Taiwanese Salt & Pepper Chicken

Ingredients:
400g chicken thigh ~ cut cubes/bite size
30g fresh basil leaves
200g cornstarch
1 tbsp pepper salt

Marinade
1 stalk of spring onions ~ chopped
3 cloves garlic ~ grated
2" ginger ~ grated
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp rice wine
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp chicken powder
1 tbsp light soy sauce

Direction/Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, add the marinade ingredients and let it marinate for 30 mins.
2. In another bowl, sift cornstarch plus 1 tbsp pepper salt.  Stir to mix the flour.
3. Coat the chicken into the cornstarch mixture evenly & set aside.
4. Heat a wok with cooking oil on medium; deep-fry the coated chicken until it turns golden brown & crispy.  Dish out & drain on a paper towel.
5. Then deep-fry fresh basil for 15 sec; drained & garnish on the fried chicken.  Serve immediately while still hot.

Note: If you don't have pepper salt in hand, you can use the following recipe below:

Pepper Salt

- 1 tbsp salt

- 1 tsp sugar

- 1 tsp fine white pepper

- 1/2 tsp five-spice powder

Homemade Salt & Pepper
- 1 tbsp salt + 1 tsp sugar + 1 tsp fine white pepper + 1/2 tsp five-spice powder