“Crunchy and flavorful chicken skin chicharon made with chicken skin, seasoned with fish sauce, coated with flour then deep fried until golden brown. A lovely entrée, appetizer or snack any time of the day.”

In the Philippines, chicken skin chicharon are a popular guilty-pleasure snack. They are high in fat and cholesterol but so tasty that you can’t stop once you get a bite into this crunchy delight. Consuming it won’t be a problem as long as you eat them in moderation and is medically fit for this type of food.

Chicharon have long been a part of Filipino culture. You can find this snack almost everywhere, be it in sari-sari stores, convenience stores, restaurants, and supermarkets. It is even being sold by balut vendors on the street or at the bus terminals. They are crunchy, salty and delicious!

Chicharon manok is usually eaten as appetizer, snack, pulutan or main course. The ideal accompaniments are steamed white rice and vinegar dipping sauce.

Making chicken skin chicharon at home is so easy and requires few simple ingredients. All you need are chicken skins, fish sauce, ground black pepper, cornstarch and flour and you’re ready to go. In no time, you can enjoy these chicken cracklings while cooking the next batch.

WHAT IS CHICKEN SKIN CHICHARON

Chicken Skin Chicharon, is a popular street food in the Philippines made from chicken skin that is deep-fried till it is crispy and golden brown. It one of the popular variant of chicharon.

The word “chicharon” is derived from the Spanish word Chicharron (double “r”) which means “fried hog skin”. This snack gained popularity not only in Spain but also in Venezuela, Peru, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and the United States, to name a few.

In the Philippines, there are several varieties of chicharon. These includes chicharon baboy (made from hog skin and fat), chicharon bulaklak (made from chicken or pork omentum), chicharon bituka (made from chicken or pork intestines), and the chicharon manok or chicken cracklings (made of chicken skin).

Chicharon can be served as an appetizer, entree, snack, or pulutan—a finger food eaten with alcoholic beverages. Just like the lechon kawali and crispy pata, it is best served with sukang sawsawan, a spicy vinegar dipping sauce due to its richness and crispiness.

WHY YOU’LL LOVE IT

• No need to marinate or boil. This chicharon manok recipe doesn’t require marinating, boiling or drying. It can be fried straight away after it has been seasoned. So there is no waiting time.
• So crunchy. So crunchy when they are freshly cooked and remain crunchy even after 5 hours.
• Perfect as is or as a meal. It can be eaten alone or with rice. You can also enjoy it anytime of the day for a satisfying meal or snack.
• Good for business. If you are looking for extra income, you can sell this chicken skin chicharon. The ingredients are affordable and best of all, people like it (demand).

CHICHARON MANOK INGREDIENTS

The ingredients I used for this chicharon manok recipe are:

• Chicken skin. You have to properly clean the chicken skin after purchase to remove remaining hairs and fats.
• Vinegar and salt. To remove any odour and make sure that it’s clean, you can massage chicken skins with vinegar and salt then rinse thoroughly. This will also help in prolonging its shelf life.
• Fish sauce.  Gives out an umami flavor. You can substitute salt but in lesser quantity.
• Ground black pepper. Imparts slight spiciness to the chicharon. You can add more if you want a peppery taste in your chicharon.
• Cornstarch. Acts as binder and it makes the coating crunchier.
• All-purpose flour. Serves as the breading and adds flavor and crunch to the chicharon.
• Canola oil for frying. You can use other flavorless and neutral oil with a high smoking point such as safflower, grapeseed, vegetable, rice bran, soybean, corn or sunflower.

HOW TO COOK CHICKEN SKIN CHICHARON

This chicken skin chicharon recipe is not made like the traditional method of boiling the skin, drying and then frying it. Rather, it resembles like a breaded fried chicken which results in crispy fried chicken skin. I guarantee that it tastes good and stay crunchy even left exposed for a couple of hours on room temperature.

The first step is to prepare and clean you chicken skin properly.

Using a knife, remove any sizable chunks of fat from the edges. Scrape off any superfluous skin or fat from the skin’s underneath or any remaining hair.

Combine chicken skin, vinegar and salt in a bowl. Thoroughly massage vinegar and salt on chicken skins. Wash two to three times until completely clean. Drain with a strainer.

Transfer cleaned chicken skin in another bowl. Add fish sauce, ground black pepper and cornstarch. Mix until all chicken skin are well coated. Note: You can let it sit for 10 minutes or fry it immediately.

In a deep pan or wok over medium heat, heat oil until it reaches 375 – 400 °F.

In another bowl, pour all-purpose flour and coat each chicken skin thoroughly.

Carefully place each chicken skin pieces in the heated oil. Do not overcrowd to cook evenly. Fry for about 3-5 minutes or until it turns crispy and golden brown.

Using a slotted spoon or skimmer, remove from the pan and place over cooling/ wire rack or plate lined with paper towels to let the excess oil drip off.

Transfer to a serving plate and serve as snack, appetizer, pulutan or entrée with steamed white rice and vinegar dipping sauce on the side.

TIPS IN MAKING CHICKEN SKIN CHICHARON

• Make sure to only cook the skin and not the fat.
• Adjust seasoning according to your liking.
• Keep the temperature between 375 and 400 degrees Fahrenheit. If necessary, cook in batches and avoid packing the pan too tightly to avoid the temperature from dropping.
• Make sure to coat the whole skin and spread it when frying.
• The cook time will vary somewhat depending on the thickness of the skins.
• To avoid the chicken skins in becoming soggy, make sure to let them cool completely before storing.

HOW TO SERVE

You can serve chicharon manok as appetizer, snack or even as ulam paired with rice. The best way to enjoy this is with spicy vinegar dipping sauce with onion and garlic bits.

You can also use chicken skin chicharon as toppings in other meals like pancit palabok, ginisang munggo (mung bean soup) or suam na mais as replacement of usual pork chicharon.

HOW TO STORE

Leftover chicharon skin chicharon is best kept in the refrigerator to ensure food safety. Transfer on an airtight container or resealable bag and refrigerate for up to 5 days.

It’s crucial to store handmade chicken skins in the refrigerator to prevent spoiling because they lack the preservatives present in store-bought pork rinds.

To reheat, simply put the chilled chicken skins on a sheet pan and reheat them in a 350° F oven for a few minutes. Or just eat them as is because they will remain crunchy if sealed and stored properly.

If you’ve tried this recipe, please rate it and tell me how you liked it in the comments section below; I love hearing from you! Happy tummy!

If you make something with Happy Tummy Recipes, please share it with me, and don’t forget to rate and comment on this recipe below!

For more recipe inspiration, please subscribe to our recipe newsletter and follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, Tumblr, and YouTube!

This post contains affiliate links. I make a commission from sales. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. For more information, read my disclosure policy.