"It’s so much more worth it making your own popcorn chicken than buying it from boba shops these days. In SF, the average price of popcorn chicken is $9 and sometimes, all you get it batter, dry chicken, and no basil."
Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken
5
- ★★
- ★★
- ★★
- ★★
- ★★
A Note from Feedfeed
Crispy crunch bite-size pieces of popcorn chicken, seasoned with fried basil leaves and a blend of spices. This chicken is great to add to any salad or served as an appetizer or snack. Also, it's coated in potato starch making this gluten-free.
Jump to Section
- Recipe Card
Prep time 1hr
Cook time 8mins
Serves or Makes: 2
Recipe Card
ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing cooking wine
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice
- 3 garlic cloves, grated
- Canola oil, for frying
- 1 egg white, beaten
- 1/2 cup potato starch
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
Method
Step 1
To make the marinade: combine soy sauce, wine, white pepper, Chinese five spice and garlic. Stir to combine, add in chicken. Let sit 1 hour.
Step 2
Stir in egg white. Toss chicken in potato starch to coat evenly. Set aside.
Step 3
Heat oil to 250F in a fry pan about 2 inches deep. Fry basil leaves for 30 seconds. Set aside to drain on paper towel lined plate.
Step 4
Raise oil temperature to 350F. Fry chicken for 3-4 minutes until brown and crispy. Toss together with fried basil.
Step 5
Serve hot, seasoned with white pepper, cayenne, popcorn chicken powder (can be found at Asian supermarkets).