The Zha jī pái 炸雞排 is the Taiwanese fried chicken cutlet .
▶It is unclear whether the Taiwanese fried chicken cutlet was a local version of the Japanese katsu or a pre-existing Taiwanese dish.
At the end of World War II, in 1945, Japan renounced sovereignty over Taiwan, ceding the island to the Republic of China.
▶The chicken breasts are pounded to the size of a steak, marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and five-spice powder, then coated with breadcrumbs or sweet potato starch, and fried in oil.
But Taiwanese culture still carries influences of Japanese culture today: from school uniforms to cinema and baseball.
In most cases, the chicken breast is fried in a non-stick pan and eaten from a paper bag.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 2 people
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Chinese
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 3/4 cup breadcrumbs (or sweet potato starch)
- 1/2 tsp five-spice powder
- 3 cloves garlic
- as needed ginger powder
- as needed peanut oil
- as needed salt and pepper
Tools
- 1 Thermometer kitchen
Steps
Pound the chicken breasts until they are cutlet-sized.
Marinate the chicken breast in soy sauce, ginger, minced garlic, five-spice powder for at least 1 hour.
Coat the chicken in breadcrumbs or sweet potato starch and fry it twice.
First at 340°F, then again at 390°F.
Serve with salt, pepper, and chili if desired.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
When did Japan rule Taiwan?
In 1895, following China’s defeat in the Sino-Japanese War, the Qing dynasty ceded the island of Taiwan to Japan.
The island became Japan’s first overseas colony.
At that time, about half of Taiwan was populated by Han Chinese, while the other half was not governed by China and was inhabited by indigenous Taiwanese peoples.
The two populations, historically in conflict with each other, united in opposition to Japanese rule with a series of violent revolts.
Japan dedicated significant military and political resources to pacify the island.
The last major revolt, the Tapani uprising, was brutally suppressed by the imperial army in 1915.Was Japan’s rule over Taiwan all negative?
Japan’s rule in Taiwan was not all negative.
Japan established the Bank of Taiwan and instituted compulsory primary education on the island. Japan also modernized Taiwan’s agricultural economy, turning it into a major producer of rice and sugarcane.
In the aftermath of World War I, with the rise of nationalist movements worldwide, many colonial powers moved to offer greater concessions to native peoples in an attempt to preserve their empires.
This trend, combined with the democratization of the Japanese government during the Taisho period (1912-1926), led to the rapid liberalization of Japanese politics in Taiwan.
With the easing of restrictions on the population and improvements in education and the economy, public opinion of the colonial government also began to improve.
More details on the history of Japanese rule over Taiwan can be found in this article.
