Two Popular Snacks (台灣小吃 鹽酥雞, 廣式 椒鹽雞翼)

Here are two popular snacks we can all prepare at home: (#TaiwanDish, #CantoneseDish)

I. Taiwan-style Popcorn Chicken, 鹽酥雞 (台灣小吃)

1. Get ~1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast (or thigh); clean thoroughly, and cut into roughly 1" x 1" x 1/2" pieces..
2. Marinate the chicken pieces for 30 minutes, with 1 Tsp corn starch, 1 Tbsp Rice Wine, 1 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp Five-Spices (五香粉), 2 tsp white pepper, and 1 egg (Mix sauce and spices in a bowl before putting in the chicken pieces).
3. Spread Sweet Potato Powder (地瓜粉, preferably coarse-grained powder, 粗地瓜粉, but fine-grained powder, 細地瓜粉, works as well; see product package) in a flat plate.  Roll the chicken pieces in the powder and set aside all the powdered pieces in a clean plate for a minute or two.
4. (Medium-to-High Heat) Deep-fry chicken pieces with vegetable oil (or pan-fry with half of the pieces immersed in vegetable oil) at medium-to-high heat till both sides are golden brown (i.e., at most 5 minutes; Flip the pieces after ~2.-3 minutes). The ideal color should be like the picture by Chicken Wings Step 1.  Note 1- Try not to over-cook! Chicken "tender" should be tender inside, yet crispy outside. Please consider turning OFF heat after 4 minutes, and using the residual heat to cook for a minute or two.
5. Garnish with slightly-fried fresh basil leaves and serve.  (Rinse basil leaves, place leaves in a strainer, and dip the strainer with leaves into hot oil for ~5 seconds).  Here is a picture of the finished product.
   

II. Salt-and-Pepper Chicken Wings or Cantonese Buffalo Wings, 椒鹽雞翼 (廣式)

1. Get ~1 pound of chicken wings (get a pack with only the "mid-joint-up" pieces, see picture below); clean thoroughly.
   
2. Marinate the chicken wings for 30 minutes, with 1 Tsp corn starch, 1 Tbsp Rice Wine, 1 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp Five-Spices (五香粉).
3. (Low-to-Medium Heat) Deep-fry the wings (or pan-fry with half of the wing immersed in vegetable oil) at low heat for 5-6 minutes (2-3 minutes each side).  Take out and set aside for 3-5 minutes. Note 2- Consider turning OFF heat after 5 minutes, and using the residual heat to cook for a minute or two.
4. (Medium-to-High Heat) Deep-fry (or pan-fry) the wings again at high heat till the wings are golden brown, i.e., for 5-6 minutes (2-3 minutes each side, see picture to the right for the ideal color).  Note 3- Try not to over-cook! Consider turning OFF heat after 5 minutes, and using the residual heat to cook for another minute or two.
5. Prepare a mix of  1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp black pepper, and 1 tsp Chinese Pepper (花椒粉), and set the mix on the side of the wings (as dip); Garnish with chopped and dry-stir-fried fresh chili peppers (either red or green or both, chop and stir-fry without oil for 15-20 seconds), and serve.  Here is a picture of the finished product.  Note 4- Chinese-style salt-and-pepper (椒鹽) : (1) dry stir-fry (w/o oil) 1 Tbsp of Chinese Pepper (胡椒粉) with 1/2 Tbsp of salt at low-to-medium heat, till the salt turns sandy color (i.e., having absorbed the taste of Chinese Pepper); (2) Filter out Chinese pepper with a strainer, and then add 1 Tbsp of black pepper.