Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken is one of the most famous street foods and this recipe is the perfect poppable bite for game day snacking or a quick weeknight dinner. Bite-sized pieces of chicken, crispy coating, aromatic basil, and seasoning salt mix! Perfect snack after some brown sugar milk tea popsicles or strawberry lychee panna cotta.

Crispy Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken is one of the most famous street foods and this recipe is the perfect poppable bite for game day snacking or a quick weeknight dinner. Bite-sized pieces of chicken, crispy coating, aromatic basil, and seasoning salt mix! Perfect snack after some brown sugar milk tea popsicles or strawberry lychee panna cotta.

This past month has been fun with lots of little getaways… some work-related ones and some just purely play. For someone who enjoys traveling, I really enjoy it though my pile of laundry has doubled in just a couple of weeks, there’s nothing more exciting than exploring various new places and experience new things.

Latest Recipes

I even secretly made a list of places I must visit before I die. It is quite a long list, though you can summarize it as “travel around the world”. And Taiwan is one of the many countries I’ve been wanting to visit. I was only two years old when my parents took me there, so I couldn’t remember anything about it at all. From what I heard, Taiwan is a mecca for night markets, which sell this crispy popcorn chicken. And oh, if you’re a fan of bubble tea, it was originated from Taiwan.

Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken is one of the most famous street foods and this recipe is the perfect poppable bite for game day snacking or a quick weeknight dinner. Bite-sized pieces of chicken, crispy coating, aromatic basil, and seasoning salt mix!

The ingredients

Chicken. Be sure to use skinless and boneless chicken. I prefer chicken breast; however, chicken thigh tastes better and juicier
Spices, such as five-spice powder and white pepper powder. You can find both of these items in any Asian grocery stores. The five-spice powder is a blend of star anise, fennel seed, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom
Shaoxing cooking wine, soy sauce, sesame oil. Shaoxing wine is similar to mirin in Japanese cooking. A better, closer choice is also dry sherry
Salt, sugar. Sugar will balance the savory flavor of this Taiwanese popcorn chicken
Egg. Will only use yolk
Flour. Rice flour and cornstarch will give a crisp texture to this popcorn chicken
Oil. For deep frying
Basil. I like adding fresh basil leaves to the mix to give a crunchy to balance between sweet and savory

Can I make this Taiwanese popcorn chicken in an air fryer?

Yes and here’s how to air fry this popcorn chicken

Coat the chicken with marinade ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours
Preheat the air fryer for 7 minutes at 400 F
Stir cornstarch and egg into the chicken mixture. Add rice flour to a flat plate. Lightly dredge the chicken to the flour, toss to coat evenly
Spray the basket with vegetable oil. Place the chicken into air fryer and ensure there is space between each piece. Spray the top of the chicken lightly and cook at 400 F for 6 minutes. Flip over and cook for another 6 minutes
Spray the basil with oil and add to the basket, along with the chicken. Lower the temperature to 350F and cook for another 3-4 minutes

Variations

Aside from chicken, you can make enoki mushroom dredged in the same coating and deep-fried or air fried which I shared the recipe in this mushroom oatmeal congee. Or medium or firm tofu cut into bigger cubes. You can also cook cauliflower, broccoli, or eggplant.

Storing and leftovers

I usually don’t have any leftovers when it comes to popcorn chicken. However, when I do, I add them to tacos, burgers, or over rice to make another meal.

Pin this recipe for later!

If you love nuggets, then you will surely enjoy this recipe too. The crunchy bite-sized pieces of chicken are dusted with a special mix of seasoning which makes them quite addictive; hence it’s a good snack for supper time or the time when you plan on skipping a meal. And for me, there’s nothing more addictive than this Taiwanese popcorn chicken, followed by a cup of bubble tea.