a cup of water. The results this time: golden brown fried chicken. Yes!

Did it all taste the same in the end?

My first impression was, of course! But after tasting all three batches, my answer is no. The first two batches of fried chicken were very dry and tough, just like jerky. Not surprising.

The last batch, however, was very tender and juicy. Yummy! What a difference a wet batter makes.

Do I recommend the recipe still?

Definitely! The marinade not only tastes good, but smells amazing. I’m glad I changed up the batter to my liking. In the end, I didn’t throw anything away; I ate it all on a bed of cabbage, with a squeeze of lime on top.

If you’re up for some kitchen adventures, like I was, give this recipe a try and enjoy^-^