Give this irresistible crispy Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken a try! Savory and crunchy bite-sized fried chicken tossed in flavorful seasoning mix and basil.
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**Recipe originally published: May 14, 2024, Post updated: April 16, 2025
Night Market Food Snacks
Night markets are like treasure troves of the local food scene. They’re the best place to find an array of delicacies–from the street food classics to trendy creations.
One such dish that hails from the streets of Taiwan is the popcorn chicken. This much beloved snack is thought to be originated from the 1970s, when Taiwanese vendors would try to put their own spin on Western-style fried chicken.
What Is Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken?
Taiwanese popcorn chicken, or “Yan Su Ji”, are bite-sized marinated chicken pieces coated in sweet potato starch and deep fried to crispy perfection. It’s then typically seasoned with Chinese 5 spice, salt, pepper, and chili powder right after frying.
For a more authentic dish, fried basil leaves are added to the popcorn chicken to give a more aromatic flavor. Though it’s not essential, the basil leaves enhances the overall taste.
These flavor-packed nibbles are deliciously crunchy and savory, making it a favorite on-the-go treat for many when it comes to snacking and sharing.
With it’s increase in popularity, you can find popcorn chicken sold in bubble tea shops that offer a variety of Taiwanese snacks and street foods alongside their drinks.
What Makes Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken Different
Here is how Taiwanese popcorn chicken might differ from other fried chicken dishes:
- Flavorful Marinade: The marinade for Taiwanese popcorn chicken incorporates soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic, ginger, and Chinese five-spice powder, giving the chicken a rich and savory taste.
- Unique Coating: The use of sweet potato starch instead of traditional flour gives the chicken its signature light and crispy texture.
- Seasoning: The post-frying seasoning blend of salt, pepper, Chinese five-spice powder, and optional chili powder adds an extra layer of flavor.
- Bite-Sized Pieces: Unlike larger fried chicken pieces, Taiwanese popcorn chicken is cut into small chunks, making it perfect for snacking like popcorn.
Ingredients You’ll Need
(For full ingredient measurements, please proceed to the recipe card below.)
- Chicken thighs: I prefer using chicken thighs as they’re juicier than chicken breasts. The higher fat content in thighs helps keep the meat tender and moist during the frying process, giving us that juicy bite.
- Light soy sauce
- Oyster sauce
- Garlic: Crushed or grated.
- Chinese 5 spice: It’s a blend of five fundamental spices used in Chinese cuisine. It typically includes star anise, cloves, cinnamon (or cassia), and fennel seeds. The fifth ingredient varies, being either Sichuan peppercorns, ginger, or white pepper.
- Sugar
- Pepper
- Sweet potato starch: The secret to the popcorn chicken’s crispiness lies in the coating. Use sweet potato starch instead of regular flour as the starch helps in creating a light and crispy texture. A great substitute is tapioca starch.
Seasoning mix
- Chinese 5 spice
- Pepper
- Salt
- Chili powder (optional)
Other Ingredients
- Basil
How To Make Crispy Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken
Step 1: Cut chicken thighs into bite sized pieces and add to a big bowl to marinate.
Step 2: To the bowl, add light soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic, Chinese 5 spice, sugar and pepper. Mix that well and let it marinate for at least an hour or overnight.
Step 3: Once the chicken is marinated, add sweet potato starch to the bowl (see notes). With wet hands, mix the chicken in a tossing motion until all the starch coats the chicken. You want the chicken to have small clumps of starch on it. Place the pieces of chicken on a plate or tray to get it ready for frying.
Step 4: Mix the seasoning ingredients together and set aside for later.
Step 5: Rinse and pat dry the basil– getting rid of as much moisture as possible.
Step 6: In a pot over medium heat, heat up oil. Once it’s hot enough, add the pieces of chicken and fry it until golden brown and crispy. Cook in batches to prevent overcrowding.
Step 7: Make sure the chicken doesn’t stick to each other by stirring occassionally for the first few minutes.
Step 8: For the last batch of chicken, at the last minute mark– add basil and cover with a lid to prevent oil from splattering. After 1 minute, remove the lid and immediately remove the popcorn chicken and basil.
Step 9: Place chicken on a cooling rack or a bowl and immediately add the seasoning mix on top. If using a bowl, toss until the chicken is well coated.
Step 10: Serve the chicken while hot with the fried basil. Enjoy!
Notes For Crispy Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken
- Chicken: I prefer using chicken thighs but feel free to use chicken breast instead if you prefer.
- Crispy popcorn chicken: You want to make sure you get those little clumps of starch on the chicken so that you get extra crispy bites of chicken.
- Double Frying: For an extra crispy exterior, fry the chicken pieces twice. The first fry should be at a lower temperature to cook the chicken through. After letting the chicken rest for a few minutes, fry them again at a higher temperature to achieve that golden-brown, crunchy crust.
- Starch amount: Add more starch if you need to– adding 1 tbsp at a time.
- Basil: Don’t cook the basil for too long or you will burn it.
More Fried Chicken Recipes
- Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken) – No Mirin or Sake
- Garlic Fried Chicken (Ayam Goreng Bawang Putih)
- Tom Yum Fried Chicken
- Ayam Geprek (Smashed Fried Chicken)
- Crispy Chicken 65
- Fried Turmeric Chicken (Ayam Goreng Kunyit)
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Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 lb chicken thighs
- 1/4 cup light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 3 cloves minced garlic crushed or grated
- 1 tsp Chinese 5 spice
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup sweet potato starch tapioca starch
Seasoning mix
- 1/2 tsp Chinese 5 spice
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp chili powder optional
Other Ingredients
- 1 handful basil
Instructions
- Cut chicken thighs into bite sized pieces and add to a big bowl to marinate.
- To the bowl, add light soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic, Chinese 5 spice, sugar and pepper. Mix that well and let it marinate for at least an hour or overnight.
- Once the chicken is marinated, add sweet potato starch to the bowl (see notes). With wet hands, mix the chicken in a tossing motion until all the starch coats the chicken. You want the chicken to have small clumps of starch on it. Place the pieces of chicken on a plate or tray to get it ready for frying.
- Mix the seasoning ingredients together and set aside for later.
- Rinse and pat dry the basil– getting rid of as much moisture as possible.
- In a pot over medium heat, heat up oil. Once it's hot enough, add the pieces of chicken and fry it until golden brown and crispy. Cook in batches to prevent overcrowding.
- Make sure the chicken doesn't stick to each other by stirring occassionally for the first few minutes.
- For the last batch of chicken, at the last minute mark– add basil and cover with a lid to prevent oil from splattering. After 1 minute, remove the lid and immediately remove the popcorn chicken and basil.
- Place chicken on a cooling rack or a bowl and immediately add the seasoning mix on top. If using a bowl, toss until the chicken is well coated.
- Serve the chicken while hot with the fried basil. Enjoy!
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