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Taiwanese Popcorn chicken is a beloved street food that’s a staple at night markets and boba shops alike. There’s something so satisfying about getting handed a bag of this crispy, spiced, bite-sized chicken on a little wooden skewer to eat it with. Luckily, the dish isn’t that hard to make at home, thanks to Argo Corn Starch!
Pin Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken (Gà Chiên Lá Quế Đài Loan) to try later!
Argo Corn Starch is the secret ingredient to getting that delicate crispy crust on the chicken. In Taiwan, potato starch is used, but I don’t usually keep any in the house, and corn starch has so many more uses. It’s also celiac-friendly, unlike flour dredges, because Argo Corn Starch is gluten free!
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🍗 Ingredients
You will need:
For the chicken:
- Skinless, boneless chicken thigh
- Soy sauce
- Shaoxing wine
- Salt
- Pepper
- Five Spice Powder
- Grated garlic
- Grated Ginger
- Thai Basil
- Argo Corn Starch
- Canola oil or another neutral, high smoke point oil
For the optional spice sprinkle:
- Five spice powder
- Szechuan peppercorns
- Salt
- Pepper
See recipe card for quantities.
🔪 Instructions
Cut the chicken thighs into 1 inch cubes and marinate with soy sauce, shaoxing wine, salt, pepper, five spice powder, grated ginger and grated garlic. Let it marinate at least 30 minutes or overnight.
Heat oil to 350 degrees in a heavy bottomed pot or cast iron pan. Deep fry the thai basil leaves until they turn dark and crispy (about 3-5 min depending on the size of the leaves).
Drain the leaves on a paper towel.
Fry the chicken pieces until golden brown and crispy. Work in batches if you need to so you don’t overcrowd the oil, which will cause soggy chicken.
Sprinkle your spice mixture over the cooked chicken and serve with fried basil leaves.
Add Argo corn starch to the marinated chicken and massage it in until every piece is coated. You’ll know the chicken is ready when the moisture from the meat makes the corn starch bead up and form craggles on the surface. This is how you get the crunch!
While the chicken is frying, combine five spice powder, Szechuan peppercorns, salt and pepper in a spice grinder and blend together.
Tips:
- The basil leaves will continue to cook slightly when you take them out, so remove them from the oil earlier than you’d think or else they’ll burn.
- If you want extra crispy chicken, fry the cooked chicken one more time after it’s been taken out of the oil to cool.
- You want the cornstarch to be a little bit moist and resemble sand or little beads on the surface of the meat.
💭 Substitutions
- I have not personally tried to make this recipe vegetarian, but I would recommend using oyster mushroom, seitan, or a similar food that won't fall apart when you massage the corn starch into it.
- You can use boneless chicken breast if you don’t like thighs, but the chicken will be a little bit drier. Thighs are much harder to overcook and will stay succulent.
📚 Variations
You can make various flavors of popcorn chicken by playing around with the marinade and spice sprinkle:
- Spicy: Add a little sriracha to the marinade, and chili flakes to the spice sprinkle
- Curry: Add your favorite curry powder to the marinade and spice sprinkle, omit the Szechuan peppercorns
- Garlic Parmesan: Omit the five spice and Szechuan peppercorns, add extra garlic to the marinade and use garlic powder and Parmesan cheese to the spice sprinkle.
🍳 Equipment
I use a cast iron skillet to fry my chicken. Make sure there’s enough oil in the pan so that the chicken is fully submerged when it’s added. A dutch oven will work as well.
🍚 Serving Suggestions
Taiwanese popcorn chicken is usually served as-is, with little bamboo skewers to skewer the chicken with. If you’d like to round out the meal with a vegetable, I recommend some seaweed salad or kimchi.
Many boba or bubble tea shops have Taiwanese popcorn chicken on the menu. Serve this up with some boba for an authentic treat.
🥡 How to store or make in advance
Once the chicken is fried it should be served immediately. Marinated chicken can be stored in the fridge for up to 24 hours before cooking, or frozen after marinating. To cook it from the freezer, let the chicken completely defrost before mixing in the Argo Corn Starch.
Leftover chicken can be reheated in the oven on a wire rack or in an air fryer to preserve the crispiness, but it might dry out a bit.
👪 Serving Size
As an entree, 3 lbs of chicken should serve 4-5 people. It will serve double that if served as an appetizer.
📋 Recipe
Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken (Gà Chiên Lá Quế Đài Loan)
Equipment
- 1 cast iron skillet or heavy bottomed pot
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 3 lbs chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- shaoxing wine
- 1 teaspoon five spice powder
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- ½ inch knob ginger, grated
- 1 bunch Thai basil
- 1 cup Argo corn starch
- Caola oil, or another neutral, high smoke point oil
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- salt, to taste
For the optional spice sprinkle
- 1 tablespoon five spice powder
- 1 tablespoon Szechuan peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Pepper
Instructions
- Cut the chicken thighs into 1 inch cubes and marinate with soy sauce, shaoxing wine, salt, pepper, five spice powder, grated ginger and grated garlic. Let it marinate at least 30 minutes or overnight.
- Heat oil to 350 degrees in a heavy bottomed pot or cast iron pan. Deep fry the thai basil leaves until they turn dark and crispy (about 3-5 min depending on the size of the leaves). Drain the leaves on a paper towel.
- Add Argo corn starch to the marinated chicken and massage it in until every piece is coated. You’ll know the chicken is ready when the moisture from the meat makes the corn starch bead up and form craggles on the surface. This is how you get the crunch!
- Fry the chicken pieces until golden brown and crispy. Work in batches if you need to so you don’t overcrowd the oil, which will cause soggy chicken.
- While the chicken is frying, combine five spice powder, Szechuan peppercorns, salt and pepper in a spice grinder and blend together.
- Sprinkle your spice mixture over the cooked chicken and serve with fried basil leaves.
Notes
Nutrition
🦺 Food safety
Whenever cooking meat, follow these best practices:
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point when deep frying.
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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