Recently, there is a new Asian popcorn chicken joint that has opened up close to where I live. I love the restaurant as it’s set up just like a night market in Asia, offering various types of Asian-style street food that you can order.
There are so many different items on the menu—chicken, fish, pork chop, chicken wings, vegetables, and so much more.
I want to order everything on the menu, but time and time again, I will go back to the Asian popcorn chicken, which is my favorite, and little G likes it, too.
Other Recipes You Might Like
- Parmesan Baked Popcorn Shrimp
- Taiwanese Salt and Pepper Chicken
- Asian Crispy Fried Chicken (Popcorn Chicken)
The problem is the portion of the Asian popcorn chicken, it’s not enough for me to eat to my heart’s content. I usually need more than one order to satiate my hunger and craving.
And it’s not cheap. So I have decided to make a batch of them a few days ago…ahhh, so good.
Asian popcorn chicken is Taiwanese in origin. They are available everywhere in Taiwan: night market, roadside stalls, street food carts, and regular restaurants or stores.
I have previously published Taiwanese salt and pepper chicken recipe on Rasa Malaysia but this recipe is simplified so anyone can make it without much hassle.
For the Thai basil leaves, you can leave them out. I personally love them as I always have some Thai basil leaves in my fridge.
You can eat the chicken plain or as is, but anything tastes better with some sweet chili sauce. I love my Asian popcorn chicken with it.
Just imagine the taste—crispy, juicy, and flavorful fried chicken pieces dunked in a sweet, sticky, mildly spicy chili sauce.
This is a great alternative to chicken nuggets and your entire family will love this, I guarantee you!
How Many Calories per Serving?
This recipe is only 423 calories per serving.
Asian Popcorn Chicken
Asian Popcorn Chicken - crispy, juicy and delicious Asian fried chicken nuggets. Quick, easy and budget-friendly recipe for the entire family!!
Ingredients
- 8-10 oz. chicken thighs, cut into bite-size cubes
- 2 stalks Thai basil leaves optional
- 1 cup corn starch
- oil for deep-frying
- 1/4 teaspoon bottled pepper salt powder optional
Marinade:
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 - inch piece ginger minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine optional
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
-
1
Mix all the ingredients for the Marinade in a big bowl, stir to combine well. Add the chicken, coat well, and marinate for 30 minutes.
-
2
Heat 2-3 inches of the oil in a pan or stock pot for deep-frying. Coat the chicken with the cornstarch evenly. Shake off the excess. Deep-fry the chicken until they turn golden brown, remove from the oil with a strainer or slotted spoon, draining the excess oil by laying them on a wire rack or a dish lined with paper towels.
-
3
In a clean pan or skillet, add the basil leaves and stir a few times before adding the chicken back into the pan or skillet. Remove from heat, add the pepper salt powder and toss well with the chicken. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Thai basil leaves are optional if you can't find them. You can find the bottled pepper salt powder at Asian grocery stores or buy online here.
These were so delicious. They did not last long as leftovers. I showed my husband, who cooks for a living and is hard to impress, he couldn’t keep his hands off my plate even after eating his own share.
I’ve only discovered your site recently, and what a site it is!
So, popcorn chicken was one of the first recipes I’ve tried. I did wanted to take a photo, but serving this up for the family was more like watching a bunch of piranhas at feeding times… you get the picture.
The small variation I’ve made (forced by what was in the fridge, bane of many a home cook) was to use chicken breast instead of thighs. While I agree that thighs are the ideal choice for this dish, breast worked very well, too.
Thanks for maintaining such a useful site!
Greeting from New Zealand :)
Hi, I really like your recipes, but I was wondering if you can please put a temperature for the oil? Do I heat it at high heat, medium-high, medium …?
High heat is used for deep-frying.
Can this be frozen and made later?
No.
Can you cook it in air fryer?
You can try!
Hi. I am hoping you would share the dipping sauce recipe for the one in the picture(with the sesame seeds), looks great to eat with the popcorn chicken. Pls and tq :)
It’s just bottled Thai sweet chili sauce with sesame seeds. :)
This looks delicious! I had “salt & pepper” fish at a chinese restaurant before and it was awesome, I’d love to try this. I’m just wondering, how different is the “pepper salt” blend from just using regular salt & pepper?
The pepper salt blend combined some other seasonings if I am not mistaken, but you can just add a little salt and pepper to make your own. :)
Oh I love Popcorn Chicken and so does my family. Will definitely try this. Thanks for sharing the recipe and will ill go grab your new e-book, Bee!
Thanks for your support Elizabeth, as always. :)