Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken

Taiwanese popcorn chicken is an incredibly flavorful and crispy street food. Cut into bite-sized pieces and tossed with a seasoned spice mix, you won’t be able to just have one bite!

A Night Market staple

One of my earliest memories of visiting Taiwan was when my uncle brought me out to one of the night markets, which was bustling with locals.

Amongst all the delicious food, a hungry five-year old kid was only fixated on the giant bowl of popcorn chicken being fried in one of the vendors. My uncle ordered a small bag for me, and the lady scooped a humongous serving of chicken into a paper bag before sprinkle on a hefty amount of seasoning on top.

I took the first bite and I was instantly in love. It was perfectly crisp (and still burning hot), while the chicken itself was moist and flavorful within. Even though you’re meant to eat the chicken with small skewers that they give you, I ended up grabbing two or three at a time while I was carelessly stuffing my mouth.

Love Asian STREET FOOD as much as I do? Here’s a couple more from our street food series:

• Okonomiyaki (Japanese savory pancake)
• Tteokbokki (Korean spicy rice cakes)
• Turon (Filipino banana spring rolls)
• Banh Trang Nuong (Vietnamese Pizza)

Ingredients for Taiwanese popcorn chicken

• 500 g chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces (dark or white meat is fine)
• 1-2 cups sweet potato starch, as much as needed to coat the chicken
• 1 egg white
• 2-3 tbsp potato starch
• 1 large handful of Thai basil leaves
• Oil, for frying

Marinade:

• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp ginger, grated
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp five spice
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine (Chinese cooking wine)

Seasoning mix:

• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1/4 tsp chili powder (optional)
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp five spice
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Starches to use

Sweet potato starch is one of the traditional Taiwanese coatings for this fried chicken. You’ll notice that it’s much coarser than other starches, which will give the end-result chicken those signature “beads” of crunchiness. You can find this particular starch in most Asian groceries, but if you don’t have any luck, you can simple follow these instructions for a similar texture:

• Place starch into a bowl and carefully pour in 1 teaspoon of cold water. Using a fork or your hands, start to mix the starch until “beads” of starch form (you may need to add more water a teaspoon at a time to achieve this consistency!). The end result should be much coarser with more texture compared to the starting starch.

Alternative starches to use for coating:

• Potato starch
• Tapioca starch
• Corn starch
• Rice starch

Knowing what starch to use is crucial in making Taiwanese popcorn chicken! As a rule of thumb, most starches should be fine to use, just try to stay away from the regular all-purpose flour since flour contains gluten, which alters the light, crisp texture of our fried chicken. If that’s your only choice though, it’s totally fine to use as well. Just expect the coating to be a bit thicker than the original.

Instructions for Taiwanese popcorn chicken

Cut your chicken into bite-sized pieces. Marinate this in a bowl with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, five spice, and Chinese cooking wine. Mix thoroughly to combine.

Cover, and let marinate for 30 minutes or overnight.

After marinating, add in the egg white and 2-3 tbsp of potato starch. Gently mix this with the chicken until a slightly thick, wet batter forms.

Toss the battered chicken with the sweet potato starch until fully coated.

Fry the chicken in batches (try not to overcrowd the pan!) for about 5-7 minutes or until fully cooked-through.

Immediately toss with the prepared seasoning mix (to taste) and set aside.

Fry the Thai basil leaves in the hot oil for around 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until they’ve become crispy and translucent. Drain and set aside.

To serve, top the fried chicken with the fried basil. Enjoy!

Final tips

• A fair warning: Thai basil does cause some splattering when fried due to its moisture content. If rinsing the leaves, be sure to dry it thoroughly to minimize the splash back. Also be ready with a lid/screen as soon as you drop the basil in the oil to reduce splatters. Optionally, if you don’t want to deal with the oil, feel free to omit the leaves. While not exactly authentic, you won’t be losing out on too much flavor if you don’t use it.
• Try to marinate the chicken overnight. This will give the chicken enough time to absorb all the seasonings we’ve soaked it in. In a pinch, at least 30 minutes will do.
• Make sure to toss the chicken with the seasoning mix immediately after frying. This ensures that the seasoning and spices stick to the chicken thoroughly, rather than falling to the bottom of your plate.