Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken (aka Táiwān Yán Sū Jī). Super crispy, flavorful bite-size pieces of chicken seasoned with Chinese five spice and fried basil.
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What is Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken?
Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken is a delicious and popular deep-fried chicken dish that originates from Taiwan in Southeast Asia. This is one of the most popular street food or snack sold at Taiwanese night markets for its tasty flavors and crunchy texture!
You can also find this Taiwanese fried chicken dish sold as a snack at many bubble tea shops or boba shops. It has become incredibly popular through social media for its satisfying crunchy texture.
This authentic Taiwanese popcorn chicken recipe is one of my all time favourite Asian chicken recipes on the blog! You will not be able to stop at one bite. I almost finished the entire plate to myself as they are so addictive!
My easy Taiwanese popcorn chicken recipe is simple to make. You’re marinating your cubed chicken thighs for at least 30 minutes or overnight. Then dredging and massaging the starch into the chicken until the starch begins to bead on the chicken. Next, mix your three-ingredient spice mix. Finally, deep frying your chicken and basil, sprinkling the spice mix over top for flavor.
Ingredients
Please scroll down to the recipe card below to find full measurements
Note: Most Asian grocery stores will carry most of the Asian specific ingredients.
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs: or substitute with skin-on boneless chicken thighs or chicken breast for a leaner alternative. Quality chicken thighs will make a difference as this is the essential ingredient to this dish!
- Potato starch or tapioca starch: the key ingredient to making Taiwanese fried chicken. I prefer potato starch as its authentic. In fact, they use coarse sweet potato starch to create a very crispy coating but the coarse starch can be difficult to find so feel free to use the normal kind. If you can't find potato starch, substitute with tapioca starch or tapioca flour, or corn starch.
- Note: Some brands call their starch "potato flour" but please make sure the texture is starchy and not grainy like "sand" for lack of better words. The grainy kind won't stick well to the chicken and has a different texture
- Fresh Thai basil leaves: This is traditional to the recipe and most Asian markets will carry this ingredient. But if you can't find Thai basil you can use normal basil.
- Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil or any heavy scented oils with a low smoke point. The oil temperature will reach a high of 350 C. I don't recommend olive oil as it has a slight scent, taste and low smoke point.
Chicken Marinade
- Egg white: This will help coat the chicken so that the potato starch can stick to it.
- Garlic: Garlic is a great aromatic to marinate your chicken pieces and give it more flavor. You could also use garlic powder if you wish.
- Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If you’re gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce of your choice.
- Shaoxing wine or Dry Sherry Wine: Any Chinese rice wine should work. For a non-alcoholic version, sub with a broth of your choice like chicken broth.
- White granulated sugar: This balances the salty taste of the chicken marinade.
- Chinese five spice: A seasoning powder made of Chinese cinnamon, cloves, star anise and fennel seed. The fifth spice can range between ginger, white pepper or Sichuan peppercorns (aka Szechuan peppercorns) when it comes to this five-spice powder.
- Salt: To season your chicken. Some recipes use Taiwanese salt, but we'll use normal table salt or sea salt could work!
- White pepper: The floral fragrant sister to black pepper. It offers a distinct grassy like taste and it's milder than black pepper.
Spice mix
- Chinese five spice
- Salt
- White pepper
How to make Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken
Dice chicken into bite-sized pieces, about 6-8 pieces per thigh. Transfer chicken to a large bowl.
Marinate chicken with Marinade ingredients as listed above. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.
In a separate small bowl, mix Spice mix ingredients as listed above.
Spread potato starch on a large baking sheet or plate. With wet hands, generously dredge marinated chicken into the starch. Massage the starch into the chicken until beads of starch form on the chicken (see video). Note: The beads give the chicken that extra crispy exterior. The moisture from your hands and from the marinade will also create "beading".
Into a wok or medium pot, add vegetable oil. Heat oil to 350 degrees F or over medium heat depending on your stove top. To check if oil is hot enough without a thermometer, insert a wooden skewer or chopstick into the hot oil and look for bubbles.
To Air Fry Chicken: see FAQ section below for instructions
Deep fry chicken in small batches 3-4 minutes until golden brown and crispy. Do not overcrowd or it will result in non-crispy chicken.
Remove chicken with a slotted spoon and transfer to wire rack or plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil.
Quickly season with seasoning while chicken is hot.
Next with fresh basil in one hand and a lid/oil guard in the other, drop the basil into the wok of oil and quickly cover to prevent splash back. Deep fry for 10-20 seconds. Remove and sprinkle fried basil over chicken. Enjoy!
Storage & Reheating
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- To reheat, microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in the air fryer, but remove all the basil first or it can catch fire in the air fryer as it is very light weight and will fly around in the air fryer. You can also bake it in the oven at 350 F for 5-10 minutes until hot.
Expert Tips
- Dice your chicken into even cubes. This allows for an even cooking time as your chicken bites are the same size.
