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Asian style popcorn fried chicken served in a black bowl topped with fresh chopped basil being picked up with chopsticks.
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Popcorn Fried Chicken

Welcome to the world of homemade popcorn chicken! Dive into crispy, flavorful bites crafted with love in your own kitchen. Perfect for snacking or as a main dish, this recipe brings the irresistible taste of popcorn chicken to your table.
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Asian Fusion, Japanese, Taiwanese
Keyword homemade popcorn chicken, popcorn chicken
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Marinating Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 2
Calories 262kcal

Ingredients

Chicken

  • 6-9 oz Chicken Thigh skinless and boneless
  • 2-4 Cups Oil for deep frying
  • 6-8 Leaves Basil
  • 1/4 tsp White Pepper

Marinade

  • 1/4 Inch Ginger
  • 2 Cloves Garlic
  • 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
  • 2 tbsp Japanese Sake can substitute with dry sherry wine or Chinese cooking wine
  • 2 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil
  • 2 tsp Sweetener your preferred sweetener

Coating

  • 1/4 Cup Potato Starch
  • 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
  • 1 tsp White Pepper
  • 1/2 tsp Togarashi can sub with ground red pepper

Instructions

  • Gather all the ingredients.
    Ingredients to make popcorn chicken on the countertop.
  • Grate garlic and ginger with a grinder and add into a small mixing bowl.
    Grated garlic.
  • Combine soy sauce, sweetener, Japanese sake, toasted sesame oil into the small mixing bowl and mix well.
    Marinade for popcorn chicken in a mixing bowl.
  • Cut chicken into small bite-size pieces, about 1/2 x 1/2 inch and place into a ziplock bag. Pour marinade from above into the ziplock bag and marinate for 2 hour minimum (up to overnight) in the refrigerator.
    Cubed chicken thigh being marinated in a ziplock bag.
  • Combine potato starch, sea salt, white pepper and togarashi in a large mixing bowl. Mix very well to form the coating and set aside.
    Coating for popcorn chicken in a mixing bowl.
  • Chop fresh basil leaves and set aside.
    Fresh basil chopped.
  • After the chicken is done marinating, remove the chicken and coat with potato starch mix. Place onto a holding plate.
    Marinated chicken coated with popcorn chicken coating.
  • Add enough oil to cover about 1/2 inch and heat oil up to 375F. Once up to temp, carefully place chicken inside without overcrowding to deep fry (cook 2 batches if needed). Cook until crust is lightly browned on all sides, about 2 – 3 minutes in total. You may have to rotate/flip chicken depending on how much oil you used.
    Popcorn chicken being deep fried.
  • Transfer to an oven rack. If you do not have a drying rack, place use a plate with a paper towel to soak up oil.
    Popcorn chicken resting on a drying rack.
  • After letting it rest, transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle on some white pepper to taste and top with fresh basil.
    Popcorn chicken served on a plate topped with fresh basil.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 262kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 1654mg | Potassium: 216mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 145IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 1mg