Excited to share Jack in the box spicy popcorn chicken recipe that I tried at home using minimal spices in an extremely easy way. Believe me, It’s an unstoppable family satisfying appetizer and I love to make a big bowl of these crispy and crunchy popcorn chicken bites to enjoy our weeknight family time.
I know, it’s a crowd-puller recipe and no one can ignore the delectable aroma of deep-fried popcorn chicken. Crispy and crunchy from the outside, soft, tender, and juicy from the inside make it a perfect appetizer or snack to enjoy with your favorite dipping sauce. Isn’t it?
Jump to:
What is Popcorn Chicken?
Well, popcorn chicken is the most popular and adorable chicken snack recipe prepared with small boneless chunks of chicken. Deep-fried, baked, or air-fried, every form of these crispy and crunchy handheld bites is people’s favorite.
The idea of making these small-sized fried chicken popped up from KFC in the 1990s and now spreading all over the world and every café, restaurant, and fast food chain is making their own version of popcorn chicken.
It’s easy and handy to make it at home. You can make it in bulk and freeze it to fry later. Best is to cut the chicken breast into small chunks and marinated it with salt and paper and make a coating with flour, egg and breadcrumbs and deep fried to get golden brown fried chicken pops.
Even though it’s full of carbs and high in calories but I still love to make it to enjoy munching time and homemade is the best!
Why Do I Love This Recipe
- It’s simple, easy, and quick to make at home.
- You can customize the recipe as per your taste. I tried coating it with cornflakes, oats, and simply with breadcrumbs. Also manage the spice level according to taste buds.
- Make it healthy, to bake in the oven or use air fryer to get crispy popcorn.
- As I am growing, I love vegan! so I try the vegan version of this recipe.
- It’s a family favorite recipe! My son has no complaints even though it’s spicy.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Chicken – Best to take a fillet of chicken breast and cut into 12 to 15 small pieces.
Corn flour/starch + Baking powder: Both will help to make the chicken crispy.
Seasoning: Salt - to taste, Red chili powder - ½ Tsp, Black pepper - ½ Tsp, Dark soya sauce - 1 Tsp, Grated Garlic - 1 Tsp, Vinegar - 1 Tsp
Egg – Beaten egg will help to bind the coating.
Breadcrumbs – Regular or panko breadcrumbs are best.
All purpose flour: Use flour with 8 to 12% protein.
Rice flour – Will help to create strong crunch on chicken.
Oil – Use any vegetable or canola oil for frying.
How to Make Spicy Popcorn Chicken
Prepare Chicken Marinade
- In a bowl, add corn flour, baking powder, salt, red chili powder, black pepper, dark soya sauce, grated garlic, vinegar, and egg and mix well to form a smooth paste.
- Now add chicken in the paste and marinate for about 1 hour.
Prepare Chicken Coat
- In a bowl, add breadcrumbs, all-purpose flour, rice flour, salt and black pepper and mix together through spoon.
- Now coat the chicken one by one and keep it on a side for about 10 minutes to get it stick. You can also place chicken after coating in the freezer for about 7 to 8 minutes.
Deep Frying
- Add oil in a pan for deep frying.
- Add the popcorn chicken one by one on medium temperature.
- Keep it frying until you get light golden brown color.
- Take it out on kitchen pepper and serve it with your favorite sauce or simply serve with tomato ketchup.
Watch Video
Tips and Variations for Crispy Chicken
- Small pieces of chicken will make it crispier and crunchier in texture compared with big chunks. Popcorn chicken needs to pop with a crunch sound in your mouth, and it makes sense while eating this.
- Manage the spice level using chili powder. To make it extra hot and spicy use cayenne paper.
- Temperature management is vital to deep fry crispy food. Here is the guide with tips to fry at home.
- Double or triple coating with beaten eggs and flour will make a crunchy layer on the chicken.
- Rice flour will help to add a crunch to chicken.
What To Serve with Popcorn Chicken
French Fries: Yes, chicken and potatoes make the best combination together.
Honey Butter Skillet Corn: It's easy to make skillet corn in 5 minutes to serve with fried chicken as a side.
Coleslaw: Here is simple and easy recipe that can pair up with spicy chicken popcorn.
Mac and Cheese: Here is spicy cajun style macaroni and pasta to pair up.
House Sauce: It's a secret fry sauce recipe of restaurants. Best dipping sauce for popcorn chicken.
