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Taiwanese Fried Chicken

Who doesn’t love popcorn chicken? Taiwanese Fried Chicken are the perfect little bites of chicken and so addictive that you’re going to be be wishing you made a double batch!

Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Additional Time
30 mins
Total Time
1 hr 5 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Main Course , Snacks
Cuisine: Asian

Ingredients

  • 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1½ tbsp Chinese five spice plus more for dusting
  • 3 tsp sesame oil
  • 4 tbsp soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp mirin
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • 1 cup cornstarch
  • 1 handful Thai basil
  • Frying oil

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. In a bowl, combine the chicken thighs with the sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, Chinese five spice, sesame oil, soy sauce, and mirin. The smaller the vessel you use to marinate, the less marinate you actually need. You can also use a ziploc bag instead.
  2. Set aside to marinate for 30-60 minutes.
  3. Prep the frying station. Add at least 1 inch of oil to your Dutch oven or wok and heat it on low heat until you’re ready to use. Also, set aside a sheet pan with some paper towels underneath with a wire rack on top.
  4. In a bowl, beat your eggs. In another bowl, add your cornstarch.
  5. Dip each piece of chicken into the egg and then coat with cornstarch.
  6. Bring the oil up to around 375F/195C and slowly add your popcorn chicken into the oil in small batches, one at a time.
  7. Fry the chicken until it’s golden brown, making sure to flip them if your oil doesn’t cover your chicken pieces entirely. It can take up to 5 minutes to fry through, depending on the size of your chicken.
  8. Transfer the fried chicken to your wire rack to cool and continue until you’ve fried all your chicken. Sprinkle some more Chinese five spice on top of the fried chicken while it’s still warm before serving.
  9. When done, add your Thai basil to the oil to fry them as well to give them that crispy bite. The basil might pop in the oil so be careful when adding it to the oil. Fry for up to 30 seconds, depending on how big your basil leaves are. Alternatively, serve with fresh Thai basil.