Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken

To the bowl, add light soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic, Chinese 5 spice, sugar and pepper. Mix that well and let it marinate for at least an hour or overnight.

Once the chicken is marinated, add sweet potato starch to the bowl (see notes). With wet hands, mix the chicken in a tossing motion until all the starch coats the chicken. You want the chicken to have small clumps of starch on it. Place the pieces of chicken on a plate or tray to get it ready for frying. 

Mix the seasoning ingredients together and set aside for later.

Rinse and pat dry the basil-- getting rid of as much moisture as possible. 

In a pot over medium heat, heat up oil. Once it's hot enough, add the pieces of chicken and fry it until golden brown and crispy. Cook in batches to prevent overcrowding.

Make sure the chicken doesn't stick to each other by stirring occassionally for the first few minutes. 

For the last batch of chicken, at the last minute mark-- add basil and cover with a lid to prevent oil from splattering. After 1 minute, remove the lid and immediately remove the popcorn chicken and basil. 

Place chicken on a cooling rack or a bowl and immediately add the seasoning mix on top. If using a bowl, toss until the chicken is well coated. 

Serve the chicken while hot with the fried basil. Enjoy!