These Salt and Pepper Halloumi Fries are salty, spicy, cheesy and completely moreish. Think British Chinese takeaway-style salt and pepper chips, but with golden halloumi fries tossed through peppers, onion, garlic, chilli, spring onions, white pepper and Chinese five spice. They’re vegetarian, ready in about 25 minutes, and honestly good enough to eat straight from the pan.
Jump to:
I had a packet of store-bought halloumi fries and a sorry looking pepper sat in the fridge so I thought I'd experiment with them and make a salt and pepper version! I'm so glad that I did - the flavours all complement each other so well!
Thanks to the properties of halloumi, it doesn’t melt when cooked so holds its shape beautifully for these fries and for my BBQ halloumi and mushroom skewers and vegetable paella with halloumi.
Main Ingredients Notes
Halloumi
I usually make these with a block of halloumi rather than ready-made halloumi fries. It tastes fresher, and by the time you open the packet and air fry the ready-made version, cutting your own does not take much longer.
Ready-made halloumi fries are still a brilliant shortcut if you want this even faster.
Flour coating
Plain flour, cornflour or rice flour all work here.
Cornflour gives a nice coating, just like I use in my dry chilli paneer. Rice flour adds a little extra crispness. Plain flour is the easiest option because most people already have it.
I do not worry about getting the halloumi super crisp because it gets tossed with peppers, onions and seasoning at the end. The aim is golden edges, hot halloumi and that British Chinese takeaway-style flavour.
Salt and pepper seasoning
The flavour comes from white pepper, Chinese five spice, chilli flakes, salt and a little sugar.
White pepper gives that proper takeaway-style warmth. Five spice adds the savoury Chinese-style background flavour.
How to make Salt & Pepper Halloumi Fries
- Cut and coat the halloumi: Cut the halloumi into fries, then toss with flour. A little moisture from the halloumi helps the coating stick.
- Air fry or shallow fry until golden: Cook the halloumi until golden at the edges. It does not need to be super crisp because it will be tossed with vegetables afterwards.
- Mix the salt and pepper seasoning: Stir together salt, white pepper, Chinese five spice, chilli flakes and sugar. Keep it ready because the final stir-fry comes together quickly.
- Stir-fry the vegetables and aromatics: Cook the onion, peppers, garlic, chilli and spring onions together on a high heat. They should stay colourful and crunchy, not soft.
- Add the halloumi fries: Toss gently so the fries do not break.
- Toss with the seasoning: Sprinkle over the salt and pepper seasoning, then toss everything together until the halloumi fries are coated.
Hayley's Tips
- To make this recipe even more easy for yourself, you can spruce up a packet of ready-made halloumi fries from the supermarket and toss them in your homemade salt and pepper seasoning! So easy, quick and chances are, you’ve already got a stray pepper kicking about in your fridge anyway!
- Leave on the milky fluid that’s in the halloumi packet as it helps the flour to stick to the halloumi.
- You can easily use gluten-free flour in replacement of plain flour.
- You can also use paneer batons as paneer holds its shape with cooking.
- Do not overcook the vegetables, they are best crunchy and retain more flavour that way.
Suggested Pairings
I often eat these Salt and Pepper Halloumi Fries just as they are for lunch, while the halloumi is still hot and the peppers are crunchy.
For a bigger Chinese fusion fake-away, serve them with Indo-Chinese veg hakka noodles or schezwan fried rice. If you are making a party spread, add veg manchurian or air fryer spring rolls (cooked from frozen). No dip is really needed because the fries are already tossed with garlic, chilli, spring onions and salt and pepper seasoning.
As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
Don’t forget to follow me on social media using the buttons below – I can't wait to see you all there!
📖 Recipe
Salt and Pepper Halloumi Fries
Ingredients
For the halloumi fries
- 300 grams halloumi cut into fries
- 2 tablespoons plain flour cornflour or rice flour
- oil spray for air frying
For the vegetables
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil
- 1 brown onion sliced
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped or minced
- ½ red pepper sliced into thin strips
- ½ green pepper sliced into thin strips
- 1 red or green chilli sliced
- ¼ cup spring onions sliced, plus extra green tops to garnish
For the salt and pepper seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice
- 1 teaspoon white pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon red chilli flakes
Instructions
Prepare the seasoning
- Mix 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice, 1 teaspoon white pepper powder, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon red chilli flakes in a small bowl. Set aside.
Prepare the halloumi
- Cut 300 grams halloumi into fries.
- Toss the halloumi fries in 2 tablespoons plain flour, cornflour or rice flour until lightly coated. A little moisture from the halloumi packet helps the coating stick. Shake off any excess.
Air fryer method
- Preheat the air fryer to 200°C.
- Arrange the coated halloumi fries in a single layer in the air fryer basket.
- Spray lightly with oil spray.
- Air fry for 8–10 minutes, turning halfway, until golden at the edges.
Shallow-fry method
- Heat 2–3 tablespoons of neutral oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat.
- Add the coated halloumi fries in a single layer.
- Fry for 1–2 minutes on each side, until lightly golden.
- Remove and drain on kitchen paper.
Cook the vegetables
- Heat 1 tablespoon neutral oil in a large frying pan or wok.
- Add the 1 brown onion, 2 garlic cloves, 1 red or green chilli, ½ red pepper, ½ green pepper. and ¼ cup spring onions.
- Stir-fry on a high heat for 1–2 minutes. The vegetables should stay colourful and crunchy, not soft.
Finish the halloumi fries
- Add the hot halloumi fries to the pan with the vegetables.
- Sprinkle over some of the salt and pepper seasoning.
- Toss gently until everything is coated. Taste and add more seasoning if needed.
- Serve immediately while the halloumi is hot.
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Share on Facebook Pin This Recipe
Leave a Reply