The Taiwanese Fried Chicken Cutlet (炸雞排) is widely enjoyed as a street vendor snack, especially at night markets. It is a crispy chicken steak deep fried and sometimes topped with spices and/or sauces. It is commonly sold in paper wraps and eaten on-the-go. It is also sometimes eaten as a formal meal and cut into cubes or slices and served with rice and vegetables.
I tried a Spicy Fried Chicken Cutlet from Monga, a Taiwanese food company known for selling street food. I usually buy the spicy, or málà (麻辣), cutlet, because I love spicy food! In traditional Chinese, which is one of the main languages used in Taiwan, málà means numb (麻) and hot or spicy (辣). It is used as the usual word for "spicy" in Taiwan. It has a crunchy outside and extremely juicy inside. The spice makes it even tastier, and I love pairing it with a jade tea or papaya boba milk tea.
Everytime I eat a Fried Chicken Cutlet from Monga, I feel happy. It reminds me of the spicy fried chicken from the Filipino Jollibee and American KFC. Given that I am part Taiwanese and Filipina and an American, this makes the treat also seem more like home to me. Although Taiwan is known for its Fried Chicken Cutlet, it is important to note that such a treat is similarly enjoyed around the world even if not in the exact same way.
