These homemade Chinese salt and pepper chips are crispy, savoury and packed with flavour, with plenty of veg and fragrant spices. They are a brilliant way to turn a bag of oven chips into something more special.

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🌶️ Homemade Chinese Salt & Pepper Chips

If, like me, you love ordering salt and vinegar chips from your local Chinese takeaway, this homemade version is a great fakeaway option that will save you money.

The same combination of crisp and fluffy chips, aromatic spices, and lightly cooked vegetables and yes, they are as good as they sound.

🌶️ What are salt and pepper chips?

Salt and pepper chips are a popular British Chinese takeaway dish made by tossing chips with a savoury mixture of spices and sliced vegetables.

Despite the name, the flavour is much more interesting than simply salt and pepper. Chinese five-spice brings warmth and fragrance; as well as the veg, you can add fresh chilli for a real kick. I skip the slices of chilli, but you can add them for heat.

They aren't an authentic Chinese dish, but part of the great tradition of British Chinese takeaways, with all those dishes made to appeal to the British palate. The original recipe is hard to find, but it's thought they may have been created in Liverpool in one of the Chinese-run chip shops.

If you love making Chinese-style dishes at home, try this Sweet & Sour Tofu Rice Bake or this quick Tofu Fried Rice.

📜 At-A-Glance: Salt & Pepper Chips

⏱️ Ready in:  30 minutes

🍽️ Serves: 3 - 4

📝 Calories: 3 portions = 749 calories per portion, 4 portions = 562 calories per portion

👩‍🍳 Main Ingredients: Oven chips, onion, red and yellow bell pepper, soy sauce, nooch (nutritional yeast), salt, and white pepper.

🌿 Suitable for: Plant-based, vegan, dairy-free, egg-free, vegetarian, and gluten-free, if you use tamari sauce instead of soy sauce.

⭐Why You'll Love It: A cheeky wee taste of a Chinese takeaway at home; it's blooming tasty, and chips - we all love chips!

Give it a try on the side or as a fun dinner with some crispy vegetable spring rolls, when you want something easy but a bit different.

📜 Key Ingredients

Here are the simple ingredients you need to make these oven-roasted salt and pepper chips made in a roasting pan.

The full ingredient list, method, and notes are in the recipe card.

• Chips - you can use frozen chips or French fries for this recipe; you could even use potato wedges 
• Peppers - red, yellow, or orange bell peppers are all good in this dish; you could also use green pepper, but I find it quite bitter
• Onions - I use white onion, but you could use red onion
• Chilli - if you like a bit of spice, you could add thinly sliced jalapeños or chilli powder (or chilli flakes)

If you love lots of veg in your loaded chips, double the amount of onion and pepper you add.

 

👩‍🍳 You Don't Need to Add MSG

Many Chinese dishes are made with MSG; in fact, it could be hard to buy dinner from a Chinese Takeaway and find a savoury dish not containing it.

It gives that umami flavour that makes the dishes very moreish.

But you don't have to add MSG for that savoury flavour boost. In fact, I add a mixture of soy sauce and nooch (nutritional yeast) as a substitute, and it works really well.

🍟 Which Chips are Best?

You could cook fresh chips, but you would have to partially cook them first as they would take longer to cook, so frozen oven chips are the best option and make a great shortcut.

Fat oven chips are best, as they have a fluffy middle and there is more surface area for all that flavour mix to stick to, and it works better with slices of onion and pepper.

If you prefer French fries, you could use them instead, but I would recommend slicing the onion and peppers thinly.

👩‍🍳 How to Make Homemade Chinese Salt & Pepper Chips

Here are a few step-by-step photos to show you visually how easy it is to make these oven-baked dirty fries, although you could also use your air fryer to make these well-seasoned fries.

Step 1

• Preheat the oven and oil your roasting tin or baking tray (baking sheet).
• Add the oven chips to a mixing bowl, then add the onion and peppers and mix well.

Step 2:

• Add all the flavourings, spices, and seasoning (see the recipe card and mix well to combine.
• Spread out in a layer on your baking sheet or roasting tin and bake in the oven until cooked and golden.

🍟 How to Serve the Loaded Fries

Here are a few ideas of what to serve with these Chinese loaded fries for a homemade fakeaway.

• Vegetable fried rice
• Tofu Fried Rice
• Crispy tofu
• Salt & pepper tofu
• Gochujang Tofu
• Vegetable sping rolls
• Sweet & Sour Tofu Bake
• Sweet & sour vegetables
• Stir-fried vegetables
• Crispy cauliflower florets

If you love loaded fried or dirty fries, try these Fajita Loaded Fries or these Greek Loaded Fries next.

💭 Jac's Top Tip 

Try to make sure the chips are in a single layer and not heaped up. If they aren't in a single layer, they will steam and not crisp up. Best to use a second tray if the first one isn't big enough for those crispy fries.

💭 Frequently Asked Questions - Chinese Salt & Pepper Chips

How salty should these chips be?

How much salt you add is very much a personal taste, but you should add some to boost the other flavours.

How spicy are these Chinese dirty fries?

They have a bit of warmth, but are more spiced than hot. You can add extra heat with chilli powder, flakes, or sliced jalapeños.

Can you make these salt and pepper chips in an air fryer?

Yes, you can definitely make salt and pepper chips in the air fryer. Just make sure you toss them partway through the cook time, and remember the air fryer cooks quicker, so keep an eye on them.

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salt and pepper chips, salt and pepper fries, loaded fries, dirty fries, Chinese chips

Dinner

Chinese

Yield: 3-4

Author: Jacqueline Meldrum

Homemade Chinese Salt & Pepper Chips

These homemade Chinese salt and pepper chips are crispy, savoury, and packed with flavour, with plenty of veg and fragrant spices. They are a brilliant way to turn a bag of oven chips into something more special.

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 30 Min

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 kg (2 lbs & 3 oz approx., more is ok too) frozen oven chips
• 1 large white onion, peeled, halved, and sliced
• ½ red pepper, seeded and sliced
• ½ yellow pepper, seeded and sliced
• 1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce (or tamari sauce for gluten-free)
• 1 ½ tablespoons Chinese 5 Spice
• 1 tablespoon nooch (nutritional yeast)
• 1 ½ teaspoons of salt (less if you prefer)
• 1 teaspoon white pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 210c / 190c fan / 410f / gas mark 8 (air fry at 200c / 400f).
2. Add the oven chips to a large mixing bowl, then add the sliced onions and peppers.
3. Now add the olive oil and soy sauce and toss well to coat; this will help the seasoning to stick and to give a good golden colour.
4. Add the Chinese 5 Spice, the nooch (nutritional yeast), salt, and pepper, and toss well again to coat the chips.
5. Spread in a single layer on one or two large baking trays or roasting tins and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until cooked and golden, but toss partway through. The air fryer will be quicker, so check after 20 minutes.
6. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

• You can add chilli powder, flakes, or slices of jalapeños for heat.
• Extra veg is good; if you like it veg-heavy, add a whole red pepper and a whole yellow pepper.
• If you are using french fries, cut the veg thinly.
• Add sliced spring onion (green onion/scallions) as a garnish.

Calories:

3 portions = 749 calories per portion

4 portions = 562 calories per portion

Nutrition Facts

Calories

562

Fat (grams)

6 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

1 g

Carbs (grams)

195 g

Fiber (grams)

10 g

Net carbs

184 g

Sugar (grams)

7 g

Protein (grams)

33 g

Sodium (milligrams)

1252 mg

Cholesterol (grams)

112 mg

The nutritional information is supplied by an app and is generally good, but might not be exact.

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