Honey Garlic Sauce: Sweet and sour sauce for wings makes a perfect combination with this recipe.
Fruit Salad: Perfect to serve condensed milk fruit salad.
Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes: Nothing can beat the flavor of mashed potatoes with these handheld fried chicken.
You can combine the above ingredients to make a KFC spicy popcorn chicken bowl.
Freeze and Reheat Popcorn Chicken
Freeze the Popcorn Chicken: Line up the breaded chicken on tray and keep it in freezer for about 1 hour to get hard. Now shift the frozen chicken in freezer friendly ziploc bag and freeze for 01 month. Don't store longer as it doesn't have food preservatives.
Reheat the Popcorn Chicken: To reheat, defrost it in microwave or take it out before 3 to 4 hours to naturally defrost at room temperature. Now fry the chicken or bake it oven at 425F for 20 to 25 minutes. If you want, you can easily air fry to get golden brown popcorns.
Q & A
How to make popcorn chicken bowl
It's easy to make your own popcorn chicken bowl at home inspired with KFC bowls. In a bowl, add mashed potatoes, corns, popcorn chicken, drizzle creamy sauce, and sprinkle shredded cheddar or mozzarella. Bake it for about 10 to 15 minutes at 425F and enjoy your own DIY popcorn bowl.
It depends upon making of popcorn chicken. As a standard, 50g chicken popcorn contain 15 gram of carbohydrate.
Simply place it on preheat skillet and heat it up for about 5 minutes from all sides. Don't cover as it will get soggy with steam. You can also reheat in oven or airy fryer as per the choice.
Chili powder, cayenne powder, paprika, black pepper, and white pepper can help to make the spicy version of popcorn chicken.
After breading place the popcorn chicken in preheated air fryer basket. Spray the oil to make it crispy. Air fry for 15 minutes, at 200°C or 400°F. Change the side after 8 minutes to get evenly golden brown color.
Try these recipes: Baked Chicken Breast | Pakora Chicken Fritters | Chicken Cutlet
Fried Chicken Recipes
If you are looking forward to trying this spicy popcorn chicken recipe or something else, then don’t forget to Rate the Recipe by clicking on stars and ask your query in the comment section. I would love to reply to make your experience successful. It will be encouraging if you share your recipe shots with me to share on stories on Instagram.
Spicy Popcorn Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 15 Pieces Boneless Chicken 1 Breast fillet cut into 15 pieces
- 1 tablespoon Corn flour/starch
- ½ teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt To taste
- ½ teaspoon Red chili powder Extra spicy: add ½ teaspoon cayenne peppers
- ½ teaspoon Black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Dark soya sauce
- 1 teaspoon Grated Garlic
- 1 teaspoon Vinegar - 1 Tsp
- 1 Egg
- 1 tablespoon Breadcrumbs Regular or panko
- 1 tablespoon All purpose flour Maida - 1 Tbsp
- 1 teaspoon Rice flour
- Oil For deep frying
Instructions
Preparation of Chicken Marinade
- In a bowl, add corn flour, baking powder, salt, red chili powder, black pepper, dark soya sauce, grated garlic, vinegar, and egg.
- Whisk all the ingredients to make a smooth paste.
- Add all the chicken pieces and give it a good mix.
- Cover and marinade for 45 minutes to penetrate the flavor in the chicken.
Prepare Chicken Breading
- In a bowl, add breadcrumbs, all-purpose flour, rice flour, salt, and black pepper and mix together with a spoon.
- Now coat the chicken one by one and keep it on a side for about 10 minutes to get it to stick. [Tip]: You can also place chicken after coating in the freezer for about 7 to 8 minutes.
Deep Frying
- Add oil in a pan for deep frying.
- Add the popcorn chicken one by one on medium temperature.
- Keep it frying until you get a light golden brown color.
- Take it out on kitchen absorbent paper. Serve it with Mayo garlic sauce or just with tomato ketchup.
Video
Notes
- Small pieces of chicken will make it crispier and crunchier in texture compared with big chunks. Popcorn chicken needs to pop with a crunch sound in your mouth, and it makes sense while eating this.
- Manage the spice level using chili powder. To make it extra hot and spicy use cayenne paper.
- Temperature management is vital to deep fry crispy food.
- Double or triple coating with beaten eggs and flour will make a crunchy layer on the chicken.
- Rice flour will help to add a crunch to chicken.
Hinz
Quick and easy recipe of popcorn chicken that anyone can try and make at home with fewer ingredients.