Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken (盐酥鸡)
Beautifully crispy on the outside and juicy within, popcorn chicken is a Taiwanese street food favorite. Recreate it at home with simple ingredients and foolproof tips.
- Prep time
- 10 min
- Cook time
- 12 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 lb chicken breast (or other boneless cuts (see note 1))
- 4 tablespoon water
- 4 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon garlic (minced)
- ½ teaspoon five spice powder (or ground Sichuan pepper, white pepper)
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 6 tablespoon cornstarch
- 6 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- Neutral cooking oil (such as sunflower, canola, peanut, or avocado)
- Fresh Thai basil (Optional)
- ¼ teaspoon five spice powder (or ground Sichuan pepper, white pepper)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ground chili pepper (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Marinate
- 2
Cut the chicken into chunks, around 1 inch (2½ cm) in size. Put them into a bowl and add water, cornstarch, flour, light soy sauce, garlic, five-spice, and baking soda. Mix well, then leave to marinate for 15 minutes (see note).
- 3
Coat
- 4
In a large, deep plate or tray, mix the cornstarch and flour for coating. Transfer one piece of marinated chicken to the plate and coat it with the mixture generously and evenly.
- 5
Gently shake off any excess, then place the coated chicken on a dry plate. Repeat with the remaining pieces.
- 6
Deep fry
- 7
Pour oil for deep frying into a wok or a deep saucepan. Add Thai basil leaves (make sure they are completely dry), then turn on the heat to high. Once they turn crispy, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.
- 8
Carefully lower the chicken pieces, one by one, into the hot oil without overcrowding the wok (you'd likely need to fry in 2-3 batches). Fry until lightly golden and crispy.
- 9
Remove with a slotted spoon, then wait 30-40 seconds for the oil to return to high temperature. Slide the chicken back in for a second fry. Once the crust turns vibrantly golden, transfer the pieces to the plate with basil.
- 10
Mix five-spice powder with salt (and ground chili pepper if you wish), then sprinkle over the chicken. Serve immediately for the best flavor and crunch.