Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken


 

Ingredients

Chicken

  • 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs

Marinade

  • 1 medium head of garlic
  • 1/2- inch ginger peeled and minced
  • 3 green onions minced
  • 2 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon mirin 
  • 1 teaspoon sweet potato starch or arrowroot 
  • 1/2 teaspoon five-spice 
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorns or cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon Swerve

Coating

  • 1 medium egg
  • 1/2 cup cold water
  • 2-3 cups sweet potato starch or arrowroot

To fry

  • 3-4 cups avocado oil

To serve

  • Leaves from 1 bunch of fresh Thai basil 
  • salt, white pepper and five-spice to taste

Instructions

  • Cut the chicken into 1-inch chunks and place in large bowl. Make the marinade by mincing or forcing the garlic through a press into a small bowl. Add the ginger, minced green onions, soy sauce, mirin, 5-spice, white pepper, sweet potato starch (or cornstarch) and cayenne pepper, stir together and then pour into the bowl with the chicken. Mix to coat all the chicken and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
    Left image is ingredients for the Taiwanese popcorn chicken marinade and the chopped chicken in bowls. Right image is the chicken in the marinade in a bowl.
  • Once the chicken is done marinating, heat the frying oil in a sauté pan or wok until it reaches 350˚F. place the eggs in medium sized bowl with the 1/2 cup of water. Beat together with a fork. Place the sweet potato starch (or cornstarch) in another medium-sized bowl. Using chopsticks or tongs, dip the chicken first in the watery egg mixture then in the starch.
    Left image is a tong dipping a marinaded chicken piece into an egg water dip. Right image is a tongs dipping the chicken in sweet potato flour to coat.
  • Fry the chicken pieces without crowding them too much for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Try not to overcrowd the pan, I usually fry about 6-8 pieces at a time.
    Left image is tongs placing a coated piece of chicken in hot oil to fry. Right image is tongs pulling the chicken out of the hot oil when it is done and golden brown.
  • Once fried, place the chicken on a wire rack or a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Repeat the process with the remaining chicken.
    Once all the chicken is fried, sprinkle with generous amounts of salt and a little bit of five-spice and white pepper to taste. Fry the Thai basil leaves for 30 seconds or until they darken and then serve with the chicken. You can also air fry and spray the chicken with oil before cooking it. Can be baked too but remember to spray w/ avocado oil too.

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