Salted Egg Lava Fried Chicken Recipe: Crispy Chicken With Oozy Salted Egg Yolk Butter Filling

Try this Salted Egg Lava Fried Chicken recipe

I always grab a basket of liu sha bao whenever I’m craving for dim sum. Oozing out loads of creamy salted egg buttery goodness, these buns never fail to surprise with generous squirts of custardy goodness. 

Inspired by this popular dim sum favourite, we set out to create Salted Egg Lava Fried Chicken. Basing the recipe on chicken kiev, a popular Eastern European dish where herbed butter is wrapped inside a fried chicken fillet, we switched things up a notch by adding in salted egg powder, curry leaves, and finely sliced chilli padi to give a savoury local spin.

The cooking time isn’t long and watching the creamy salted egg yolk butter flow is definitely worth the cleanup. As usual, scroll down below for the full recipe.  

The process

Prepare the filling by mixing room temperature butter with the salted egg yolk powder, chilli padi, and other flavouring ingredients. It’s important to be patient, and ensure that the butter is well-incorporated with all the other ingredients. This takes around five minutes if you’re using quality room temperature butter.

Spread the butter mixture on a layer of cling wrap and roll it in the shape of a cylinder. Place it in the freezer for 20 minutes so that it’s able to harden and firm up.

Butterflying the chicken breast gives it a uniformed thickness, making it great for quick cooking methods such as deep-frying.

Pound the fillets to give them an even and thin width. We’re looking at about 1cm of thickness. If you don’t have a meat mallet, a heavy pot will work as well.  

Remove the flavoured butter from the freezer and cut them into even pieces. Place the butter on the chicken and wrap it up like a parcel by bunching up all the ends of the chicken and folding them over.

Wrap the chicken with a layer of cling wrap and freeze for 30 minutes. This gives the chicken a chance to firm up.

We’re deep-frying the chicken using a classic breading technique. Start by dipping the chicken balls in a thin layer of seasoned flour, followed by the egg wash, and finally panko breadcrumbs. It’s important to coat the chicken evenly with flour, egg, and panko crumbs so that you’ll get an attractive and consistent golden crust.

Heat a good amount of vegetable oil over medium heat and deep-fry the chicken balls for five minutes⁠—or until they turn golden brown.

Drain the excess oil from the fried chicken with kitchen towels before slicing it up. The flavoured salted egg yolk butter might gush out violently, so it’s a good idea to get some tissues ready.

The flavoured butter melts as the chicken cooks, keeping it juicy and succulent. This versatile dish is great as a mini party snack or even an appetiser. For those who prefer less spice in their food, reduce the number of chilli and you’re good to go.

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Salted Egg Lava Fried Chicken recipe

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Yield: Serves 2
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

Chicken stuffing:

2 chicken breast
50g unsalted butter, leave at room temperature
40g Knoor salted egg yolk powder
2 tablespoon curry leaves, wash and chopped finely
3 pieces chilli padi, sliced finely
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt

Chicken breading:
50g all-purpose flour, mixed with salt and white pepper to taste
2 eggs, beaten
40g panko breadcrumbs

1-litre vegetable oil for deep frying

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, mix the butter, salted egg yolk powder, chilli padi, curry leaves, white sugar, lemon juice, and salt till their well incorporated.
2. Spread the flavoured butter mixture on a cling wrap and roll up to tighten. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes.
3. Butterfly the chicken by slicing the chicken breast horizontally, starting at the thicker end and ending at the thinner part.
4. Pound the breasts with a mallet or blunt object till it is even and thin—about 1cm thickness.
5. Remove the flavoured butter from the freezer and cut into small portions. Place the butter in the middle of the chicken and wrap it with all sides of the chicken so that it looks like a parcel.
6. Wrap the chicken with a layer of cling wrap and freeze for 30 minutes.
7. To prepare the chicken for deep frying, start by dipping the chicken with a thin layer of seasoned flour, then the egg wash, and finally the panko crumbs.
8. Heat the oil in a deep pot to 180 degrees and fry the chicken until it turns golden brown. Stir occasionally. This takes around five minutes.
9. Remove chicken and drain excess oil with paper towels. Serve immediately.

Photos taken by Lim An.