Chinese Salt and pepper chicken got an air fryer makeover in this air fryer salt and pepper chicken recipe. No cornflour, just simple ingredients that come together fast in your air fryer and are perfect for a Friday night Chinese fakeaway.
Even better, pair it with our air fryer salt and pepper chips for the ultimate air fryer supper.
Salt And Pepper Chicken
Yesterday, we shared with you how to cook salt and pepper chips in the air fryer, and today we are getting excited about its perfect pairing aka salt and pepper chicken.
I have enjoyed salt and pepper chicken many times over the last few years and with us living about 10 doors away from the best Chinese takeout in our town, it has become a regular feature for our Saturday night takeaways.
Though, because I am the only one in the Milner house that loves Chinese salt and pepper chicken, it is often reheated in the air fryer the next day.
But aren’t takeaways expensive? I remember when you got a great meal deal and it felt like you got real value for money, yet now everything is expensive.
That is why I love to make fakeaways in the air fryer, with a few simple ingredients.
Today’s air fryer version of salt and pepper chicken is what I call a frozen food upcycle. Because you are taking a simple air fryer frozen food from Iceland i.e. Iceland crispy shredded salt and pepper chicken, air frying it and adding in extras. Then you have the best and tastiest salt and pepper chicken ever.
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Can You Put Salt & Pepper Chicken In The Air Fryer?
Yes, you can cook salt and pepper chicken in the air fryer, and you have a few options to choose from.
For example, you can bread your own chicken and cook it in the air fryer. Or like we are showing you today, we are using frozen salt and pepper chicken wings and air frying it.
Can You Put Raw Chicken In An Air Fryer?
Yes, you can cook raw chicken in an air fryer, and I have done it many, many times over the years. You could cook air fryer chicken breast, air fryer KFC chicken, an air fryer whole chicken or if you have a rotisserie air fryer you could do air fryer rotisserie chicken.
Though in today’s takeaway salt and pepper chicken, we are using the already cooked shredded salt and pepper chicken from Iceland.
How Long Does It Take To Cook Raw Chicken In An Air Fryer?
The cook time for raw chicken in the air fryer can vary widely, depending on the chicken you are cooking.
For example, I can cook a whole chicken in the air fryer in 45 minutes, yet chicken nuggets take less than 12 minutes.
What Is Salt & Pepper Chicken Made Of?
Salt and pepper chicken first became a thing in the 1990’s when they were introduced at Chinese takeaways, especially those that were a Chinese takeaway and chippy in one.
But I am sure you want to know what is in salt and pepper chicken.
Well, classic salt and pepper chicken will be chicken battered with cornflour, salt, pepper, and Chinese 5 spice. Then it will be tossed in peppers and onion.
But because the ingredients list is so simple and ideal for an air fryer salt and pepper chicken fakeaway, we are doing everything in the air fryer without separate pans.
Salt & Pepper Chicken Ingredients
Chicken – You can use any chicken for this recipe, but we prefer the salt and pepper chicken strips from Iceland. They are made with real chicken fillets and taste amazing.
Peppers. Your salt & pepper chicken looks amazing when you mix up the pepper colours. I used a green pepper and a red pepper but its up to you with what colour you go with.
Onion. I also recommend thinly slicing some spring onion and adding this with the peppers. They both cook well together.
Seasoning. Then for seasoning I recommend salt, pepper, and plenty of Chinese 5 spice.
Extras – You can also add in some spicy peppers too. But as I am feeding a hubby that doesn’t like spices and a 5 year old, we didn’t include these.
Then for the kitchen gadgets that we have used in this salt and pepper chicken recipe it has just been our Philips Air Fryer. We have this one and its wonderful for many types of air fryer recipes.
Plus, we recommend you head over to our air fryer recipes category as we have more than 500 tried and tested air fryer recipes and have been air frying for 10 years.
How To Make Salt & Pepper Chicken?
- Cook. Load your salt and pepper chicken strips into the air fryer basket and cook for 8 minutes at 180c/360f.
- Peppers. Then as the chicken strips are cooking, slice up your peppers and onion and load into a bowl with extra seasoning. Toss with your hands and then wait on the air fryer beep.
- Shake. When the air fryer beeps, add the peppers and onion, shake the chicken. Air fry for another 5 minutes before serving.
And I am sure you can see now how easy it is to make Chinese takeaway salt and pepper chicken in the air fryer and why you should be doing it too!
Salt And Pepper Shredded Chicken
You may have noticed from the recipe ingredients, that we have not used any oil at all in this recipe.
That is because the salt and pepper shredded chicken from Iceland was already cooked and battered and didn’t need more.
And, by cooking the peppers for just the right amount of time, they didn’t need oil either.
Salt & Pepper Chicken Air Fryer Tips & Tricks
- The easiest way to make salt and pepper chicken is to start the chicken cooking whilst you prep the peppers.
- You can also add some chips to the air fryer too and then make salt and pepper chicken and chips together.
- Shaking your chicken is essential for creating a perfect crisp on your chicken and to stop them from sticking together. Please don’t skip this step.
- You can use spicy peppers or avoid it. Depending on how spicy you like your salt and pepper takeaway.
- If you have leftovers, leave in the fridge, and reheat in the air fryer the next day.
- I recommend giving the chicken a head start first, that way you wont overcook the peppers.
Top Air Fryer Trick – Mix your peppers and in a bowl. It guarantees an even coating and avoids you using more seasoning that you need.
Listen To Salt & Pepper Chicken in the Air Fryer
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More Chinese Food In The Air Fryer
- Air Fryer Chinese Chicken Wings
- Air Fryer Frozen Ribs
- Air Fryer Frozen Gyozas
- Air Fryer Frozen Spring Rolls
- How To Reheat Chinese Food In The Air Fryer
Your recipe for salt and pepper chicken is below, note you can print it out with or without photos, adjust servings, or click between metric and imperial depending on where you are in the world.
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Air Fryer Salt And Pepper Chicken
Ingredients
- 450 g Salt and Pepper Chicken Strips
- 1 Medium Red Pepper
- 1 Medium Green Pepper
- 1 Bunch Spring Onions
- ½ Tbsp Chinese 5 Spice
- Salt & Pepper
- 1 Chilli Pepper optional
Kitchen Gadgets
Instructions
- Load your frozen salt and pepper chicken strips into the air fryer basket and cook for 8 minutes at 180c/360f.
- Whilst the air fryer is cooking, slice your peppers and spring onion, discarding the pepper seeds as you go.
- Load them into your bowl with the Chinese five spice, along with salt and pepper. Mix with your hands.
- When the air fryer beeps, add the peppers and onions, and shake the air fryer basket.
- Cook for another 5 minutes at 180c/360f before serving.
Notes
Reheat. If you have leftover salt and pepper chicken, air fry for 4 minutes at 160c/320f. Fakeaway. Our salt and pepper chicken air fryer recipe is also fantastic paired with our air fryer salt and pepper chips. Thanks for reading our air fryer salt and pepper chicken recipe on Recipe This. We have many more air fryer recipes for you to check out next. Though if you would like to try more delicious frozen chicken recipes, I recommend you try our air fryer frozen sweet and sour chicken balls.
Nutrition
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Delicious and so quick to do, even quicker than ordering from a Chinese takeaway. I will be doing these again and again thanks for the idea.