Salt & Pepper Chips (Chinese Takeaway Style)

Savoury, slightly sweet and spicy all at once, Chinese takeaway salt and pepper chips are a modern classic. This recipe uses frozen chips and a flavour packed salt and pepper seasoning mix to create a dish you’ll go back to again and again!

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When it comes to takeaway and fast food, chips reign supreme. There’s barely a menu they don’t appear on, in at least one form or another. As takeaway chefs strive to offer tastier and more enticing menu choices, the variety of ‘loaded’ options grows by the day. Couple the fast food fan’s love of chips with the savoury, sweet and spicy mix of Chinese salt and pepper mix, and you have a combination that is really hard to beat.

You can find variations on salt and pepper (or ‘salt and chilli’) chips in Chinese takeaways and restaurants up and down the country, some more elaborate than others. Often served with the classic salt & chilli vegetables (onion, spring onion, garlic, peppers, chillies) as a more elaborate dish, you can also find them, as in this case, simply dusted generously with the delicious salt & pepper seasoning mix.

Ingredients For Dry Style Salt & Pepper Chips

To make these Chinese takeaway style salt & pepper chips, we’ll need to make some salt & pepper seasoning mix. This is a combination of salt, sugar, MSG, Chinese 5-spice, chilli powder and more. It’s lip smackingly delicious and perfect dusted generously on crispy fried chips (and a host of other things).

This recipe uses simple frozen chips. If you’re lucky enough to live close to a large cash and carry or Chinese supermarket, you might even be able to find the same brands often used in takeaways.

• Salt & Pepper Mix: Sea Salt, Whole Star Anise, MSG, Caster Sugar, White Pepper, Spice Ginger Powder, Chinese 5-Spice, Extra Hot Chilli Powder, Smoked Garlic Powder.
• Frozen Chips: Look for chips that don’t have any spiced coating on them – often the most inexpensive or ‘own brand’ supermarket label frozen chips works well for this. If you can find them, ‘Farm Frites’, ‘Lamb Weston’ and ‘Aviko’ brands are commonly used in takeaways.
• Other Ingredients: Oil for deep frying.

How To Make Dry Style Salt & Pepper Chips

The first step to these salt & pepper chips is to make the delicious salt & pepper seasoning mix. Sea salt is toasted in a dry wok with whole star anise until aromatic, and then set aside to cool. Next, the other seasoning ingredients are added and mixed well until combined.

With the salt & pepper seasoning prepared we’re ready to make salt & pepper chips. The chips are deep fried in hot oil until crispy and golden, then drained and set aside. A final toss in a dry wok with generous amounts of the prepared seasoning and the Chinese takeaway style salt & pepper chips are ready to serve.

Step 1: Make Chinese Takeaway Style Salt & Pepper Mix

Heat a dry wok or large frying pan over a medium heat. Add 6 tablespoons sea salt and 1 whole star anise and dry-fry, stirring often, until the salt changes colour and becomes a little darker (this should take around 10 minutes). Set aside to cool completely (be careful, the toasted salt will be VERY hot).

Once the toasted salt is completely cool, add it to a large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon MSG, 2 tablespoons caster sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons white pepper, 1 1/2 teaspoons spice ginger powder, 1 1/2 tablespoons Chinese 5-spice powder, 1/4 teaspon extra hot chilli powder and 1 teaspoon smoked garlic powder. Mix well and pour the salt and pepper mix into a shaker or a food-safe container.

Note – This is enough seasoning for multiple salt & pepper style dishes, you won’t need it all to make these salt & pepper chips.

Step 2: Fry Chips

Heat oil for deep frying to 160C. Carefully drop 250 grams frozen chips into the hot oil and fry for 2-3 minutes, until just beginning to colour. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon (or lift the basket if using a deep fat fryer) and set aside.

