These tender bites of popcorn chicken are coated in smoky chipotle flavor and then crusted in panko crumbs before being fried to crispy perfection. Serve them with a simple honey mayo sauce on the side for dipping and everyone from your kids to your party guests will love these!
Ingredients
Cooking oil, for frying
2largeeggs
2tablespoonschipotle peppers in adobo sauce, pureed
1tablespoonsoy sauce, gluten-free if needed
1tablespoonwater
½cupflour, gluten-free if needed
2cupspanko, gluten-free if needed
1lbchicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
The Dip
¼cupmayonnaise
2tablespoonsliquid honey
Instructions
Attach an oil/candy thermometer to the side of a medium-sized pot. Pour in 2 inches of oil and heat it to 300 degrees Fahrenheit over medium-high heat. Once the temperature reaches 300 degrees, turn the element down to medium and continue to heat the oil until it reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cooking oil
While the oil is heating, prep the breading - make sure to keep a close eye on the temperature of the oil. Set up 3 bowls. In one bowl whisk the eggs, pureed chipotle peppers, soy sauce, and water. Put the flour in the second bowl and the panko in the third.
2 large eggs, 2 tablespoons chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon water, ½ cup flour, 2 cups panko
Working with 3-4 pieces at a time, dredge the chicken pieces first in flour, second in the egg, and third in panko. Keeping one hand for the egg and the other for the flour and panko makes this process far less messy. Once the chicken pieces are coated, place them on a baking tray.
1 lb chicken thighs
Once the oil reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit, carefully drop in 7-8 pieces and let them cook for 4-5 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Test the thickest one when you remove it for doneness by cutting it in half. No pink means it's cooked through. Place the cooked chicken bites onto a clean baking sheet lined with paper towels while you cook the rest. Make sure the oil returns to 350 degrees Fahrenheit between batches.
To make the sauce, mix the mayonnaise and honey in a small bowl.
¼ cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons liquid honey
To serve, either drizzle a little of the sauce over the top of the chipotle popcorn chicken or serve it on the side for people to dip.
Notes
We like to puree the whole can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce as it makes it very easy to use in a lot of chipotle pepper recipes. Extras will keep for ages in a jar in your fridge. If you don't want to puree the whole can, you can finely mince one of the peppers with some of the adobo sauce.