These tasty little bites of Taiwanese popcorn chicken are packed with so much flavour from aromatic spices like five spice, white pepper and Sichuan peppercorns. Then they're tossed with air fried Thai basil and served with a Thai basil dipping sauce! Because when it comes to anything crushable like popcorn chicken, a dip on the side is always a good idea. So if you're looking for a healthier (and easy) air fryer popcorn chicken recipe, try this version at home. You can also easily make this gluten-free too!

Why Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken

First, here's a little backstory on how this Taiwanese popcorn chicken recipe came to be. I first tried Taiwanese popcorn chicken at a restaurant in New York City called Double Chicken Please. This place makes incredible food and cocktails, in fact, they're known for their handcrafted cocktails. They were just ranked #2 for the best bars in North America! Getting to visit this spot was something my husband and I were SO excited about when we went to NYC this past summer. And it did not disappoint. While we were waiting for our cocktails, we tried their popcorn chicken served with Thai basil aioli. It was love at first bite. And since we can't just hop on a plane and head to NYC (or Taiwan) at any given moment, we had to try and recreate this at home. I'm not going to claim that it is as good as theirs (duh), but it is a solid, delicious option.

I chose to make this Taiwanese popcorn chicken a little lighter and used my air fryer instead. But you can of course deep fry them as well, I've tried both versions.

If you want the classic, fried version, go for it. But if you want something a little lighter using way less oil, try this air fryer popcorn chicken version.

What is Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken?

If you aren't familiar with Taiwanese popcorn chicken, here's a little more info about it.

• It's a common street food/snack served in night markets in Taiwan in paper bags with wooden skewers.
• Known as salty, crispy chicken it has become westernized as popcorn chicken.
• The dish consists of bite sized pieces of chicken coated and fried with flour and a seasoning mixture of salt and pepper with chili powder, fried Thai basil and garlic added for preference.
• Made with diced chicken thighs that marinate in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, five spice, garlic and rice wine.
• After it's been fried, more pepper is added.

Ingredients

Here's everything you'll need to make this air fryer Taiwanese popcorn chicken and Thai basil dip. Please see notes for more info and substitutions.

• boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• low sodium tamari (or light soy sauce if not gluten-free)
• Chinese five spice
• Shaoxing wine
• coconut sugar
• white pepper
• kosher salt
• Sichuan peppercorns
• mayonnaise
• lime juice
• garlic clove & garlic powder
• Thai basil
• potato starch
• avocado oil spray

How to Make Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken

Making this delicious Taiwanese fried chicken is relatively easy. You just need a bit of prep time to marinate the chicken. Other than that, everything can be done in about 30 minutes, start to finish.

First up, marinate the chicken.

Place the chicken on a cutting board and chop into bite sized pieces and transfer into a large bowl.

To the bowl with the chicken, add the tamari, Chinese five spice, Shaoxing wine, sugar, white pepper and salt. Mix to combine, seal and refrigerate overnight, or for at least two hours.

Next up, make the coating mixture that will go on the Taiwanese popcorn chicken immediately after air frying.

In a small skillet over medium-low heat, toast the Sichuan peppercorns until fragrant, about two to three minutes, stirring often to avoid burning. Transfer to a coffee grinder (or mortar and pestle) and pulse to grind.

Mix the peppercorns with 1/2 tsp white pepper and 1/2 tsp Chinese five spice and set aside.

If you'll be making the Thai basil dip, you can prepare that next.

Spoon the mayonnaise, lime juice, garlic clove and about half of the Thai basil leaves into a food processor (or the standing cup for an immersion blender). Process until just blended and combined.

How to Air Fry Popcorn Chicken

Now it's time to air fry!

When ready to cook, pour the starch into a large bowl along with all other coating ingredients from the garlic powder to the salt.

Preheat the air fryer to 400ºF.

Remove a few chicken pieces from the marinade and transfer to the bowl with coating and toss well, being sure to coat on all sides. Tap off any excess and place in the basket of the air fryer. Arrange chicken pieces in the air fryer in a single layer, do not overlap. Work in batches if needed.

Spray generously with avocado oil and bake for 12 to 13 minutes, removing halfway through and spraying with more oil as needed on any floury pieces of chicken. There is no need to flip the pieces.

Once all the chicken is done, reduce the temperature to 390ºF and add the remaining Thai basil leaves to the air fryer and spray with oil. Bake for one to two minutes, until crispy.

Immediately toss the hot popcorn chicken in the peppercorn/five spice mixture and then add the basil leaves and lightly toss.

Serve with Thai basil dip and enjoy!

