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Honey Mustard-Glazed Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken on a plate with fried basil.
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Honey Mustard-Glazed Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken

A recipe for Honey Mustard-Glazed Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken from the cookbook, First Generation! Pieces of marinated chicken are coated in sweet potato starch and fried until golden.
Course Main
Cuisine Taiwanese
Keyword chicken, fried chicken, honey, honey mustard, sweet potato starch, Taiwan, Taiwanese
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Resting Time: 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings 3 -4 Servings

Ingredients

Chicken:

  • 2 pounds (907 grams) boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons (30 milliliters) Shaoxing wine, mirin, or sake
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons (16 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 1 large egg white
  • 14 ounces (400 grams) sweet potato starch
  • 2-3 cups (473-710 milliliters) canola oil, vegetable oil, or any other oil with a high smoke point
  • 1 handful fresh basil leaves
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Glaze:

  • 3 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 3 tablespoons (44 milliliters) honey
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Topping:

  • Black or white sesame seeds

Instructions

Marinate the Chicken:

  • Cut the chicken thighs into halves (for larger pieces) or thirds (for smaller pieces) so you have roughly even chunks.
  • In a large mixing bowl, stir together the garlic, soy sauce, cooking wine, salt, flour, and egg white.
  • Add the chicken pieces, cover the bowl, and marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.

Make the Glaze:

  • In a small bowl, whisk together the salt, honey, soy sauce, and mustard and set aside.

Coat the Chicken:

  • Pour the sweet potato starch into a large mixing bowl.
  • Remove the chicken from the marinade.
  • Dip a chicken piece into the starch, turning to coat, and then set aside on a plate. Repeat for all the chicken pieces.

Fry the Chicken:

  • Fill a large Dutch oven or heavy pot with 2 to 3 cups of oil (to reach a depth of about 3 inches/7.6 centimeters) and throw in a handful of basil.
  • Set over high heat and warm until the oil reaches 350˚F to 375˚F (180-190˚C). The oil is ready when you start to see a light simmering of bubbles around the basil leaves.
  • Take the basil out with a mesh strainer, set aside for garnish, and turn the heat down to low-medium.
  • Fry the chicken in batches, turning as necessary, until lightly golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per batch. Remove the chicken pieces with a mesh strainer and transfer to the prepared tray lined with paper towels.
  • When all the chicken has had its first fry, turn the heat up to high to get the oil to 385 to 395˚F (195-200˚C).
  • For the final fry, place the chicken pieces back in the pot and flash fry for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until golden brown.
  • Transfer the chicken back to the paper towels to drain.
  • In a large mixing bowl, toss the chicken with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Glaze the Chicken:

  • Pour the glaze into the bowl with the fried chicken and toss until evenly coated.
  • Top the chicken with sesame seeds, garnish with fried basil, and serve warm.