Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken with Basil, CiCi Li - Asian Home Cooking Recipes

What is the hottest gourmet in the night markets of Taiwan? The winner goes to popcorn chicken with basil, based on Easy Travel's online survey. So who is the creator of such a popular dish? Hi, I'm CeeCee Lee, and today I'm going to show you how to make this super crispy Taiwanese popcorn chicken, and I'll also tell you more about the stories behind it. So come with me now. Now let's travel back in time to 2004. I was still a freshman in high school. My Taiwanese friend bought a bag of popcorn chicken in a local milk tea shop. She asked me if I wanted to have a bite. Sure, why not? I answered. So I popped one into my mouth. I instantly realized that this is the best thing ever. At that time, I remember I was still really crazy about McDonald's chicken nuggets. And after this, everything changed. So this Taiwanese popcorn chicken is just like American popcorn chicken's cousin, I would say. But it has more depth and flavors this time. And I love it with the basil. Flash forward to 2013. I traveled to Taiwan for the filming of my food program, CeeCee's Food Paradise. As I was walking down the Shilin Night Market, there were just so many food stores and food carts that I felt like my attention span couldn't even digest everything. I had to catch up, I thought to myself. So I literally tried everything. I had milk tea on my right hand and a dozen bags of little snack items on my left hand. And of course, one of the most memorable items was still the Taiwanese popcorn chicken. It was so good. You could also test the oil with your chopsticks. If you see lots of bubbles around it, then you know it's ready. So who is the inventor of the popcorn chicken? According to Apple Daily, it was created by Chen Ting-Chi in 1975. He opened the first popcorn chicken shop in Ximending district of Taipei. After frying the chicken until golden brown, he sprinkled a special seasoning on top. And because of his popularity, vendors started to copy this new way to cook chicken. The double frying method makes the chicken crispier and less oily than the typical fried chicken. This is a common Asian cooking technique. So the popcorn chicken was mind-blowing. It was so crispy that I can hear my own biting sound. It wasn't oily at all. As I chewed on it, there were so many dimensions of flavors. It was salty, garlicky, and with a hint of spiciness. Oh, it's so good. There are so many different types of fried chicken. Which one is your favorite? Comment below and let me know. Remember to subscribe, thumbs up, and I ll see you again soon. Bye now!