A Food YouTuber Actually Created Translucent Fried Chicken Wings
A YouTuber named Cai Nan recently went viral after uploading a video titled “I Want To Make Fried Chicken Transparent, But The Result Is Strange.” The clip hit social media feeds in late April after viewers realized the creator had somehow made an edible chicken wing almost completely see-through while still retaining its crunch.
The last part was what pushed the experiment into an obsession on the internet.
The Project Started With Rebuilding The Entire Wing
Instead of modifying a regular chicken wing, Cai Nan broke it down and rebuilt it piece by piece using molecular gastronomy techniques. The process was halfway between a cooking video and a science lab demonstration.
The bones came first. Cai Nan recreated them using a mixture of bone marrow, collagen, and cold gel, then poured the blend into bone-shaped molds. Once the pieces were set, they looked oddly like real chicken bones, except they had a translucent finish.
The meat took even more work. Using a machine designed to extract liquid and flavor compounds, Cai Nan reduced the chicken meat into what looked like a pale broth packed with the flavor profile of fried chicken but without the original texture. This liquid became the base for the next stage of the experiment.
The Meat Needed A New Structure
Image via Canva/MAREVGENNA
After reducing the meat to a liquid, Cai Nan used a method called spherification to rebuild the chicken’s structure. The technique is common in molecular gastronomy and helps transform liquids into soft gel-like shapes. In this case, it allowed the creator to mimic muscle fibers while maintaining the translucent appearance.
Once molded and set, the reconstructed chicken began to look surprisingly convincing. The wing already had transparent bones and glass-like meat. But one major problem remained. Fried chicken without crispy skin is just warm disappointment. This hurdle turned out to be the hardest part of the project.
The Crispy Coating Nearly Ruined Everything
According to the video, Cai Nan initially tried coating the wing in regular flour and frying it the traditional way. However, this immediately destroyed the transparency, as the flour turned the outer layer white. Using tapioca flour also produced similar results.
The creator then experimented with lower frying temperatures to reduce the cloudiness, which helped slightly, though the coating still came out more opaque than clear. At that point, the process became much more technical.
After several failed attempts, Cai Nan switched to a much thinner starch-based coating and carefully controlled both the oil temperature and frying time. This kept the shell light and crunchy without completely masking the transparent meat underneath. The finished wing looked almost unreal in motion. Light passed through parts of it while the outer layer still crackled with each bite. Online reactions quickly shifted between fascination and confusion.