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Dipping a piece of Mafa Chicken with a fork into sauce.
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5 from 14 votes

Mafa Chicken

This Mafa Chicken is made with marinated chicken breast pieces, coated in Wondra flour, and fried until golden and crispy. Serve it with honey mustard sauce for one of our favorite fried chicken recipes.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Marinating8 hours
Total Time8 hours 30 minutes
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: Asian
Keyword: Chicken, mafa chicken
Servings: 8
Calories: 454kcal
Author: Emily Walker

Ingredients

Batter:

  • 1 package tofu
  • ⅓ cup soy sauce
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • 6 garlic cloves
  • 7 chicken breasts
  • 2 eggs
  • Wondra Flour
  • oil for frying
  • Accent flavor enhancer (optional, to taste)

Dipping Sauce:

  • ¼ cup honey
  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

Instructions

  • Blend the batter ingredients thoroughly in the blender til you have a smooth mixture.
    Blender with Mafa Chicken marinade.
  • Cut up chicken breasts into chicken nugget-size pieces and marinate in the above mixture in the fridge overnight. (If it is cold enough, we keep the chicken in the garage. If you keep it in the fridge put a good seal over the chicken and sauce because this stuff has a strong smell!)
    Glass bowl with chicken pieces marinading.
  • Before cooking stir 2 eggs into the mixture and thoroughly coat each piece of chicken in “Wondra” flour.
    Chicken piece covered with Wondra flour in a large glass bowl.
  • Deep fry at about 350 degrees until pieces are brown and completely cooked.
    Frying Mafa Chicken in a large dutch oven of oil.
  • Place fried chicken pieces on a wire rack while you cook the remaining chicken pieces. Optional: sprinkle on some Accent flavor enhancer.
    Cooling pieces of fried Mafa Chicken on a sheet pan.
  • Serve with dipping sauce.
    Mafa Chicken on a plate with dipping sauce.

For the dipping sauce:

  • Mix mayonnaise, honey, and mustard. Chill and serve.
    Dipping sauce for Mafa chicken surrounded by chicken.

Notes

  • Let the chicken marinate overnight for the best flavor.
  • Add the eggs right before coating and frying, not before marinating.
  • Cut the chicken into similar-size pieces so they cook evenly.
  • Fry in small batches so the coating gets crispy.
  • Keep the oil around 350 degrees Fahrenheit and let it come back to temperature between batches.
  • Chicken is done when it reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit inside.
  • Wondra flour gives the coating the best light, crispy texture.
  • Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
  • Reheat in the oven or air fryer for the crispiest leftovers.
  • Mafa Chicken is also good cold, especially straight from the fridge the next day.
  • Other dipping sauces that go well with Mafa Chicken include sweet and sour sauce, hot mustard, BBQ sauce, ranch, hot honey, and fry sauce.

Nutrition

Calories: 454kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 49g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 173mg | Sodium: 761mg | Potassium: 807mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 131IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 89mg | Iron: 2mg