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Taiwanese popcorn chicken
Yan su ji (鹹酥雞): night-market salt-and-pepper fried chicken with basil
Every night market in Taiwan, from Shilin in Taipei to Tainan's Garden Night Market, has a yan su ji stall with a queue, selling paper bags of bite-size fried chicken. Thigh pieces are marinated in soy, garlic and five-spice, coated in coarse sweet potato starch for a craggy, extra-crunchy shell, double-fried and tossed with fried Thai basil and a salt-and-white-pepper seasoning. The marinade traditionally includes rice wine, which contains alcohol; leave it out or use 1 tbsp water instead. Chef's tip: let the coated chicken rest for 5 minutes until the starch looks damp; it will then stay on in the oil.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the chicken
For the seasoning
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Mix 1 ½ lb boneless chicken thighs with 3 cloves garlic, 1 tsp ginger, 2 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp rice wine (or water), 1 tsp sugar, ½ tsp five-spice powder, ½ tsp white pepper and 1 egg. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.
35 minStep 2: Mix 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp white pepper, ¼ tsp five-spice powder and ½ tsp chilli powder for the seasoning.
2 minStep 3: Toss the chicken pieces in 5 ½ oz coarse sweet potato starch (or potato starch), pressing so it sticks in lumps. Rest on a tray for 5 minutes until the starch looks damp.
8 minStep 4: Heat 6 ¼ cups vegetable oil for deep-frying in a deep heavy pan, no more than a third full, to 325°F. Fry the chicken in batches for 4 minutes until pale gold and cooked through to 165°F. Lift out onto a rack. Never leave hot oil unattended and keep a lid close by.
12 minStep 5: Raise the oil to 375°F and fry all the chicken again for 1 minute until deep golden and very crisp. A common mistake is skipping this second fry; it is what keeps the crust crunchy.
3 minStep 6: Turn off the heat. Carefully drop 1 large handful Thai basil leaves into the oil, standing back as it spatters, for 10 seconds until crisp. Toss the chicken and basil with the seasoning and serve hot.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 36 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
- Fat
- 24 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does taiwanese popcorn chicken take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of boneless chicken thighs?
- Chicken breast, same weight (cook a few minutes less so it stays juicy).
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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