Crispy Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken Recipe (Street Food Fried Chicken Bites)
Crispy, flavour-packed Taiwanese popcorn chicken coated in sweet potato starch, tossed with aromatic spice mix and fried Thai basil for the ultimate street food snack experience.
Ingredients
- 450 g boneless & skinless chicken thighs
- 15 g Thai basil leaves
- neutral oil for frying
Marinade
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp five-spice powder
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Coating
- 3/4 cup sweet potato starch
Spice Mix
- 1/4 tsp Sichuan powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp five-spice powder
Instructions
- Slice your chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces. I like mine about an inch in size.
- In a bowl, mix all your marinade ingredients - salt, white pepper, five-spice powder, sugar, garlic powder, and soy sauce - then add the chicken.
- Let the chicken rest in the fridge and marinate for 30 minutes to 4 hours.
- Prepare the other ingredients: mix the spices in a small bowl and set it aside. Remove the Thai basil leaves from the stems and set them aside as well.
- Pour the sweet potato starch directly into the bowl and mix. Make sure all the chicken pieces are lightly coated.
- Once everything is coated, spread the chicken out on a tray while you prepare your oil for frying.
- Fry them over medium-high heat until golden brown. (Note: You can use the chopstick trick to check if your oil is ready - refer above.)
- Once the chicken is removed from the oil, place it on a wire rack to keep the exterior crispy, then immediately sprinkle on your spice mix. Repeat until all the chicken is fried.
- Pat your Thai basil leaves dry with a kitchen towel, then gently add them to the oil and fry for about 30 seconds.
- Mix your Thai basil with the seasoned chicken in a bowl, then sprinkle the spice mix over it one more time.
- Enjoy your chicken snack with boba tea and imagine you’re in Taiwan (my dream destination)!
The longer you marinate your chicken, the more flavour it absorbs from the marinade. I find 30 minutes is still a good option, especially if you’re in a rush - I get it!
A trick I learned is to wet your hands when mixing the chicken. It helps the granules stick without making the coating too thick. The key is to lightly coat the chicken, not create a heavy batter, so you get that signature popcorn chicken look when frying.
If you leave the chicken in the bowl, it may release moisture and start to clump together.
Since these are bite-sized pieces, you can shallow fry them! My rule is that as long as more than half the chicken is covered, you’re good.
The unfortunate truth is that heat in a pan isn’t always evenly distributed, so some pieces of chicken may cook faster than others. I like to move them around and flip them twice to make sure everything is cooked perfectly.
The oil will help the spices stick to the chicken, so I like doing this step after each batch of frying.
Be careful during this step as the oil may splatter, but don’t panic! I don’t recommend frying the basil for too long, as it can affect the flavour and it may not hold its shape.