Chicken Popcorn

Satisfy your KFC-style chicken popcorn cravings at home with today’s recipe, which tastes just like the real thing but is far healthier! Enjoy the loud crunch of these small pieces of goodness dipped in Sriracha Mayo Dip!

What is Chicken Popcorn?

Chicken popcorn is little bite-sized pieces of chicken that have been gently seasoned, breaded, and fried. KFC was the first to bring in this innovation of chicken. It is now available worldwide and can be created at home too.

All you have to do is patiently follow the step-by-step procedure. Get some boneless chicken cubes and give it a shot. I am confident that everyone will like this crunchy snack.

Notable Ingredients at a Glance

Chicken breast – Take boneless chicken breast cut into small pieces. No one likes bones in their chicken popcorn. Imagine if there were bones in your KFC chicken popcorn. Would you enjoy it the way you do? Well, I can’t even imagine. Hence, always go for boneless chicken, preferably the breast piece.

Spices – 1 teaspoon of red chili powder is all you need. You can add it if you have peri-peri masala at home you can add it, though this is optional.

Eggs – Take two eggs. Eggs will act as the binding agent.

Bread crumbs – These bread crumbs will give your favorite crunch to the popcorn. I have used panko breadcrumbs. Panko is flakes of crustless white bread that have been prepared and dried. Because these bread crumbs are dryer and flakier than conventional bread crumbs, they absorb less oil.

If you can’t find panko breadcrumbs, you can also use some other breadcrumbs.

All-purpose flour – All-purpose flour and egg together will foram the coating for the breadcrumbs to attach to the chicken and give the crunchiness.

Oil – You can use any kind of neutral oil for frying, vegetable oil, or sunflower oil. But, do not use mustard oil.

How to prepare Chicken Popcorn?

Combine the boneless chicken pieces, black pepper, red chili powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Cover and marinate it for 15-20 minutes.

Coat the marinated chicken evenly with all-purpose flour. Then subsequently, dip the chicken first in the egg and then in the panko breadcrumbs. Repeat this process twice or thrice.

You can refrigerate the coated chicken for 5-6 minutes so that the bread crumbs bind with the chicken properly. If you are in a hurry, you can skip it and directly fry the cricket.

Take a shallow frying pan and heat the oil in it for frying. To ensure that the oil is heated enough, put a small bit of flour into it and watch it sizzle. Next, add the chicken in batches and cook until golden brown, about 8 minutes.

Remove from the oil and drain on a dish lined with paper towels—season with salt. Repeat the same process with the remaining chicken and serve hot with ketchup or mayonnaise on the side.

Expert tips for preparing chicken popcorn

• Marinate the chicken in the refrigerator overnight for the best results. Then, 10 minutes before cooking, remove the chicken from the fridge.
• You can make these ahead of time by frying them once and storing them in the fridge for a couple of hours. When ready to serve, heat the oil to roughly 400F/204C and flash-fried the chicken cubes for a minute more. This will result in a highly crispy coating.

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