Air Fried Turmeric Chicken Drumstick
Have you ever wished to enjoy fried chicken without needing to use a lot of oil, a much healthier version of fried chicken and yet easy as well as mess free to prepare? Good news is, YES! Bye bye to oily fried chicken and say hello to our juicy delicious air fried chicken drumstick recipe!
Ingredients
- 5 Chicken drumsticks
- 1-2 teaspoons pink himalayan salt(+/-)
Marinade Paste
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- ⅛ teaspoon sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- ⅛ tsp fish sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons light soy sauce
- ½ tbsp rice flour
- 1-2 teaspoon water (hold on to this first)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken drumsticks and pat it dry with a paper towel.
- Add in salt and spread them evenly on both sides (adjust the salt -/+ accordingly), set aside.
- Prepare the marinade paste. In a small bowl, add turmeric powder,sugar, pepper, fish sauce, light soy sauce, vegetable oil and rice flour.
- Stir the mixture into a smooth paste. If the paste is too thick, you can add some water.
- Spread the marinade paste on the chicken drumsticks on both sides.
- Cover with cling wrap and let them marinate for 2 hours, preferably overnight in the fridge.
- Prepare the marinated chicken drumsticks for air frying.
- Air fried them at 160*C for 20-25 mins then 180*C -190*C for 6 mins to crisp & darken up the skin. ( see note #6 )
- Ensure the drumstick is cooked thoroughly and please adjust the temperature/time accordingly as each air fryer brand is a little different. Add extra minutes of cooking time if needed. Insert a toothpick to check the drumstick for doneness. The drumstick is done when you notice the drumstick juices run clear.
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Video
Tips & Notes
- You can use fresh blended turmeric if you prefer.
- You can use sea salt, kosher salt, pink himalayan salt,etc.
- If the marinade is too thick to work with, you may add a bit of water but not too much. As long as you get a smooth spreadable texture at the end, adding a bit of water is fine.
- You can replace rice flour with all purpose flour or potato starch.
- I’ve tried both the brush and the back of a spoon when spreading the marinade paste onto the chicken. I prefer a spoon. Again, is up to you and your preferences.
- No preheat needed. The temperature/time above is based on my preferences when making air fried chicken drumstick in an air fryer (all brands work differently as well). If you prefer an extra crispy & brown on the skin, you just need to cook longer. So please do adjust them according to your preferences and use my setting above as a guide to start.
- In case you’re wondering, I’m using Phillips Air Fryer, the first version and the basket is not big enough. So, I removed the basket and air fried my drumsticks in the bucket of the air fryer. For easy cleaning, I lined it with foil before I placed the drumstick in. This is how I do mine. Been doing this for many years now and so far no problem. If you have an alternative way, of course you are welcome to try it.
- FYI-My recipe above served two but you can double or triple them up for big serving.
- The recipes shared above are specifically for making fried chicken drumsticks in an air fryer. If you want to make them another way with this recipe (deep frying over the stove or in the oven), feel free to experiment and adjust the timing and temperature accordingly, as each oven works differently. The process of checking doneness is mostly the same regardless of the cooking method.
