Air Fried Chi Pao Kai (Paper Wrapped Chicken)

Air Fried Chi Pao Kai (Paper Wrapped Chicken) with Chinese sausage on the top to keep the chicken moist and taro to soak up the juices.

I have been wanting to make Chi Pao Kai (Paper Wrapped Chicken) for a while now but kept putting it off. The reason is because it is deep fried and the paper packets are usually soaking in oil. I find them a tad too greasy for my liking. Hence, this dish was on my to-do list when I got my air fryer. While it may appear more baked than deep fried, I am happy with the results. The guys enjoyed it very much and have requested for me to make more for them soon. 🙂

The Parchment Paper Packets

For this dish, the chicken is usually placed on a piece of parchment paper and simply wrapped into an envelope. For my air fried version, I wanted to make a kind of “cup” for it so that you can actually eat out of instead of having to remove the chicken from the paper packet. As such, I came up with these parchment paper packets which worked out nicely for this purpose. This parchment paper packet can sit on its own without any need for staples or toothpicks to hold it together. Please watch the video or see the step-by-step instructions on How To Make Parchment Paper Packets for this Air Fried Chi Pao Kai (Paper Wrapped Chicken) recipe.

A Meaty and Substantial Packet

Often times, Chi Pao Kai comes in small packages with unfortunately more paper than chicken. 😉 I wanted my version to be a bit more substantial with larger pieces of chicken. As mentioned previously, I added taro to soak up the juices and Chinese sausage to provide some fat since they are air fried. This made them into almost a complete meal with all the goodies inside a tidy packet.

Similar Products Used in This Air Fried Chi Pao Kai

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Ninja FG551 Foodi Smart XL 6-in-1 Indoor Grill
Reynolds Kitchens Parchment Paper Roll, 15 inches wide x 72 feet long, 90 Square Feet
Katbite Parchment Paper Roll for Baking, 15 in x 210 ft 260 Sq.Ft
Unbleached Parchment Paper for Baking, 15 in x 210 ft, 260 Sq.Ft

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Air Fried Chi Pao Kai (Paper Wrapped Chicken)

Air Fried Chi Pao Kai (Paper Wrapped Chicken) with Chinese sausage on the top to keep the chicken moist and taro to soak up the juices.

Author : Linda Ooi

Course : Main Dish

Cuisine : Chinese

Keyword : chee pow kai, chi pao kai, paper wrapped chicken

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Marinate Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings: 8

Calories: 250kcal

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

• 4 boneless, skinless, chicken thighs (cut into 4 large pieces)
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp ground pepper
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1½ inch ginger (45g)
• 1 tbsp Shao Hsing cooking wine
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 Chinese sausage
• 10 oz taro (cut into 2” x 1” x ½” pieces) (283g)
• ¼ tsp five spice powder
• 4 green onions (cut into 2 inch strips)
• 8 parchment paper packets

Instructions

 

• Place chicken in a bowl. Add salt, ground pepper, and garlic. Grate ginger over chicken.
  
• Add Shao Hsing cooking wine, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and sesame oil. Mix well and allow chicken to marinade for 30 minutes.
  
• Soak Chinese sausages in a pan of hot water for about 10 minutes. Casings should puff up. Remove casings and slice sausages at a diagonal.
• Sprinkle five spice powder over taro. Mix well.
  
• Divide the pieces of taro into the base of each parchment paper packet. Place 2 pieces of marinated chicken thighs on top of the taro. Divide remaining marinate (if any) from the bowl onto the chicken in each packet.
  
• Arrange 3 pieces of Chinese sausage and 2 pieces of green onions on top of the chicken. Close each packet and fold 1 inch downwards to loosely seal the packet.
  
• Place air fryer basket in the unit and close the hood. Set air fryer to 375⁰F (190⁰C) for 20 minutes. Press start to begin preheating.
• When unit beeps, open the hood and arrange chicken packets in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Close hood to let chicken cook.
  
• When cooking is complete, remove Chi Pao Kai (Paper Wrapped Chicken) to a dish and serve immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 250kcal

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I intend to make these delicious packets again soon. They will be great on either a similar Asian Charcuterie Board or Lunar New Year Charcuterie Board. They are quick and easy to make and I hope you will give them a try.