This Crispy Chicken barbecue Poppers happened to be a recipe by mistake. I was supposed to cook orange chicken but the price of oranges are really way out of my budget so I thought of using orange soda. However, upon cooking, the orange flavor simply vanished leaving the soy sauce flavor into the sauce. Another mistake I made was I poured barbecue marinade sauce instead of oyster sauce. However, the sauce simply comes out great.
These kind of mistakes are something we can say a delicious mistakes. The sauce turned out perfectly flavorful. It’s sweet and savory and goes well with the crispy chicken poppers. It reminds me of KFC’s Korean Barbecue Flavored Shots.
It’s weekends and I’m in charge of the kitchen. I’m currently working from home on weekdays and my dad usually cooks our food. However, on weekdays, when my siblings come to visit us with my nieces, I usually cooked our dishes. My parents on the other hand are too busy taking care and playing with their apos (grand daughters).
So thinking a menu is really a hard work. I would ask my dad what he wants and he would just say “anything”. A very helpful answer right? I was doing the grocery last Friday on lunch time and the idea pop out. Some orange chicken. We haven’t had that.
I used orange soda instead of orange juice. However, while cooking the sauce, I tasted it and the orange flavor simply disappeared. What remains was the flavor from the soy sauce and the oyster sauce. I find the initial taste a little bland and poured some oyster sauce. Then, I realized it’s the barbecue marinade sauce. They had similar bottle and the label looks the same. The good news was, it still turned out great.
Tips
For this Crispy Chicken Barbecue Poppers recipe, I flatten the cubed chicken breast using my cleaver. This is totally optional and you can just simply stick with the cube chicken breast. It’s just a matter of preference.
I bought a kilo of chicken breast and when I saw the price of the oranges, my jaw simply dropped. It’s way too expensive. So I thought of why not some orange soda?
I used orange soda in this recipe since I intended to make orange chicken. However, a regular Coca Cola will also works great and I bet it will taste good.
Want more barbecue dishes? Check out our Barbecue Page.
Ingredients
Chicken Poppers
| 500 grams | Chicken Breast, cut into cubes |
| 1 teaspoon | Salt |
| 1/4 teaspoon | Ground Black Pepper |
| 3 Tablespoons | Rice Wine |
| 3 Tablespoons | Cornstarch |
| 1 piece | Egg |
| 2 cups | Flour |
| 1/4 cup | Cornstarch |
| 1/2 teaspoon | Baking Soda |
| 1/2 teaspoon | Salt |
| 1/4 teaspoon | Ground Black Pepper |
| Oil for Deep Frying |
Barbecue Sauce
| 2 Tablepsoons | Olive Oil |
| 4 cloves | Garlic, grated |
| 250 mL | Orange Soda |
| 1 Tablespoon | Light Soy Sauce |
| 3 Tablespoons | Oyster Sauce |
| 2 Tablepsoons | Barbecue Marinade Sauce |
| 2 Tablespoons | Honey |
| 1/4 teaspoon | Ground Black Pepper |
| 1 Tablespoon | Brown Sugar |
| 2 Tablespoons | White Vinegar |
| 1 Tablespoon | Cornstarch |
| 3 Tablespoons | Water |
| Chopped Onion Chives for garnishing |
Procedure
Chicken Poppers
Lightly tap the cubed chicken breast using the back of your cleaver. Then give one quick slap using the side of your cleaver to flatten the fillet.
In a bowl, combine chicken, salt, ground black pepper, rice wine, cornstarch and egg. Mix ingredients together and marinate for 20 minutes.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt and ground black pepper.
Toss the chicken into the flour mixture and lightly tap to remove excess flour and set a side.
Heat oil to medium setting and deep fry the chicken poppers until light gold in color. Place chicken on a strainer to remove excess oil.
Switch heat to higher temperature and fry again the chicken poppers until golden brown. This will take around 30 seconds to a minute.
Barbecue Sauce
Sauté garlic in olive oil.
Combine orange soda, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, barbecue marinade sauce, honey, ground black pepper, brown sugar and white vinegar. Mix thoroughly and add into the sautéed garlic. Simmer for 15 minutes over low heat.
Combine cornstarch and water. Add a tablespoon at a time into the sauce to thicken. Stir and simmer for another 5 minutes.
Toss the chicken popper into the barbecue sauce until fully coated. Garnish with chopped onion chives.
Crispy Chicken Barbecue Poppers
Ingredients
Chicken Popper
- 500 grams Chicken Breast, cut into cubes
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 3 Tablespoons Rice Wine
- 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
- 1 piece Egg
- 2 cups Flour
- 1/4 cup Cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- Oil for Frying
Barbecue Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 4 cloves Garlic, grated
- 250 mL Orange Soda
- 1 Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
- 3 Tablespoons Oyster Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Barbecue Marinade Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Honey
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons White Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
- 3 Tablespoons Water
- Chopped Onion Chives for garnishing
Instructions
Chicken Popper
- Lightly tap the cubed chicken breast using the back of your cleaver. Then give one quick slap using the side of your cleaver to flatten the fillet.
- In a bowl, combine chicken, salt, ground black pepper, rice wine, cornstarch and egg. Mix ingredients together and marinate for 20 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt and ground black pepper.
- Toss the chicken into the flour mixture and lightly tap to remove excess flour and set a side.
- Heat oil to medium setting and deep fry the chicken poppers until light gold in color. Place chicken on a strainer to remove excess oil.
- Switch heat to higher temperature and fry again the chicken poppers until golden brown. This will take around 30 seconds to a minute.
Barbecue Sauce
- Sauté garlic in olive oil.
- Combine orange soda, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, barbecue marinade sauce, honey, ground black pepper, brown sugar and white vinegar. Mix thoroughly and add into the sautéed garlic. Simmer for 15 minutes over low heat.
- Combine cornstarch and water. Add a tablespoon at a time into the sauce to thicken. Stir and simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Toss the chicken popper into the barbecue sauce until fully coated. Garnish with chopped onion chives.
