HOUSTON – Add Pok Pok Po Fried Chicken Parlour to your list of spots for fried “Naughtily Delicious” fried chicken.
The menu is by Food Network Chopped Champion Chef Jassi Bindra. Brindra is also the executive chef at the fine dining establishment Amrina in the Woodlands. While Pok Pok Po has a very different vibe, Amrina’s wildly popular chicken and waffles inspired the fast-food restaurant.
Pok Pok Po serves fried chicken with a twist. The gluten-free batter mixes corn and rice starch seasoned with spices, including a deep red Kashmiri chili powder. Chef Jassi says this gives Pok Pok Po’s chicken its delicious flavor and deep red color without being too spicy.
The most popular lunch item on the menu is Pok Pok Po’s Rice & Shine bowl. Your choice of a boneless chicken thigh or crispy bite-sized pieces of tender chicken breast is loaded onto a bed of basmati rice, drizzled in Pok Pok Po’s Delicious Sauce, and topped with their Desi Kimchi. Pok Pok Po kitchen manager Chef Gurneet Kaur recommends the loaded Chic Fries as the best hangover cure.
Whatever you pick, you’ll want to add a side of the Balle Balle Fries tossed in a special house spice mix, including a sprinkle of Kashmiri chili powder. Chef Jassi explained that Balle Balle “is a dance step from the northern part of India, Punjab, and is really fun.” The spices added to Pok Pok Po’s Balle Balle fries bring fun to your mouth. “So when you eat this spice blend, it’s not just regular salt fries, it’s Balle Balle fries. It’s fun,” he said.
All items on the menu are gluten-free, except for the bun on the Chicken Sandwich, which can be swapped out for a lettuce wrap. Diners can choose between Halal and non-halal options, as the open-plan kitchen has two different fryers to avoid contamination.
Cooking the chicken in a pressure fryer is the secret to keeping it moist and flavorful. Chef Jassi said the pressure fryers in the Pok Pok Po kitchen are the “Rolls Royce of pressure fryers,” working to steam the chicken and infuse flavor before releasing the steam through a valve and then giving the gluten-free batter a few minutes to crisp to perfection in a sizzling bath of peanut oil.
Houston Life’s Melanie Camp took a Pok Pok Po kitchen tour with Chef Jassi and sampled the menu. Check out the kitchen tour below and see what makes Pok Pok Po’s menu “naughtily delicious” in the video above.
Pok Pok Po hosts monthly Spirit Nights, giving back to the community by donating 10% of daily proceeds from that day to local charities. On Wednesday, Dec 18, 2024, they are supporting Nissi’s Network INC, which is working to end human trafficking.
Pok Pok Po Fried Chicken Parlour is in Midtown at 3201 Louisiana St, Suite 108, Houston, TX 77006.