Ingredient Notes & substitutions

• Shaoxing wine: this is a type of Chinese rice wine used in many Chinese recipes. It's something I use often in stir fry recipes, marinades and sauces, so I always have it on hand. You can easily find it for an affordable price at Chinese markets. It is NOT gluten-free, so if you need a substitute, try using a dry cooking sherry instead.
• Chicken thighs: I recommend using boneless, skinless chicken thighs over breast as it's more affordable and tastes better.
• Coconut sugar: feel free to use dark brown sugar instead.
• Sichuan peppercorns: these peppercorns are actually berries from the prickly ash tree and a member of the citrus family. They are very unique and provide a tingling sensation in the mouth, they remind me of pop rocks a little. There really isn't a substitute for them, but you can omit if you don't have them.
• Chinese five spice: five spice is one of my favourite spices and I use it a lot in cooking. It has the most wonderful flavour! It's a spice mixture of five or more Chinese spices that refer to the five traditional Chinese elements (sweet, bitter, sour, salty and savory). The most common spices are star anise, cloves, Chinese cinnamon, Sichuan pepper and fennel seeds. Some recipes contain anise seeds, ginger, nutmeg, turmeric, orange peel or galangal. I love using it as a spice rub for meats (it's amazing added to jerk blends, like my jerk chicken burgers or jerk shrimp tacos) and added to fried foods like this Taiwanese popcorn chicken. There is NO substitute for five spice and it is absolutely ESSENTIAL for this recipe. Sorry for the all caps!
• Thai basil: this is also an essential ingredient that I wouldn't recommend skipping or substituting. If you really can't find it, omit it.
• Potato starch: you can use tapioca flour, corn starch or rice flour instead.

Tips

• Marinate the chicken: for the most flavour, I recommend marinating the chicken overnight or for at least a few hours. If you're in a pinch, marinate for at least 30 minutes.
• Spray the chicken generously: it's important to spray the chicken well so that there aren't floury pieces.
• Tap off flour excess: coat the chicken well in the flour, but tap off any excess so it doesn't taste or look too floury.
• Enjoy right away: this air fryer popcorn chicken tastes best when eaten right away.
• Gluten-free popcorn chicken: keep these gluten-free by using a dry cooking sherry instead of the Shaoxing wine. Be sure to also use low sodium tamari instead of soy sauce.
• Dry the Thai basil: after rinsing, dry the Thai basil very well with paper towel. This will help ensure the leaves get nice and crispy.

How to Fry Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken:

If you want to fry popcorn chicken, it's pretty much the exact same in terms of preparation.

Marinate the chicken and dip into the flour mixture the same.

Heat a wok (I like to fry in a wok, but another medium sized pot works too) over medium heat and fill with enough oil to cover. Heat the oil to 350ºF.

Working in batches, fry the chicken pieces in the oil, until golden brown and crispy, about five to seven minutes.

Use a slotted spoon to remove and set aside on a paper towel lined plate.

Once finished, immediately toss them in the peppercorn mixture.

Fry the basil leaves until crisp, about one to two minutes total. Toss them with the chicken and enjoy!

Which Air Fryer Do I Recommend?

I've tried three different air fryers over the years, and my most recent is also my favourite.

It's the Wonder Oven from Our Place. I absolutely love it and highly recommend it, for several reasons.

• Aesthetically pleasing: as with all Our Place products, the design is unmatched. This means you can leave it out on your countertop and don't need to hide it away in a cluttered drawer.
• Non-toxic: the trays that come with the Wonder Oven are all non-toxic and made from stainless steel and aluminum with a toxin-free nonstick ceramic coating. This is SO hard to find with other types of air fryers and is the main reason I use it so much.
• Different cooking modes: this is not just an air fryer, it can air fry, bake, toast, roast, reheat and broil. I also love the steam function for bringing breads back to life.
• Compact size: I love how small and mighty it is. It won't take up much room on your countertops, something that was so important to me living in a condo with limited countertop space.

The only drawbacks I've noticed while using this is the timer function. It's not digital and can be hard to be precise when using it. So I prefer to just use the timer on my oven or microwave when using it to be sure it's exact. The knob also has to be turned off manually by turning it rather than having an on/off switch.

But honestly, other than those missing features, it's such a great appliance and I do recommend it.

You can check out Our Place Wonder Oven here!

Ingredients & Products I Recommend:

I share these products to show you what I choose to use in my kitchen as staple ingredients I use daily (or weekly). So if you opened up my fridge (or pantry), here's what you'll find!

Kosher salt:

I exclusively use Diamond Crystal kosher salt for all of my recipes. I prefer the texture, taste and consistency of this brand and highly recommend it for everyday cooking.

Avocado Oil Spray:

I prefer using avocado oil for high heat cooking. I love using Chosen Foods avocado oil and their avocado oil spray.

Mayonnaise:

If I don't make my own at home (you can see how I make it here), I primarily use Chosen Foods avocado oil mayonnaise, or Sir Kensignton's.

Other Air Fryer Recipes:

I love using my air fryer, here are some more recipes to keep you inspired!

• Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp
• Chicken Schnitzel in the Air Fryer
• Crispy Chicken Taquitos
• Air Fryer Crispy Calamari
• Crispy Air Fryer KFC Style Chicken
• Air Fryer General Tso Chicken
• Crispy Air Fryer Mac & Cheese Balls
• Air Fryer Brie Bites with Fig Jam
• Air fryer Jalapeño Poppers
• Crispy Air Fryer Breakfast Taquitos
• Air Fryer Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings with Creamy Garlic Dip
• Bang Bang Shrimp (air fryer)
• Air Fryer Chicken Katsu Bowl
• Crispy Air Fryer Arancini
• Crispy Thai Sweet Chili Chicken

Ready to make this? Let's get to it!

If you make this air fryer Taiwanese popcorn chicken please share with me, by tagging me on Instagram or leave a comment and/or review below. I truly love seeing and hearing form you!

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only share products and services I have personally used and love. Disclosure here.