Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken, Made with Monk Fruit Sweetener

Method

1. Rub half a lime over 1kg of chicken thigh to clean it, then rinse it well. Remove the bone and cut the chicken into small bite sized pieces.
2. Marinate the chicken with 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon of minced ginger, 4 teaspoons of cooking wine, 4 teaspoons of sesame oil, 4 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of five spice powder and 4 teaspoons of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend. Mix well and leave for 10 minutes.
3. Put 120g of tapioca starch in a bowl and roll each piece of chicken in it until fully coated.
4. Set a pan on the stove with 300ml of cooking oil. Once the oil is properly hot, fry the chicken over medium heat for about 5 minutes. When the pieces are golden and crisp, lift them out to drain.
5. In the same oil, fry about 10 thyme leaves for around 10 seconds until crisp, then lift them onto paper towels.
6. Heat a dry pan and toast 1 teaspoon of five spice powder, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper until fragrant.
7. Scatter the toasted seasoning salt over the chicken and finish with the crisp fried thyme.

Tips

• Fry the chicken in small batches, as a crowded pan drops the oil temperature and the pieces soak up oil.
• Fresh thyme still carries water and spits badly, so shake it thoroughly dry before it goes in.
• kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves slowly, so work it well into the meat and leave it 10 minutes before the coating goes on.
• For a crust that stays crisp longer, fry twice: once over medium heat to cook through, rest for 5 minutes, then fry again over high heat for 30 seconds.
• When thyme is hard to find, Vietnamese basil works, with a slightly different aroma but plenty of fragrance.