Increase the heat of the oil to 180-190C. Carefully drop chips into the oil again and fry for another 2 minutes, turning once or twice (or shaking the basket) until the chips are cooked through, golden and crispy. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon (or lift the basket again if using a deep fat fryer), transfer the cooked chips to a plate and set aside.

Step 3: Salt & Pepper Chips

Heat a dry wok or large frying pan over a medium heat. Add cooked chips and season generously with 1 teaspoon of the prepared salt & pepper mix. Toss chips in pan with the seasoning for 10-20 seconds.

Step 4: Serve Salt & Pepper Chips

Pour salt & pepper chips on to a serving plate or into a large paper bag. Serve with curry sauce, or as part of a large Chinese takeaway style feast.

Recipe Tips For Chinese Takeaway Style Salt & Pepper Chips

• Air Fry: If you’d prefer, you can air fry frozen chips and finish them in the wok or frying pan as per the recipe. If you can find precooked frozen chips this works particularly well, utilising the handiness of an airfryer whilst still delivering a takeaway style result (as the chips have previously been properly fried in oil).
• Season Generously: The fried crispy chips can stand up to a lot of seasoning, so don’t be shy!
• Spice Up Your Life: Add a pinch of dried crushed chilli flakes along with the salt & pepper mix for extra heat.
• Veg Out: Make a more elaborate salt & chilli chips by frying sliced onion, spring onion, chopped garlic in oil, peppers, chillies and carrots along with the fried chips and seasoning mix.
• Batter in: Add even more indulgence by making salt & chilli chips (in light batter).

I hope you’ll try this dry style salt & pepper chips recipe. If you do, let me know in the comments how it went!

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Dry Style Salt & Pepper Chips Recipe FAQ

What’s the difference between salt & pepper chips and salt & chilli chips in Chinese takeaways?
They are one and the same, generally speaking. It’s thought that some takeaways and restaurants refer to ‘salt & pepper’ as in ‘chilli pepper’, whereas others specify ‘salt & chilli’. In both cases, these menu items refer to dishes that are dusted generously with Chinese salt & pepper mix and typically served a little spicy with dried or fresh chillies.

What is Chinese takeaway style salt & pepper mix?
Salt & pepper mix is used in Chinese takeaways and restaurants to add savoury, sweet and aromatic flavour to salt & pepper or salt & chilli dishes. It includes sea salt, star anise, MSG, sugar and Chinese 5-spice and is dusted generously on to fried chicken, ribs, wings, chips and more.

What is MSG and why should I use it?
MSG is monosodium glutamate, a seasoning ingredient widely used in Chinese takeaway kitchens, in pure form or as an ingredient in soy sauces and other seasoning sauces. Despite historic baseless claims of its dangers, it has been widely proven to be considered safe for use in cooking. In fact, many of the myths and lies about MSG were deliberately and maliciously spread as a form of racism. You can find MSG naturally in many foodstuffs including broccoli, cheese and tomatoes. It’s available online or in Chinese supermarkets. You can learn more about MSG from the brilliant Chin Taylor of Ziang’s Kitchen here.

What kind of chips do Chinese takeaways use?
Whilst many Chinese takeaways also operate a chip-shop menu and use their own freshly cooked chips, others use good quality frozen chips. If you live close to a large cash and carry or Chinese supermarket, you might be able to find some of the same brands commonly used in takeaways. ‘Farm Frites’, ‘Lamb Weston’ and ‘Aviko’ brands are all widely used. If you can’t find them, inexpensive supermarket ‘own brand’ chips work well. Just make sure to use chips that don’t have any sort of spice mix or coating already on them.

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Do you like this dry style salt and pepper chips recipe? If so, buying a copy of my book might appeal to you! In The Chinese Takeaway Secret you can find a host of restaurant and takeaway style recipes that you can make at home. You’ll learn how to make chicken satay skewers, crispy beef, chow mein and more! You can buy The Chinese Takeaway Secret in paperback or kindle form here.

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