How to make this easy, crispy, garlicky fried chicken!

I love garlic, love. I had some garlic powder that I needed to use up and attempted this. I kept going back to this now for my fried chicken! Not only is this so, so crispy, that garlic flavour is so addictive!

How to make the best Garlic Fried Chicken?

I used to tell people, “3 hours minimum, preferably overnight”… Joke. Overnight is the way to go for this one! Especially with this recipe, you want all the good garlicky flavours and the seasoning to really get absorbed into the chicken.

Marinating this for just a couple of hours will result in chicken that taste bland in the middle.

I love using boneless chicken thighs and legs since it stays so juicy! If you want to chicken breasts or fillets you can as well. The best way to go is definitely with thighs though.

Why is this Garlic Fried Chicken so Crispy?

Two main reasons:

Rice flour and Cornstarch!

This recipe does not use plain or all-purpose flour at all. I’ve long been a non-flour user when it comes to fried chicken. The rice flour and cornstarch will result in the most crispiest chicken that stays crispy for hours!

Can you just use rice flour, or just cornstarch? Yes! I prefer a mix of the two. With just cornstarch, I find it got too… crispy! Yes, too much of a good thing. I found using just cornstarch on a big cutlet of chicken like this resulted in a rather rock hard exterior too quickly. The rice flour helps to keep it light.

The only caveat with using these two ingredients – especially the rice flour – is that you will get a pale batter. To combat this, add the egg which will give it that golden shade.

Another ingredient that I added here would be the pinch of turmeric powder, to further add that colour. There will be a very subtle taste of turmeric, but I enjoy it! Paprika here also add a bit of colour, while infusing a sweet, gentle spice, rather than an intense, spicy heat.

1-Serving Portion

The recipe makes for about 4-5 boneless chicken thighs. While you can adjust the marinade easily according to the number of chicken pieces you have, I would recommend that you stick to the measurements here for the flour dredge. That is, if you’re making just one or two chicken thighs, use this same recipe for the flour dredge.

This is due to the addition of the egg. While egg makes the batter more delicious and golden, it also makes it harder for the batter to become crispy. You can scramble the eggs, and then add a couple of tablespoons, but I find it too much of a hassle. I rather you remove the egg altogether – it will still be good, don’t worry, but most importantly, it will stay crispy!

Garlic on Garlic on Garlic!

The main ingredient here is obviously garlic! There are three layers of garlic flavour infusion here:

Garlic Powder and Fresh Garlic in the marinade, and garlic powder in the flour batter.

Yes, the garlic powder is important! You can’t quite get the same flavours with just minced garlic. In addition, using too much fresh garlic will increase the chances of burning it, resulting in bitter chicken.

What to Serve this With?

This is so good by itself, but I love it best with rice, and served with my easy Sambal Geprek on the side. I’ve also used this as a topping for noodles.

More Recipes Like This:

Ayam Goreng | Malaysian Fried Spiced Chicken