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Try our Asian fusion fried chicken tacos with sesame glaze and sriracha aioli for a unique and flavorful dinner.
One of our favorite things about our Taco of the Month series is coming up with the most unique taco recipes we can think of. Like these Asian fried chicken tacos made with crispy chicken, sriracha aioli, sesame glaze, and fresh scallions! This taco recipe is a spin on the chicken karaage bowl from Silverlake Ramen, one of the best local restaurants and one of our favorite takeout dishes.
There’s no better combination than crunchy fried chicken and a soft, fluffy flour tortilla. So we created this fusion fried chicken taco recipe around these two components, and dressed it up with two unique sauces to add tons of moisture and flavor. It’s savory, a little sweet, and just a little bit spicy – and SO satisfying. You won’t want to stop eating these tacos!
Asian Fried Chicken Tacos Ingredients
You’ll need to prepare 3 separate components to make our Asian inspired crispy chicken tacos: fried chicken, sriracha mayo, and sesame glaze. We’ll break down the ingredients you’ll need for each of these components below.
Here’s what you’ll need to make the crispy fried chicken for these tacos:
- Chicken breast
- Egg
- All-purpose flour
- Seasonings – garlic powder, onion powder, ground red cayenne pepper, powdered ginger, salt, black pepper
Here’s what you’ll need for the sriracha mayo:
- Light mayo
- Sriracha
- Lemon juice
And for the sesame glaze, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Brown sugar
- Low sodium soy sauce
- Lemon juice
- Hoisin sauce
- Sesame oil
- Powdered ginger
Finally, you can’t forget the tortillas and garnishes! You’ll need 4-inch flour tortillas and fresh scallions to round out these fried chicken tacos.
How To Make Asian Fusion Fried Chicken Tacos
To make these crispy chicken tacos, we recommend preparing the two sauces first, and then the chicken. This is for a few reasons:
- You’ll want to refrigerate the sriracha mayo so it’s nice and cold on your tacos.
- You need time for the sesame glaze to cool down after it cooks so that it’s room temperature when it goes on the tacos.
- You want the chicken to be fresh and hot when it’s time to serve dinner, and it cooks fairly quickly, so it’s the last thing you should prepare.
With that in mind, here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how to make our Asian inspired fried chicken tacos:
Start by preparing the sriracha mayo. In a small bowl, whisk together light mayo, sriracha, and lemon juice until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate until needed.
Next, make the sesame glaze. Add all the ingredients to a small saucepan, stir to combine, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, lower the heat and simmer over medium heat until reduced by about half. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and let it cool to room temperature while you prepare the chicken.
Finally, prepare the fried chicken:
- Start by cutting the chicken into roughly one inch pieces. Then, in a medium bowl, beat the egg and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and seasonings.
- Start preheating about a quarter- to a half-inch of vegetable oil in a deep frying pan over medium-high heat. You want it to get nice and hot before adding the chicken.
- Next, fully coat the chicken in egg, then transfer to the seasoned flour, letting any excess egg drip off first. This is easiest to do with your hands (although messy!). Then coat the chicken completely in the seasoned flour. Try to separate any pieces that might be stuck together and coat them entirely in flour.
- Finally, transfer the chicken to the hot oil, gently shaking off excess flour as needed. Fry until the chicken is a crispy golden brown, turning the pieces over once or twice during cooking, about 7 to 10 minutes total.
- Transfer chicken to a plate lined with paper towels to drain excess grease.
To assemble the tacos:
- Warm the flour tortillas in the microwave between dampened sheets of paper towels, about 30 seconds per 6 tortillas.
- Evenly distribute the fried chicken amongst the tortillas. Drizzle with sesame glaze, then sriracha aioli, and top with sliced scallions.
- Serve immediately.
Notes On Scaling & Serving
You will likely have leftover sesame glaze and sriracha aioli if you make a single batch of this recipe. If you’re scaling it for a larger crowd and doubling the chicken, you won’t need to double the glaze, but you might want to 1.5x the sriracha aioli (or 2x it if you want extra!).
Leftover sesame glaze and sriracha aioli make great dips for snacks you could serve with these tacos or later in the week. Use the glaze as a dumpling or spring roll sauce and try our cheeseburger egg rolls to go with leftover aioli!
You can serve these fried chicken tacos a number of ways. Enjoy a side of chips and salsa for a true Asian-Mexican fusion dinner, or make some gyoza for a more Asian-inspired meal. Or simply enjoy these tacos on their own – they’re so good you don’t even really need a side.
Storing & Reheating Leftovers
In case you have leftovers, we recommend storing all the components of this taco in separate containers. Refrigerate the chicken for up to 4 days, and the sauces for up to 1 week. To reheat, simply microwave the chicken for about 30 seconds per serving, or heat in the air fryer at 350 degrees F for a few minutes.
Try our Asian inspired fried chicken taco recipe and let us know what you think in the comments – is this unique taco delicious or weird? Don’t forget to rate and share if you love it, and sign up for our email newsletter here to stay up to date on our latest recipes!
Love this recipe? You may enjoy these recipes, too:
- Loaded Baked Potato Tacos
- Hawaiian Pulled Pork Tacos
- Carne Asada Tacos with Avocado Lime Crema
- General Tso’s Chicken
To browse more of our latest recipes and seasonal dishes, visit our homepage here.
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Asian Fried Chicken Tacos
Equipment
Ingredients
Sriracha Aioli
- ¼ cup light mayo
- 2 tbsp sriracha
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Sesame Glaze
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- ½ tsp powdered ginger
Fried Chicken
- ⅔ lb chicken breast patted dry and sliced into one-inch pieces
- 1 large egg beaten well
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp garlic powder
- 1½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp ground red cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp powdered ginger
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- Vegetable oil
Other Ingredients
- 2 scallions sliced
- 6 4-inch flour tortillas
Instructions
- First, prepare the sriracha aioli. Combine light mayo, sriracha, and lemon juice in a small bowl and whisk thoroughly until combined. Refrigerate until needed for serving.
- Next, prepare the sesame glaze. Add the brown sugar, soy sauce, lemon juice, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, and powdered ginger to a small saucepan and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then simmer over medium heat until reduced by half, about 15 minutes. Transfer the glaze to a bowl and let cool to room temperature.
- Finally, make the fried chicken. Whisk together the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, ground red cayenne pepper, powdered ginger, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Then set up an assembly line with the chicken, beaten egg, and seasoned flour. Coat the chicken in the egg first, then transfer to the seasoned flour, letting excess egg drip off before if needed. Fully coat the chicken in the seasoned flour, making sure to separate any pieces that might be stuck together so they can be fully coated in flour.
- Heat about a quarter to a half inch of vegetable oil in a deep frying pan over medium-high heat. Once it's nice and hot, carefully transfer the chicken to the oil, gently shaking off any excess flour first if needed. Fry the chicken until it's crispy and golden brown, turning it over once or twice during cooking, about 7 to 10 minutes total. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate lined with paper towels to drain the excess grease.
- Finally, assemble the tacos. Warm the tortillas in the microwave between dampened sheets of paper towels for about 30 seconds. Evenly distribute the chicken amongst the tortillas, then drizzle with sesame glaze and sriracha aioli, and top with fresh sliced scallions. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.
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