- Use chicken thighs for best taste. Chicken thigh is fattier and will result in a more delicious texture over chicken breast. However, if you do decide to use chicken breast, please reduce the cooking time by a minute or so, as breast tends to dry out faster than thigh
- Marinate the chicken at least 30 minutes or overnight for best results. If you want delicious flavourful chicken, then it will take time. Marinating for at least 30 minutes or overnight will help you achieve a tastier result.
- Thoroughly dry washed basil. You really want to make sure every leaf is dried to prevent a large amount of oil splash back when you deep fry the basil. I use a clean paper towel to do the job.
- Generously dredge and massage starch into chicken with wet hands. When you generously dredge and massage the starch into the chicken with wet hands, this will create starch beads on your chicken. These starch beads are the essence to extra crunchy Taiwanese popcorn chicken.
- Deep fry at 350 F until golden and crispy. Using a cooking thermometer is the best way to know the temperature of your oil. I link to one in the recipe card below. If you do not have one, set your heat to medium high but more towards the medium level.
- Season chicken while hot. Once you remove the chicken from the hot oil, immediately season it with the seasoning mix. The heat will allow for the seasoning to adhere onto the chicken.
- Before you drop that fresh basil into the hot oil, have an oil shield, guard, or lid ready in the other hand. The moisture from the basil will create for oil splash back! But it will die down in 10 seconds.
FAQ
Taiwanese popcorn chicken can be air fried by following these instructions:
1. Lightly spray basket with a neutral oil, like avocado oil or vegetable oil.
2. Place coated chicken pieces into the air fryer basket in a single layer (do not overlap) with enough space in between. You may need to air fry in batches.
3. Lightly spray more oil over the chicken.
4. Air Fry at 400 F for 5 minutes.
5. Flip each piece over and air fry for another 5 minutes.
6. Reduce temperature to 375F giving the air fryer basket a shake. Air fry for another 4-6 minutes until golden crispy. If they're not golden or crispy enough, air fry for another few more minutes. Cook until you reach an internal temperature of 165 F or until juices run clear. Note: Depending on your air fryer, the air frying time can range between models so please keep this in mind. Mine was done at 15 minutes. It's best to monitor the process.
Other fried chicken recipes you may like!
📖 Recipe
Easy & Simple Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken
Ingredients
- 1.25 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs sliced into bite size pieces
- 1 ¼ cup potato starch or tapioca starch or cornstarch
- ¼ cup Thai basil or holy basil or Italian basil, washed and thoroughly dried
- 2 cups vegetable oil or any neutral oil
Chicken Marinade:
- 1 egg white
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon Shaoxing wine or Dry Sherry Wine
- 2 teaspoon white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
Spice Mix:
- ½ teaspoon Chinese five spice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ white pepper
Instructions
- Dice chicken into bite-sized pieces about 1 inch cubes. Transfer chicken to a large bowl.
- Marinate chicken with Marinade ingredients as listed above. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.
- In a separate small bowl, mix Spice mix ingredients as listed above.
- Spread potato starch on a large baking sheet or plate. With wet hands, generously dredge marinated chicken into the starch. Massage the starch into the chicken until beads of starch form on the chicken (see video). Note: The beads give the chicken that extra crispy exterior. The moisture from your hands and from the marinade will also create "beading".
- To Deep Fry: Into a wok or medium pot, add vegetable oil. Heat oil to 350 degrees F or over medium heat depending on your stove top. To check if oil is hot enough without a thermometer, insert a wooden skewer or chopstick into the hot oil and look for bubbles. To Air Fry Chicken: see notes section below
- Deep fry chicken in small batches for 3-4 minutes until crispy golden brown. Do not overcrowd or it will result in non-crispy chicken.
- Remove chicken with a slotted spoon and transfer to wire rack or plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil. Quickly season with spicy mix while chicken is hot.
- Next with fresh basil in one hand and a lid/oil guard in the other, drop the basil into the wok of oil and quickly cover to prevent splash back. Deep fry for 10-20 seconds. Remove and sprinkle fried basil over chicken. Enjoy!
Notes
To Air Fry:
- Lightly spray basket with a neutral oil, like avocado oil or vegetable oil.
- Place coated chicken pieces into the air fryer basket in a single layer (do not overlap) with enough space in between. You may need to air fry in batches.
- Lightly spray more oil over the chicken.
- Air Fry at 400 F for 5 minutes.
- Flip each piece over and air fry for another 5 minutes.
- Reduce temperature to 375F giving the air fryer basket a shake. Air fry for another 4-6 minutes until golden crispy. If they're not golden or crispy enough, air fry for another few more minutes. Cook until you reach an internal temperature of 165 F or until juices run clear. Note: Depending on your air fryer, the air frying time can range between models so please keep this in mind. Mine was done at 15 minutes. It's best to monitor the process.
Carin
Can I make this in the air fryer
christieathome
Yes, I share air frying instructions in the Notes section of the Recipe card. It's just been updated.
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
You've made preparing popcorn chicken at home so easy. This recipe really adds all of the flavors I expect and you made the process of breading & frying the chicken so easy to follow!
Michelle | Sift & Simmer
Love Taiwanese popcorn chicken and the fact that this is shallow-fried. Totally craving this now... my mouth is watering! Thanks for sharing, Christie 🙂