You might have heard about typhoons in Hong Kong but my Typhoon Shelter Chicken recipe will only be a whirlwind of spicy, savoury and umami flavours paired with tender and silky chicken (No raincoats required).

What is Typhoon Shelter Chicken? 

Typhoon Shelter is a style of seasoning or cooking style that originates in Causeway Bay Hong Kong where fishermen would dock their boats during a typhoon, seek shelter, and prepare food that they could easily store in their boats, such as seafood, garlic, ginger, and green onions. In the modern day, Typhoon Shelter is commonly recognized as an aromatic seasoning mix of garlic, chilis, salted black beans and green onions that are often used to prepare crab and prawns. 

With every recipe, there are always different “typhoon shelter” variations. In my version, I’ve added Szechuan peppercorn, green chilli, panko and shallots for an additional numbing taste and crispy texture! Also, if you have an air fryer, you can cook the chicken and seasoning separately. You will then skip step 9 but highly recommend you brush the chicken with the garlic oil before air-frying. 

As a Canadian born Hongkonger, this recipe further connects my culture with my Hong Kong identity because I’ll be using Loong Kong Chicken, a BC Chicken’s Speciality Asian Chicken produced here in BC and to Canadian standards. All BC Chicken farmers raising chickens for their meat participate in Chicken Farmers of Canada’s Animal Care program with no hormones or steroids and with ample “free run” roaming freedom for the birds. 

How to make Typhoon Shelter Chicken 

Ingredients

Marinade 

• 1 Loong Kong Chicken 
• 1 tbsp soy sauce 
• 2 tsp sesame oil 
• 1 tsp sugar 
• 1 tsp white pepper 

Typhoon Shelter seasoning 

• 1 tbsp ginger, finely diced 
• 2 garlic bulbs, ~ 30 pieces, finely diced 
• 2 shallots, finely diced 
• ½ cup panko crumbs 
• 1 medium Thai chilli, rough chopped 
• 1 tsp serrano chilli, finely diced 
• 5-7 dried whole chilli
• 1 green onion stalk, circular slices 
• 1 pinch salt 
• ¼ tsp Szechuan pepper 
• ⅔ cup vegetable oil 

Instructions 

Cut up a whole chicken

1. Cut up a whole chicken with the bone intact or you may also be able to find some Chinese supermarkets that sell already cut up Speciality chicken. 
2. Discard the head, neck and feet.
3. Breast side up, cut along the left side of the chicken’s middle backbone to split the whole chicken in half. Repeat on the right side 
4. Find the cartilage joint between thigh and drumstick and then cut through it. Repeat for the other thigh and drumstick.
5. Slice off the chicken wings from the body. Then slice the bone-in chicken thigh and breast to ¾ inch pieces. Wash and pat dry the chicken pieces.
6. Add the marinade, and leave for a minimum of 1 hour or overnight (recommended) in the fridge. 

Prepare Typhoon Shelter seasoning

1. Remove the papery skin off each garlic clove. Tip: to remove quickly, lay the cloves on their sides on a chopping board and press with the heel of your hand into the board with the flat side of a chef’s knife. Repeat for all cloves and then finely chop and dice them all.
2. Finely dice shallots, ginger and green chilli. Slice the Thai chilli and green onions. Set aside.
3. Roughly grind Szechuan pepper or use it as a whole if you prefer a milder peppery flavour.
4. Use a frying pan to toast the panko into golden colour. They can burn in a matter of a few seconds so, keep an eye on them and stir them from time to time. Set aside.
5. Heat ⅔ cup of oil into a wok and heat it to low medium temperature.
6. Once the oil is heated, add all the diced garlic into the oil and KEEP YOUR EYE ON IT because it burns fast. Stir your garlic and let it cook evenly until it reaches a blond brown colour (3-5minutes)

7. Pour the garlic oil mixture through a sieve to separate the oil and garlic. The garlic will continue cooking and reach a golden brown colour. You will use the crispy garlic and garlic oil in the next few steps.

8. In the same wok, wipe away any last bits of garlic and then add 2 tbsp of the garlic oil you just made. Once the oil is hot, add the chopped chicken pieces one by one to avoid oil splatter and pan sear skin side down first for 5-7 minutes until the skin turns golden brown. Repeat on the skin-less side for 5 minutes or until it turns golden brown.

For Air fryer: cook chicken at 350°F for 15 minutes skin down then another 10 minutes on the other side. 

9. Once the chicken is cooked, put the chicken into a sieve to drain excess oil and liquid. Pour away all the oil in the wok and wipe away excess charred bits. 
10. Add 1 tbsp of the recently made garlic oil to the wok and let it heat up on medium heat. Add ginger and cook for 1 minute. Then add diced shallots until translucent (~ 2 minutes). Add the black beans, Szechuan pepper, and dried chili. Saute until you smell a slightly numbing and spicy aroma. 

11. Add your chicken back into the wok and cook for 5 minutes until you hear the chicken’s oil sizzling again. Then add panko, red chili, and green onions. Coat the chicken with all ingredients. Add as much fried garlic as your heart desires! (I added 3 heaping tbsps)

12. Serve with rice or eat it on it’s own!

BC Chicken Tip: Before you start, wash all surfaces and your hands with soap and warm water, and remember to wash your hands, utensils and cutting boards after they touch raw meat or eggs. Avoid cross-contamination by using a different cutting board for your meat and other ingredients. Make sure you’re cooking to safe temperatures and chilling any leftovers within two hours. For more food safety tips, visit Chicken Farmers of Canada’s Food Safety at Home Section. Chicken should always be cooked through until the internal temperature has reached 165°F (74°C) when inserted into the thickest part of the chicken.