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Filipino Fried Chicken Recipe with Lemon and Fish Sauce

If you haven’t had this Filipino fried chicken recipe, you’re missing out! Marinated with lemon juice, fish sauce, and pepper, this crispy fried chicken packs a punch that makes you wanting more!
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Prep Time:2 hours
Cook Time:20 minutes
Total Time:2 hours 20 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Filipino
Keyword: filipino fried chicken recipe
Servings: 5 drumsticks

Ingredients

Marinade

  • 1.5 pounds chicken drumsticks or thighs
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • juice from 1 lemon
  • freshly ground pepper

Fried Chicken

  • ½ cup flour
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • canola oil

Instructions

Marinade

  • Place the chicken in an 8x11 baking dish. Spritz the juice from ½ a lemon, ½ tablespoon of fish sauce, and freshly ground pepper on one side of the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
  • After the 1 hour, rotate the chicken to the other side and spritz the juice from the other half of the lemon, ½ tablespoon of fish sauce, and freshly ground pepper. Cover and refrigerate for another hour.

Fry the Chicken

  • Put the chicken in a Ziploc bag and add the flour, cornstarch, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Seal the bag and toss to coat.
  • Heat the canola oil in a sauté pan. Make sure the oil covers a little more than half the chicken. Once the oil is hot, cook the chicken in batches. Cook each side of the chicken for 8-10 minutes or until an internal temperature of 165°F is reached.
  • Transfer the chicken to a wire rack to cool and to remove any excess oil. Enjoy!

Notes

  1. Make sure the chicken doesn't marinate longer than two hours. If you leave it any longer, the acidity of the lemon juice will start to break down the texture of the chicken and turn it mushy. 
  2. You don’t want to overstuff your pan with the chicken otherwise the temperature of the oil will drop! A quick check to see if your oil is hot enough is to spritz some water on the top of the oil, if it sizzles, you’re good to go! See Sam’s Pro Tips for this Filipino Fried Chicken Recipe for further discussion.