Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken (Crispy & Juicy!)

This is one of the popular items you will often find at Taiwanese night markets — today, we’re making it at home, and it tastes exactly like the ones at those night markets. The plus: you can have as much as you want hahaha.

Sometimes, I would order this at Taiwanese restaurants, but it’s always a hit or a miss. Either the chicken is not crispy enough, or the meat becomes too tough and chewy. Not to worry, you can now easily make it at home with accessible ingredients from your local Asian grocery store. One of the key ingredients for a crispy Taiwanese style popcorn chicken is using tapioca starch for the batter. Tapioca starch is what creates those crispy bubbles on the outside of the chicken.

Another tip to making crispy chicken is to double fry! I can’t explain how important it is to double fry. Not only does it make the chicken cooked throughly for sure, it also ends in an even crispier texture. All you need to do is fry for an extra 2 to 3 minutes over high heat.

Perfect for a snack, or you can even serve this as a main dish with some rice.

Ingredients:

Popcorn Chicken:

• 600g chicken thigh (cut into bite sized pieces)
• 2 tbsp grated garlic
• 1/2 of a whisked large egg
• 2.5 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice wine
• 1 tbsp five spice powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 cups tapioca starch
• 1.5 cups thai basil
• Neutral oil (for frying)

Seasoning Mix:

• 2 tsp pepper salt
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Instructions

For popcorn chicken:
1. Start off by making the spices mix. Mix the five spice powder, chili powder, white pepper, and sugar in a small bowl. Set aside. Mix the five spice powder, chili powder, white pepper, and sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Add the chicken in a large bowl with the grated garlic, egg, soy sauce, and rice wine. Mix it all together. Then, add the spices mix (from step 1) into the chicken mixture and combine it all together. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 30 mins, or up to overnight.

3. Coat each chicken piece in tapioca starch evenly and let it sit for 5 minutes to ensure the coating doesn’t fall off.
4. In a deep wok/pan over medium-high heat, heat up the neutral oil for frying. Once the oil is heated, fry the Thai basil for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove and set aside. This makes the oil more fragrant!
5. Fry the chicken for 5 minutes, or until golden brown and the chicken is cooked through. Remove, and deep fry for a second time for an extra 2 to 3 minutes. This makes it even crispier! Remove and place the chicken in a serving dish.

For Seasoning Mix:

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and sprinkle on the chicken. Enjoy!

If you do try out this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and/or give it a rating! I’d also love to see your creations so don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!