Hello hi everyone! Wesley here. Today we're adding to our Chinese American food hack series with a recipe for a Taiwanese popcorn chicken based on a version that you can find at a cafe and snack stop called Quickly. Quickly is well known for their pearl milk tea or "boba nai cha," as well as their tasty bite sized popcorn chicken snacks.
I also thought I'd use this as an opportunity to experiment with a buttermilk fried chicken approach in my own "Woo Can Cook" version, which yielded some of the tastiest fried chicken that I have literally ever eaten. Hope you try it.
Serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS
3 medium chicken thighs
1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup AP flour
1/4 cup soda water
2 egg whites
vegetable oil
INGREDIENTS (marinade)
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp shaoxing wine
1/2 tsp Chinese five spice
1/2 tsp white pepper
INGREDIENTS (finish)
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp chili powder
PREP
DICE the chicken thighs into 1 inch pieces, then combine with all marinade ingredients, and marinate for 30 minutes or up to one hour
COMBINE corn starch, AP flour, soda water, and egg whites until a smooth batter forms, then add chicken to the batter and combine
ADD all finish ingredients to a mortar and pestle, and crush until a fine seasoning forms, set aside
ON THE STOVE
HEAT 12 oz of vegetable oil in a wok to 375F, and add the chicken to the fryer 10-15 pieces at a time
REMOVE the chicken after 2 minutes, rest for 5 minutes, then add back to the fryer for an additional 5 minutes until golden brown and 165F internally
SEASON with the finishing seasoning immediately, and serve with skewers