The only fried chicken recipe you’ll need.

鹽酥雞 – Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken

A staple to any visit to Taiwan is immersing oneself in a night market 夜市. The streets are packed with people, shopping, and games, but most importantly, the air is filled with the most delicious smells. I had been craving an item called “Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken” (or 鹽酥雞) and finally decided to try making it myself. In order to prepare, you’ll need to get out your frying equipment out! You’ll also need to visit an Asian/Chinese grocery store to find some of these ingredients.

Tools!

 

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Ingredients:
For the marinade (measurements are pretty general – add or subtract as much as you want):
2 Chicken breasts (or thighs)
3-4 Garlic cloves
Small piece of Ginger
1 tbsp 5 spice powder
1 tbsp White pepper powder
1 tbsp Black pepper
1 tbsp Brown sugar
2 tbsp Rice wine
2 tbsp Dark soy sauce

For frying:
Thai basil leaves
Oil
2 eggs
Sweet potato flour

Seasoning:
1 tbsp 5 spice powder
1 tbsp white pepper
1 tsp cinnamon

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First, cut the chicken into bite size pieces. To marinate the chicken, toss in the garlic, ginger, 5 spice powder, white pepper powder, black pepper, brown sugar, rice wine, and dark soy sauce. Marinate it for a few hours if you can afford it. To prepare the batter, mix some eggs in one plate and pour out some sweet potato flour in another. Before frying the chicken, we want to infuse the oil with the Thai basil leaves to give the chicken more flavor. Fry the leaves until the popping/crackling stops and then put aside. Next, prepare the chicken for frying. Coat the chicken in egg first and then in the sweet potato flour. For the best results/crispiness, make sure the chicken is thoroughly coated in the flour (double-coat if necessary!). Finally, fry the chicken (a Chinese frying spoon is helpful but not necessary :D), sprinkle a mixture of the seasoning on top, and spread the Thai basil leaves.

And the results…

This dish definitely took me back to Taiwan and was super enjoyable. If you don’t want to fry, you can use the same marinade and just pan-fry with onions and peppers. If you are vegetarian, try it with some tofu!

The next time you want to get a taste of Taiwan, consider making some Taiwanese popcorn chicken. 🙂

-Chef D-Pain