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
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp (about 1 inch) ginger
3 medium chicken thighs
4-6 Thai chiles
10-12 Thai basil leaves
1 cup AP flour
INGREDIENTS (marinade)
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp Chinese five spice
pinch kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
INGREDIENTS (finish)
1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorn
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp Chinese 5 spice
pinch kosher salt
PREP
CRUSH AND MINCE the garlic, set aside
FINE MINCE the ginger, set aside
DICE the chicken into 1 inch pieces, set aside
SLICE the Thai chiles, set aside
ADD all marinade ingredients to the chicken and let marinate for 30 minutes or up to one hour
COMBINE all finish ingredients into a mortar and pestle, and crush until a fine seasoning forms
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
FRY for 3-5 minutes until golden brown and 165F internally
SEASON with the finishing seasoning immediately after removing
REMOVE all but 2 tbsp of oil from the wok, reheat as hot as possible, and long yao
ADD garlic and ginger to the wok and bloom until fragrant (about 10-15 seconds)
ADD Thai chile and Thai basil to the wok, and saute for 1-2 minutes, then remove and add to the finished chicken and toss to combine