Salt and pepper chips are a classic Chinese takeaway dish in the UK, thick cut chips are fried to golden perfection and tossed in a delicious salt and pepper seasoning

What are salt and pepper chips?

Salt and pepper chips is a popular dish in Chinese and British Chinese Cuisine.

Originating in China, salt and pepper chips are made from thinly sliced potatoes that are fried until crispy and tossed in a seasoned mixture of salt, pepper, and other aromatics like garlic and onion.

This has taken a turn in British Chinese cuisine it has become a takeaway staple. Rather than thinly sliced chips they use thick-cut potato chips. It’s typically tossed in a wok with seasoning like salt, pepper, five spice powder and MSG, as well as other aromatics like green onions, peppers and thinly sliced chilli.

Its a simple dish that is served as a side in UK Chinese restaurants, and pairs surprisingly well with dishes like sweet and sour pork, chow mien and fried rice.

How to cook salt and pepper chips

1. Combine all the seasonings in a bowl and mix to combine
2. Set aside until ready to use
3. Prepare a large wok or pot with the canola oil and bring it up to 180C/350F over high heat
4. Add the chips and fry for 3-5 minutes or until golden brown

5. Remove from the oil and drain on a wire rack
6. Prepare a large wok or frypan (or drain the oil from the pot used before and set it aside to be used when cooking another dish)
7. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in the wok and add the capsicum, onion, green chili and garlic
8. Stir-fry for 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant

9. Add the chips and toss to combine
10. Add the Chinese cooking wine and it should evaporate immediately
11. Transfer to your serving platter and serve with curry sauce

What kind of chips should I use?

It is much easier to use frozen ready-to-fry chips rather than making your chips from scratch at home. If you are making your chips from scratch the potatoes need to be soaked and dried, and in order to make crispy chips it takes some time and effort.

On the other hand, frozen chips will come out perfectly crispy once fried. I recommend finding thick-cut chips for the closest version to the original.

Ingredients

Seasoning

• Chicken powder: Chicken powder adds a delicious chicken-flavored umami flavor to the chips
• YumYum: YumYum is my very only blend of MSG, you can purchase it here or use MSG instead
• Salt: Salt is used to season
• White pepper: White pepper adds a nice kick to this dish
• Sugar: Sugar helps to balance out the flavor of this dish, bringing a hint of sweetness
• Five spice powder: Five spice powder is what gives this dish that Asian flair, it brings warm and spice to the chips
• Chilli flakes: Chilli flakes bring a little heat to this dish
• Chinese cooking wine: Cooking wine gives the dish an extra hit of aromatic flavor and helps to cut the greasiness of the chips

Assembly

• Straight-cut chips: UK Chinese restaurants typically use straight-cut chips, when choosing your chips make sure you choose ones that are thicker-cut
• Peppers: Gren peppers and red peppers help to give the dish color and a little bit of crunch
• Onion: Onion adds flavor and aromatics to the chips
• Green chili: Chilli adds a bit of heat to the chips while giving them a bit of freshness. You can also use red chili.
• Garlic: Garlic is essential for that delicious flavor, I recommend mincing up some fresh garlic cloves for the best flavor

Salt and Pepper Chips

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Print Recipe

Salt and pepper chips are a classic Chinese takeaway dish in the UK, thick cut chips are fried to golden perfection and tossed in a delicious salt and pepper seasoning

• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 4 Servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Seasoning

• 2 tsp Chicken powder
• 2 tsp YumYum
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp White Pepper
• 1/2 tsp Sugar
• 1/4 tsp Five spice powder
• 1 tsp Chilli flakes

Assembly

• 1L Canola oil
• 600g Straight cut chips
• 1/2 Capsicum
• 1/4 Onion, thinly sliced
• 1 Green chilli, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp Garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (optional)

Curry Sauce

• 2 tsp Curry powder
• 1 Cup Chicken stock
• 2 tsp Cornstarch
• 2 tsp Chicken powder

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Instructions

Seasoning

1. Combine all the seasonings in a bowl and mix to combine
2. Set aside until ready to use

Assembly

1. Prepare a large wok or pot with the canola oil and bring it up to 180C/350F over high heat
2. Add the chips and fry for 3-5 minutes or until golden brown
3. Remove from the oil and drain on a wire rack
4. Prepare a large wok or frypan (or drain the oil from the pot used before and set it aside to be used when cooking another dish)
5. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in the wok and add the capsicum, onion, green chili and garlic
6. Stir-fry for 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant
7. Add the chips and toss to combine
8. Add the Chinese cooking wine and it should evaporate immediately
9. Transfer to your serving platter and serve

Curry Sauce

1. Combine the chicken stock and cornstarch to create a slurry
2. Into your saucepan add the curry powder, chicken stock slurry and chicken powder
3. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened
4. Remove from the heat and serve with the chips

• Author: Vincent Yeow Lim
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Category: Vegetables
• Method: Easy
• Cuisine: British Chinese

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 serve
• Calories: 1053
• Sugar: 89.1 g
• Sodium: 381.8 mg
• Fat: 71.2 g
• Carbohydrates: 107.5 g
• Protein: 13.6 g
• Cholesterol: 1.8 mg