Chinese Chicken Balls are the spherical cousin of Chinese chicken fingers. Instead of a finger shape, they are puffy balls. The recipe is more or less the same, but I've added more flour and baking powder to get the best puffy shape possible. I know everyone will be asking for the sweet and sour sauce, so I added that here too!
Have you ever had a Chinese chicken ball? If you've ever been to a Chinese buffet or ordered Chinese takeout, odds are you have. This recipe is inspired by the chicken balls I get at my local Chinese buffet. Chicken breasts are cut into chunks, battered, and deep-fried until golden brown and crispy and then served with a sweet and sour sauce.
I remember my mom tried making these for me as a kid but they did not puff up like the restaurants 😆. It was only after I got better at cooking I learned you have to add a ton of baking powder or use self-rising flour so that the batter expands.
Batter for chicken balls
You will need water, flour, cornstarch, baking powder, sugar, and salt. The consistency of the batter should be quite thick, about the same as pancake batter but without the bubbles. What this does is allow more of the batter to cling to the chicken so you get a stronger and thicker crust that puffs up nicely.
Deep-frying
You want to fry these at a high temperature so that the balls rapidly expand in the oil. I recommend heating the oil to 365°F initially. Once you add the balls, the temperature will drop to 350°F. I've noticed the balls will have a rounder shape if you flip them frequently so make sure you do that. Pro tip: the balls tend to have "tails" when you drop them in, but you can use your metal spider to chip them off.
Sweet and sour sauce
Growing up, I would eat these chicken balls at the buffet and the dipping sauce was always sweet and sour sauce. You could use other dips as well (maybe sweet chili sauce?), but sweet and sour sauce will always be my favorite. For the sauce, I used lychee juice as the base but pineapple juice or water will work as well.
Chinese Chicken Balls
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breasts (3 or 4 pieces)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup + 3 tablespoons cold water
Sweet and sour sauce
- 6 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup lychee juice from a can of lychees (or pineapple juice)
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine all the sweet and sour sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil then set aside.
- Chop the chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes. The rounder the shape, the better.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk in the cold water until you have a smooth and thick batter. The consistency should be similar to pancake batter without the bubbles. Add extra water or flour as necessary.
- Heat about 2 inches of oil to 365°F in a Dutch oven. Working one at a time, dip a piece of chicken in the batter, shake off excess, and lower into the hot oil. Fry 6-8 balls at a time for 6-7 minutes, flipping frequently so they puff up evenly, until golden brown and crispy. Transfer to a wire rack to drain excess oil.
- Reheat the sweet and sour sauce then serve.
- For extra-crispy chicken balls, you can double-fry them at 400°F for one minute.
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