Sichuan Spicy Popcorn Chicken is moist, flavorful, and delicious. It combines a rich and juicy taste as well as a sweet and spicy flavors that make Sichuan food world famous. I heartily recommend this classic and classy dish.
You can enjoy this Sichuan Spicy Popcorn Chicken as main course or as snacks. It is perfect to pair with a bowl of Rice and a glass of cold beer. Each bite is sensational. You will want to have another bite and another.
CHICKEN
For this recipe, I chose Chicken thighs/legs. Of course, you can use chicken breasts if you are white meat lover, but for tender and moister meat that makes the Sichuan taste experience come alive, nothing is better than dark meat. I will show you how to prepare the chicken legs in the recipe and on the video. For simplicity, you can also purchase boneless chicken.
THE SECRET OF THE DOUBLE FRY
Remember to always double fry the Chicken. Double frying helps to firm up the texture and, as surprising as it sounds, to be less oily. You might think that double frying doesn’t sound good but trust me and you will be rewarded by the result. Each bite is enhanced and will last even if refrigerated and eaten the next day!
There is no strict time limit between the first and second fry. It can be from a few minutes or longer, maybe 15 minutes! Cooking is also a good science project and you can experiment with double fry on other food! The same method also applies to two of my Korean Fried Chicken Recipes: Honey-Buttered Korean Fried Chicken with Almonds and Korean Fried Chicken with Sweet and Spicy Walnuts.
HOW TO MAKE THIS SPICY POPCORN CHICKEN
This is absolutely delicious. The sweet and spicy flavors of Sichuan recipes are irresistible. I usually add even more peppercorns than I have listed because my family are among those who like it hot! And each cook should always adjust recipes to her or his own taste according to how spicy or how sweet you prefer. You might also like another Sichuan dish with fish: Chinese Sichuan Chili Boiled Fish.
Hope you enjoy this Chinese Sichuan Spicy Popcorn Chicken Recipe!
MORE CHINESE CHICKEN RECIPES:
Chinese Crispy Honey Lemon Chicken
The Best Chinese Pepper Chicken
Chinese Sichuan Spicy Popcorn Chicken
Ingredients
- 700 g / 25 oz Chicken Legs (includes the bones)
- 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
- 2 Bok Choy, small or 1 large one (or any green vegetables you prefer)
- 3 Green Onions, chopped (white + light green parts), leave dark green parts for garnish
- 3 Dried Red Chili Peppers, long (cut into small pieces)
- 1 tsp Sichuan Peppercorns, cracked
- 30 g / 1 oz Minced Ginger (15 g to marinate the chicken and 15 g for cooking)
- 5 large Garlic Cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp Chinese Cooking Wine
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Chinese 13 Spices Mix (or Chinese 5 Spices)
- 1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
- 1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
- 1 Egg White
- 3 tbsp Cornstarch
- 1/2 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Roasted Sesame Seeds
Instructions
- Use a knife to cut open the chicken leg from top to bottom. Then use kitchen scissors to cut the meat off the bone. Cut into small pieces and put in a large bowl.
- Add Ginger, Salt, Chinese 13 Spices Mix, Chinese Cooking Wine, Light Soy Sauce and Oyster Sauce to the chicken. Mix well. Cover and marinate for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, add in one Egg White and the Cornstarch and mix well.
- Heat up the wok to medium high heat, add 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil and carefully add the chicken pieces one at a time. The First Fry takes about 6 minutes. Remove the chicken and set aside.
- In the same wok with the remaining oil, fry the chicken again. The Second Fry is around 2 minutes at high heat until the chicken turns a nice golden-brown color.
- Drain the Oil and set the chicken aside.
- Leave around 2 tbsp Oil in the wok. Add Ginger and Garlic. Stir for 10 seconds. Add Dried Red Peppers and Sichuan Peppercorns and stir for another 10 seconds. Now add all the Fried Chicken pieces and stir for 20 seconds.
- Add Sugar to taste. Finally add in Bok Choy and stir for 1-2 minutes. Then add the Green Onions and stir thoroughly.
- Before serving, add the Roasted Sesame Seeds, and use the dark green parts of the Onions for garnish.
Notes
- Before frying the chicken, you can use a chopstick to check the temperature of the oil – when you see bubbles coming up around the edge of the chopstick then it’s ready to fry the chicken.
- There is no time limit between the first fry and the second fry.
English 
Dansk
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