Sweet Chili Popcorn Chicken (2024)

Marinated thigh meat, coated in panko and then baked until crispy, Sweet Chili Popcorn Chicken is then tossed in a homemade sauce which can be as mild or as hot as you prefer. It’s sticky, sweet, spicy, moist, and tender!

SWEET CHILI POPCORN CHICKEN

Back when I was still in school, my mom insisted on having the popular KFC Family Meal Deal every Sunday night for dinner. Even though that meal deal came with a bucket of chicken, I always insisted that she would add on an order of popcorn chicken. I used to love it!

It’s been many, many years since I’ve had it. It’s not that I have anything against KFC. But, when you share your life with a vegetarian, restaurants that serve only meat items, become a thing of the past. I used to make my own Szechuan version, but unlike this one, it was fried and not baked.

A month ago, a new KFC location opened about 30 minutes from our home. John.e thought he would surprise me, went to the drive-thru, and bought a few pieces to bring home. I was preparing dinner when he arrived, so I set them aside and completely forgot about them until the next day.

Now that I think back, the popcorn chicken – although very tasty – was not really worth it. The bits of chicken inside were extremely small. In reality, it was just balls of batter! Sweet Chili Popcorn Chicken has more chicken than batter, and tastes so much better!

WHICH CHOICE OF CHICKEN WORKS BEST?

For this recipe, I would highly recommend either boneless, skinless chicken thighs or chicken breast. I love working with chicken thighs. No matter what cooking method I throw at them, they always come out tender and moist. I’m also a fan of dark meat.

You can use breast meat for this recipe too. If you’re worried about using breast meat because it tends to cook faster than dark meat, stick to using thigh meat. The thigh meat will not dry out at all.

In this recipe, the chicken is baked for only 25 minutes, but that’s a long time for chicken breast. The saving grace here though, is that the breat meat has been marinated, which will help keep the meat moist. Using a slightly larger piece of the breast meat will ensure that it doesn’t become over done and too dry. There’s nothing worse than dry breast meat!

Unlike chicken breast, you can cut the boneless, skinless chicken thighs into smaller pieces. They don’t have to be perfectly even. In this particular case, I’m using boneless, skinless chicken thighs only because they were on sale and I like it more than white breast meat.

PREPPING AND MARINATING

When it comes to marinating chicken, some of us think that it’s okay to marinate it all day or even overnight. That might work for some marinades, but not all. Let me explain.

If you’re using a marinade that has acidity in it, then I would not marinate longer than two hours. The acid will react with the enzymes in the chicken and actually toughen it. Since this particular marinade has very little acidity, it’s safer to marinate the chicken for a longer period of time.

My favourite marinades for chicken always uses buttermilk. Buttermilk helps to make for a more tender chicken dish. The acidity of the buttermilk will break down protein structures in the chicken, and helps it to retain moisture a whole lot better.

Therefore, a marinade consisting of more mellow ingredients, like a mixture of olive oil (or buttermilk), garlic, onion, and herbs, etc., would allow for a longer marinating time. The good news is that you only need the chicken to sit in the marinade for 30 minutes!

HERE’S WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

1. Chicken – Use boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts. Cut thighs into half inch pieces, and if using breast meat, cut into 3/4-1″ pieces.
2. Buttermilk – The creaminess and the low acid level will make a more moist and tender dish.
3. Garlic – Use fresh garlic. It really adds so much flavour to the marinade.
4. Seasonings – Dried seasonings make this dish inexpensive. You will need basil, oregano, thyme, paprika, salt, and ground black pepper.
5. Panko – These are Japanese bread crumbs. They’re crispier and lighter than regular Italian bread crumbs.
6. Butter – The melted butter will help to crisp up the panko and add flavour too, of course.
7. Sauce – The sauce is completely optional if you want plain popcorn chicken. Otherwise, you will need to whisk together ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar, water, cornstarch, and dried red chili flakes. (If you have any of my Sweet Heat Chili Sauce on hand, you can use it and skip making a new sauce for this recipe.)

STEP BY STEP: HOW TO MAKE SWEET CHILI POPCORN CHICKEN

Start by preparing the chicken. If using chicken thighs, cut into 1/2 inch chunks/pieces. If using chicken breasts, portion the pieces a little larger – about 3/4 – 1″ pieces. Add the prepared chicken to a bowl and set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, minced garlic, dried basil, dried oregano, dried thyme, paprika, salt, and ground black pepper.

Pour the marinade over the chicken and toss well to coat. Cover chicken with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (Chicken can marinate for up to 12 hours.)

When ready to bake, pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Toss the chicken pieces into the panko bread crumbs until well coated. Place the coated chicken onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Melt the butter and use a spoon to drizzle it over the top of the prepared chicken. Bake for 25 minutes, turning at the halfway mark. Remove from oven and set aside.

Add the ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar, dried red chili flakes, and four tablespoons of water to a large skillet. Whisk to combine. Bring to a low boil over medium-high heat. In the meantime, whisk the cornstarch and the remaining two tablespoons of water together until the cornstarch is dissolved. Once the ketchup mixture starts to bubble, pour the cornstarch and water mixture into the skillet and whisk into the sauce.

The sauce will thicken almost immediately. Once thick, add the popcorn chicken into the skillet. Use two rubber spatulas to toss the chicken and coat each piece with the sauce. Turn off the heat. Transfer chicken to a platter, garnish accordingly, and serve immediately.