Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken

About This Recipe

Taiwanese popcorn chicken (鹽酥雞, yan su ji) is Taiwan's most iconic night market food — small pieces of chicken marinated in soy, garlic and five spice, coated in sweet potato starch and deep-fried until shatteringly crispy, then tossed with flash-fried Thai basil leaves and seasoned with salt and white pepper. The basil leaves fry in seconds and become paper-crisp, adding a herbaceous crunch that is unlike anything else. It is eaten from a paper bag while walking through the night market, too hot, too quickly.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 700 gboneless chicken thighs(cut into bite-sized pieces)
• 3 tbspsoy sauce
• 2 tbsprice wine or Shaoxing wine
• 1 tspsesame oil
• 1 tspfive spice powder
• 3 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 1 tspsugar
• 150 gsweet potato starch or tapioca starch(for coating — the key to the crunch)
• 1 litrevegetable oil(for deep-frying)
• 1 large bunchThai basil leaves(stems removed)
• 1 tspsea salt
• 0.5 tspwhite pepper
• 1–2bird's eye chillies(sliced, to season)

Instructions

1. 1

   Marinate

   Mix soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, five spice, garlic and sugar. Add chicken pieces and coat thoroughly. Marinate minimum 30 minutes.

2. 2

   Coat

   Add sweet potato starch to the chicken. Toss to coat — each piece should be evenly covered. The coating should be thick enough to see but not paste-like.

3. 3

   First fry

   Heat oil to 170°C. Fry chicken in batches for 4–5 minutes until cooked through and lightly golden. Remove and drain.

4. 4

   Second fry (the crunchy step)

   Increase oil to 190°C. Return chicken batches for 1 minute until very crispy. Add basil leaves to the oil for the final 20 seconds — they will crisp immediately.

5. 5

   Season and serve

   Drain everything. Immediately toss with sea salt, white pepper and sliced chilli. Serve in a paper bag or bowl. Eat immediately.

Variations

• •

  Add oyster mushrooms alongside the chicken — they fry beautifully and absorb the seasoning.

• •

  Use tofu instead of chicken for a vegetarian version — press tofu dry before marinating.

• •

  Vegetarian: swap the protein for roasted king oyster mushrooms, smoked tofu or cooked chickpeas — adjust seasoning slightly upward to compensate.

• •

  Spicier: add a finely chopped fresh chile or a teaspoon of crushed Aleppo/Urfa pepper to the aromatics for warm, layered heat instead of a single sharp hit.

Storage

Cannot be stored — the crunch is lost within 20 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions