Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken
These full flavor addictive crispy Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken bites are the perfect snack for parties and get-togethers. The Taiwanese marinade will flavor the chick thighs and the five-spice seasoning powder mix will elevate and will make you want to keep going back for more pieces.
Equipment
- Air Fryer Use only if air frying
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1½ lbs chicken thighs 1 inch pieces
Marinade
- 1 tbsp five-spice powder
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 3 garlic cloves finely minced
- ½ tsp white pepper
- ⅛ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp shaoxing cooking wine
- 1 egg egg whites only
For frying
- ½ cup cornstarch
- ½ cup sweet potato starch or tapioca starch
- 1 cup Thai basil
- oil canola, vegetable, peanut or grapeseed
Seasoning powder
- ½ tsp five-spice powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tso white pepper
Instructions
Deep Fry
- Trim fat and cut to size. This is an optional step. Trim some of the fat off the chicken thighs. If you prefer a juicier fried chicken you can leave it on. Cut the chicken thighs into 1-inch pieces.
- Marinade. In a medium bowl combine the chicken thigh pieces, five spice, light soy sauce, minced garlic, white pepper, black pepper, salt, sesame oil, sugar, egg white and Shaoxing cooking wine. Mix until all the chicken thigh pieces are well coated. Let it marinate for at least 1 hour. Overnight is recommended so the flavor is absorbed into the meat.
- Combine the seasoning powder. Combine the five-spice, salt, white pepper and Sichuan peppercorns. Set aside.
- Coat the chicken thighs. Combine the cornstarch and potato or tapioca starch on a shallow plate. Dredge the marinaded chicken thighs. Be generous with coating the pieces so you can get an extra crispy piece when fried.
- Heat the oil. Take a pan and add the oil and bring it to 350°F. I leave it at medium-high heat.
- Deep fry. In small batches add the pieces slowly without splashing the oil. Do not overcrowd or your chicken will not crisp up resulting in limp and super oily popcorn chicken. Fry for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Removed with a slotted spoon and let the oil drip. Either use a paper towel or a rack to let it cool. Repeat this 2-3 times.
- Double fry (Optional Step). Once all the chicken pieces have been deep fry. Double fry to get a crispier chicken. Toss the chicken in the batch and deep fry for 2 minutes. Do not overcook otherwise it may burn.
- Deep fry Thai Basil. Take the basil and toss it into the hot oil. Deep fry for 15-20 seconds or until they are crispy and still green. Remove with a slotted spoon and place them on top of a paper towel to absorb most of the oil.
- Coat with seasoning powder. Toss the fried popcorn chicken in a large bowl and coat them with the seasoning powder. Add as much or as little of the seasoning mix.
- Plate and top with fried Thai basil. Plate the fried chicken and top it with the fried thai basil. Enjoy!
Air Fry
- Follow steps 1 - 4 from above
- Preheat the air fryer. Preheat the air fryer to 400°F.
- Cook the chicken. In smaller batches add the coated chicken pieces in to the air fryer and spray with oil spray. Make sure to not overcrowd so the chicken will crisp up. Air fry for 5 minutes per side, flip and let it cook. Once all the chicken pieces are cooked add the Thai Bail and let it air fry for 2-3 minutes or until they have crisped up but not burnt.
- Follow steps 9 - 10 from above
Notes
Double fry. To get the extra crispy fried chicken double fry will get the extra crispy popcorn chicken. Once you have finished frying the first round add the chicken back and let it fry for 1-2 minutes. You want a light golden-brown color.
Coat the chicken thighs well. Chicken thighs have many crevices and cracks so get that starch in between so that when it is fried it's extra crispy. This is also the trick to get bigger popcorn chicken pieces once they are deep-fried.
Wash and dry the Thai basil. Ensure the basil is dry. I use paper down and really whip it down to reduce the oil splash when tossing the bail in the hot oil.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!