Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken

Method

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1. Mix all the marinade ingredients and fold the chicken through. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

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2. Put the sweet potato starch in a wide bowl. Take a piece of chicken straight from the marinade, drop it in the starch and press hard, then squeeze it in your fist so the starch clumps.

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3. Set the coated pieces on a rack and leave 10 minutes — the starch will hydrate and turn from white to translucent in patches. That is what you want.

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4. Heat the oil to 160C and fry in three batches for 4 minutes each, until pale gold and cooked through. Drain on a rack.

   Mark done Start 4 min timer

5. Raise the oil to 190C and fry each batch again for 60 to 90 seconds until deep golden and audibly crisp.

   Mark done Start 60 sec timer

6. Make sure the basil leaves are bone dry, then drop them into the hot oil for 8 seconds only. Lift them out immediately — they will be crisp and still green.

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7. Tip the chicken into a bowl, add the salt, white pepper and five spice mix, and toss hard.

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8. Add the fried basil, toss once more, and serve at once with extra chilli powder if you like.

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Chef’s Tips

• Sweet potato starch, not cornflour. It is not substitutable here.
• Squeeze the coating on and rest it 10 minutes before frying.
• Basil for eight seconds. Bone dry, or it will spit dangerously.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• A quarter-teaspoon of ground ginger per tablespoon of fresh is the standard ratio if you are working from the spice rack rather than a fresh root.
• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the usual stand-in when you are out of fresh garlic — it will not caramelise the same way, but it carries the flavour.

Pairing Suggestions

• A cold beer
• Bubble tea
• Pickled cucumber

Storage & Reheating

Best immediately. Recrisp leftovers at 200C fan for 6 minutes; never microwave.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.