Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken

Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken (aka Táiwān Yán Sū Jī). Super crispy, flavorful bite-size pieces of chicken seasoned with Chinese five spice and fried basil.

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 additive!

What is Taiwanese popcorn chicken?

A delicious and popular deep-fried chicken dish that originates from Taiwan in Southeast Asia. This is one of the most popular street food 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.

Easy Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken Recipe

My Taiwanese style popcorn chicken 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

For this recipe you’ll need the below Taiwanese popcorn chicken ingredients. *Please scroll down to the recipe card below to find full measurements*

• Chicken thighs: boneless skinless chicken thighs work best for this recipe, but you can also use 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: This is the key ingredient to making Taiwanese fried chicken. I prefer potato starch as its authentic to the dish. In fact, they use coarse sweet potato starch to create a very crispy coating. However, the coarse starch can be difficult to find so feel free to use the normal kind.
  • If you can't find potato starch you can instead use tapioca starch or tapioca flour, or corn starch. Most Asian grocery stores or online retailers like Amazon will carry sweet potato flour.
  • 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.
• Avocado oil or any neutral oil like vegetable oil will work. You can also use peanut oil, grapeseed oil or any oil that can withstand a high smoke point as a frying oil. The oil temperature will reach a high of 350 C. I wouldn't suggest using olive oil as it has a slight scent and taste.

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, not light or dark: Just your regular all purpose soy sauce. The label will simply say "Soy Sauce". You can also sub with low sodium soy sauce or just less light soy sauce since it's much saltier than the regular kind. Dark soy sauce will be too thick and is meant for coloring a dish.
• 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. Most Asian, Wester grocers or online retailers like Amazon will carry this ingredient.
• 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. Most Asian, Wester grocers or online retailers like Amazon will carry this ingredient.
• 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. Most Asian, Wester grocers or online retailers like Amazon will carry this ingredient.

Spice mix:

• Chinese five spice
• Salt
• White pepper

How to make Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken

Below are brief steps with visuals in how to make Taiwanese style popcorn chicken. Please scroll down to the recipe card below to find full instructions and details.

1. Dice chicken into bite-sized pieces, about 6-8 pieces per thigh. Transfer chicken to a large bowl.
2. Marinate chicken with Marinade ingredients as listed above. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.
3. In a separate small bowl, mix Spice mix ingredients as listed above.
4. 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".
5. Into a wok or medium pot, add enough oil. Bring to 350 degrees F or medium heat to medium-high heat depending on your stove top.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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!

Cooking Tips

Below are tips on making Taiwanese basil fried chicken:

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.

Have an oil guard ready!

Before you drop that fresh basil into the hot oil, first make sure it is dried thoroughly and secondly, 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

Below are frequently asked questions about this Taiwan fried chicken recipe:

How do you reheat Taiwanese popcorn chicken?

I reheat mine in the air fryer, but I 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 at 350 F until warmed.

Other recipes you may like!

If you enjoyed this Taiwanese crispy fried chicken, you may enjoy these other fried chicken recipes:

• Japanese Chicken Katsu
• Korean Fried Chicken
• Chinese Lemon Chicken
• Air Fryer Korean Fried Chicken
• Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken)
• General Tso Chicken
• Orange Chicken
• Vietnamese Garlic Butter Chicken Wings
• Sweet Spicy Gochujang Chicken