<p>Tim Chin is a professional cook and writer who has contributed to Serious Eats and America’s Test Kitchen. A graduate of The International Culinary Center, Tim has cooked at restaurants in New York and Boston, working at Rouge Tomate, Northern Spy, and BiSq.</p>

Tim Chin

<p>Wander around any of Taiwan’s famous night markets, and you’ll see shops selling heaps of piping hot, fried popcorn chicken. Craggy and unbelievably crispy, Taiwanese fried chicken has exploded in popularity since its introduction in the 1970s.

What makes yán sū jī (which translates to “salt crispy chicken”) special? For one, it’s far crispier than any American popcorn chicken—sorry, Colonel. That all comes down to the dredge: Rather than wheat flour, Taiwanese fried chicken is dredged with coarse sweet potato starch, a pure starch with unique properties that produces an impossibly bubbly, crispy, never-greasy coating.

It’s also big on flavor, thanks to a five-spice-heavy marinade that is thickened with tapioca starch to help the dredge adhere. Garnished with crispy fried basil and dusted with a bright and spicy seasoning powder, this is finger food that’ll have you clucking for more.</p>

Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken (Yán Sū Jī)