Lunar New Year is almost here, and I’ve been hard at work testing out recipes in anticipation for the holiday. This year, Kevin and I will be celebrating Lunar New Year with his family. We are excited to be able to actually celebrate Lunar New Year with family this year. Kevin and I had a very packed December filled with tons of festivities, parties, and gatherings. We finally had some time this month to just chill out and make time for ourselves. Kevin’s idea of recuperating from the holidays is filling up his free time with video games. My idea of recuperating is to test out more recipes in the kitchen. I wanted to shift away from complicated recipes and focus more on simpler, but equally tasty recipes (like my Asian popcorn chicken, which I’ll get into). The month of January is also a good time to reset and restart the new year on a positive note. Typically, I like to set concrete resolutions for the new year (as I did last year). Last year, I focused on learning as much as possible to improve my baking skills. In the spirt of learning and self-improvement, I also completed a leadership certificate program and a plant-based nutrition certificate program. I’m hoping to take some classes on project management throughout the year. In the realm of food and eating, I focused my resolutions on snacking healthier. Instead of snacking on cheese crackers or chips, I opted for fruits and veggies when I needed a mid-morning or afternoon snack. So far, I’ve been consistent with snacking on an apple in between meals. With Lunar New Year around the corner, I’ve been testing out new recipes to serve to family. One dish I make whenever cravings set in is popcorn chicken. I’ve made versions of popcorn chicken over the years and the Asian popcorn chicken tends to be Kevin’s favorite. It has a great flavor from the blend of Asian spices and the perfect crunch from the crispy coating. I always have to be careful whenever I make this dish because I can never have just a few pieces. If I’m not watching myself, I can pretty much eat the whole bowl. My Asian popcorn chicken makes for the perfect afternoon snack to accompany me when I’m writing a new blog post, looking over some of my food photography, or just jotting down ideas for new recipes. One recipe I’m working on perfecting is brown sugar bubble tea. I had my first experience with brown sugar bubble tea when I visited Tiger Sugar over the holidays. There was just something super addicting about the combination of a brown sugar syrup with whole milk and tapioca pearls. I appreciated the simplicity and deliciousness of the drink. I served my first attempt at brown sugar bubble tea with my tried and true Asian popcorn chicken for an afternoon snack. My Asian popcorn chicken is not only easy to make, but also makes for a great way to spice up my eating routine.
For the Asian popcorn chicken:
· 2 chicken breasts, cut into cubes
· 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
· 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
· 1 teaspoon cornstarch
· 1 cup all-purpose flour
· ¼ cup cornstarch
· ½ teaspoon kosher salt
· ½ teaspoon Asian salty marinade powder (see note in takeaways section below)
· ¼ teaspoon white pepper powder
· ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
· 2 large eggs
· ½ -1 cup vegetable oil, for frying
· ½ cup baby kale, for serving (optional)
Directions:
1) In a bowl, combine the diced chicken breasts, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and cornstarch. Set aside and let the chicken cubes sit in the marinade for about 10 minutes.
2) In another bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, salt, salty marinade powder, white pepper powder, and freshly cracked black pepper. Set aside.
3) In a third bowl, crack the two large eggs and add the eggs to the bowl. Whisk the two eggs for about 15 seconds. Set aside.
4) Heat a Dutch oven pot to medium heat. Add in the vegetable oil.
5) While the oil is heating, begin coating the marinated chicken cubes one at a time in the flour mixture, then the whisked eggs, and back into the flour mixture. Transfer the coated chicken cubes to a plate. Continue this process until all of the chicken cubes are coated.
6) Check back on the frying oil. The oil is ready for frying once you see waves form in the oil. You can also test the oil by dropping a piece of coated chicken and seeing if the chicken begins to sizzle. Fry the coated chicken cubes in the vegetable oil about 6-8 pieces at a time for 2-3 minutes. Remove the fried chicken pieces to a plate lined with paper towels. Continue the process for frying the chicken cubes until all pieces of the coated chicken cubes are fried. Let the popcorn chicken cool for 5 minutes before eating. As an optional step, serve the popcorn chicken over a bed of baby kale (because veggies).
Takeaways: The secret to this yummy Asian popcorn chicken is the Asian salty marinade powder. It’s a blend of Asian spices, white pepper, and salt. The salty marinade powder could also come in foil packets. The version my parents use comes in a silver foil packet similar to the foil packets inside instant ramen noodles. Adding the salty marinade powder to the popcorn chicken definitely gives it a distinctive salty and savory flavor.