Salt and Pepper Chicken

If you haven’t made salt and pepper chicken before then this gluten free Chinese starter is going to ROCK YOUR WORLD.

I’m talking chicken chunks coated in a crunchy, salty coating with mouth-watering onions and chilli.

Honestly, this gluten free salt and pepper chicken might be my favourite takeaway dish of all time and it’s so quick and easy to make.

It’s perfect for sharing due to it’s super saltiness – but this is also what makes it so dangerously addictive!

I love serving this dish up as part of a gluten free Chinese fake-away spread with other dishes like my prawn toast and sweet and sour chicken.

I always imagined this would be difficult to make but I couldn’t believe how easy it is – plus this crispy salt and pepper chicken is naturally gluten and dairy free.

Is salt and pepper chicken gluten free?

This salt and pepper chicken recipe is made using cornflour so it’s completely gluten free.

It’s also a dairy free recipe so even better for people with multiple allergies or intolerances.

In fact, most of the ingredients are just storecupboard basics and really simple, so it’s pretty much allergen free.

Salt and pepper chicken is basically just fried chicken, but Chinese style.

I’m not sure if the stuff you order from a Chinese takeaway would be gluten free.

But to be honest I tend to avoid Chinese takeaways unless they are Coeliac UK certified as I can’t be sure on cross contamination.

I’ve been accidentally glutened way too many times so I stick to making my own.

Salt and Pepper Chicken Ingredients

There’s a full recipe card below with the quantities and method but here’s a bit of an explainer of some of the salt and pepper chicken ingredients.

• Chicken Thighs: To me these are the best meat for this recipe. You could use chicken breast but thigh meat withstands the higher cooking temperatures better. It also has way more flavour. As an alternative you could try tofu or even squid rings.
• Cornflour: Or corn starch in the US – this helps to create a lovely crunch as it fries. Use it to create that delicious salt and pepper coating.
• Sea Salt Flakes: Yes, there is a lot of salt in this recipe. But that’s the joy of salt and pepper chicken! It’s designed to be eaten as a sharing dish or starter – and you can use table salt instead if you only have this to hand.
• Ground Black Pepper: The pepper is key to the flavouring of this dish. Again, it seems like a lot but we want this dish to be full of flavour.
• Chinese Five Spice: I’m a huge fan of Chinese Five Spice and it gives this salt and pepper chicken a lovely undertone of aniseed, without being overpowering. Just double check the spice mix for any ‘may contain’ warnings.
• Onion and Spring Onion: If you’re sensitive to onion you can omit these (though to me they make the dish). Or just use the green parts of the spring onion instead if you can tolerate that.
• Red Chilli: This gives my salt and pepper chicken a nice kick! If you really hate any heat at all you can omit this but trust me, it won’t be the same. A green chilli works just as well, or you could buy pre-chopped chilli if you’re feeling lazy. In this dish I do love the spice of the chunks of chilli. Just don’t rub your eyes after handling it!

Don’t forget the full ingredients list is in the recipe card down below.

But this just helps to explain some of the reasons behind the ingredients used.

A lot of these ingredients can be used in other dishes too so they won’t go to waste.

How to make salt and pepper chicken

This salt and pepper chicken recipe is so easy to make, it can be on the table within 20 minutes.

The first step is to create the coating, which is what gives the dish it’s flavour and it’s crunch.

To do this mix together the cornflour with the salt, pepper and Chinese Five Spice.

Then take your chicken chunks and coat them liberally – you want to make sure you can’t see any ‘naked’ chicken under the coating.

Heat up your oil and fry the chicken until it’s golden brown and crispy, before adding the onions, chilli and garlic for a final minute.

Serve immediately for a hot, crunchy, salty delicious dish!

See – I told you it was simple. You won’t need to order takeaway again once you make this once and realise how simple it is.

If you want to make this healthier you could try it in an Air Fryer – I don’t have one (yet!) so I cannot wait to get one and give it a go.

If you try this please let me know in the comments and otherwise I’ll update this if and when I get my hands on one.

My salt and pepper chicken recipe

This easy salt and pepper chicken recipe is gluten and dairy free and makes enough for a starter for two people.

Alternatively it would feed four people as part of a sharing platter – why not make some of my gluten free prawn toast to go with it?

Plus I’ve even made a video to show you just how easy this is to make:

If you make this recipe and love it, please do let me know by tagging me on my Instagram or using #theglutenfreeblogger. I love seeing your bakes!

And if you loved it, please do leave a review to let others know you loved it too! It would mean the world to me. 

Need some more gluten free meal inspiration?

If you want to have a go at some of the other gluten free Chinese dishes on the blog, why not give some of these a try?

They’re perfect for creating delicious comfort food when you need it!

• Chicken with cashew nuts
• Gluten Free Chow Mein
• Sweet and Sour Chicken
• Chinese chicken curry
• Gluten free Egg Noodles
• Gluten Free Prawn Toast

Giving this recipe a go? Let me know! I’d love to see your photos using #theglutenfreeblogger, share them in my Facebook group or tag me on Instagram. 

And if you have any recipe suggestions, please let me know in the comments what you’d like to see next!

Like this Gluten Free Salt and Pepper Chicken recipe?

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