Abstract: Water migration and oil impregnation during microwave reheating can reduce the crispness of popcorn chicken. In order to solve this problem, the effect of addition of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and maltodextrin to batter on oil content, moisture and distribution, crispness, color and sensorial characteristics of popcorn chicken after pre-frying and microwave reheating were investigated. Our results showed that adding 2% hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and 6% maltodextrin to batter significantly reduced the increase of crust water content and the decrease of inner meat moisture in microwave reheated product (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, there was a decrease in the T22 of inner meat, indicating that the mobility of free water was reduced. The A22 of popcorn chicken prepared with HPMC and maltodextrin was significantly higher than that of the control (P < 0.05), indicating that the crust crispness and the inner meat juiciness could be improved by inhibiting water migration from the inner meat to the outer crust. The crispnesses of popcorn chicken prepared with 2% HPMC and/or 6% maltodextrin were all significantly higher than that of the control (P < 0.05). However, the crust hardness of popcorn chicken with 2% HPMC was the highest, and the crust of popcorn chicken with 6% maltodextrin had the highest oil content (P < 0.05). Popcorn chicken with 2% HPMC together with 6% maltodextrin had the best crispness and moderate hardness, without an oily taste. These results provide a basis for improving the crispness and quality of battered products.

Key words: microwave, popcorn chicken, low field-nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR), water distribution, quality characteristics