Delicious chunks of crispy chicken, covered in a wonderful hot and sweet chilli sauce and served with jasmine rice – this Crispy Sweet Chilli Chicken is set to be your new family favourite!
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You have my son to thank for this one!
This Crispy Sweet Chilli Chicken recipe came about because my son found something similar on TikTok that he was desperate to try out. We worked together to simplify and adapt the recipe that he had found on TikTok. (The idea was good, but the recipe itself wasn’t great!) And then we tested it out together. We tasted it and figured out how we could make it even better and tested it out again… a few more tweaks and adaptations later and this is the result!
It’s so lovely, now my children are older, to be able to work with them to develop recipes and share with them the creative process of taking an idea or inspiration, through the testing process, to a recipe that is ready to share here on Easy Peasy Foodie.
And the result is already a firm family favourite… I mean, delicious chunks of crispy chicken, covered in a wonderful hot and sweet chilli sauce and served with jasmine rice – what’s not to like? This recipe is now a regular feature on our family’s meal plans!
I hope you love it as much as we do 😀
How to make Crispy Sweet Chilli Chicken
This Crispy Sweet Chilli Chicken is very easy to make and takes less than 30 minutes!
First, mix together all the sauce ingredients in a jam jar. Then, place the chicken pieces, soy sauce, egg and cornflour in a bowl and use your hands to get the chicken evenly coated.
Next, deep(ish) fry the chicken in your wok (see below), in two batches. Finally, heat the sauce until it starts to gently bubble. Add the crispy chicken and stir to get the chicken evenly coated in the sauce.
Serve garnished with sliced spring onions, fresh red chilli and sesame seeds.
(Full recipe given in the recipe card below.)
Not a fan of deep frying?
OK, so this recipe calls for a sort of half-way house between regular (shallow) frying and proper ‘deep’ frying.
You just pour in 250ml sunflower oil into your wok and heat the oil over a high heat for 3 minutes. The you add in HALF the chicken pieces, using tongs and deep fry, turning each piece occasionally, until golden brown on all sides. (Approximately 4 minutes.)
Then you remove the chicken to the plate, lined with kitchen roll, and repeat for the second half of the chicken, using the same oil.
You are not really ‘deep’ frying, more ‘medium-depth’ frying!
But if you don’t want to do that, you can just ‘shallow fry’ in the normal way instead – the chicken won’t be as crispy, but it will still taste good!
(See the recipe card for step by step instructions.)
What to serve with Crispy Sweet Chilli Chicken
For me, the perfect accompaniment to this delicious Crispy Sweet Chilli Chicken is jasmine rice. But it also works well with regular white rice, brown rice or even basmati rice!
Alternatively you could serve this with plain cauliflower rice, if you are trying to keep the carbs and calories down.
Served with rice, this recipe makes a quick and easy midweek meal… but it would also be wonderful as part of a larger spread of Asian-inspired dishes.
What to drink with Crispy Sweet Chilli Chicken
Because of the sweetness in this dish, together with the heat of the chillies, it’s best paired with an aromatic white wine, such as Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio, Viognier, Riesling or Gewurztraminer. Alternatively, you could try a fruity rosé from somewhere like Spain or Southern France, which also works well with this kind of dish.
However, for me, hands down the best match is an off-dry German Riesling. Even if you normally prefer dry whites, you may be pleasantly surprised as, with this dish, the touch of sweetness in the wine compliments the sweetness in the sauce beautifully AND it works really well with the chilli heat!
What to do with leftover Crispy Sweet Chilli Chicken
This is definitely a dish that is best eaten fresh, or the chicken will lose it’s crispy-ness. However, if you do find yourself with some leftovers, they will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge and can be reheated – it won’t be as crispy, but it will still taste delicious!
Put any leftover Crispy Sweet Chilli Chicken in a lidded container and place in the fridge, where it will keep for up to 3 days.
To reheat, simply tip the Crispy Sweet Chilli Chicken into a wok or frying pan. Fry on medium high for 5-10 minutes, or until piping hot all the way through.
Alternatively reheat the Crispy Sweet Chilli Chicken in the microwave until piping hot all the way through.
Can you freeze Crispy Sweet Chilli Chicken?
Absolutely! While this Crispy Sweet Chilli Chicken does taste best made fresh, it also freezes well.
Simply put the cooked and cooled Crispy Sweet Chilli Chicken into a lidded container and place it in the freezer, where it will keep for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat as above.
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
Crispy Sweet Chilli Chicken
Ingredients
Sweet Chilli Sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
- 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce (I use Blue Dragon Original)
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- 1 tablespoon runny honey
- 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes (or to taste)
Crispy Fried Chicken
- 600 g chicken breast chopped into bite-sized chunks – roughly 1.5cm (½inch) cubes
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 beaten egg
- 3 tablespoons cornflour (US - cornstarch)
- 250 ml sunflower oil for deep(ish!) frying (See Note 1)
To serve
- Jasmine rice
- 3 spring onions finely sliced (for garnish - optional)
- Sesame seeds for garnish - optional
- Fresh red chillies sliced (for garnish - optional)
Instructions
- Place all the sauce ingredients in a clean jam jar (or similar), stir to combine, then pop the lid on and give it a good shake to ensure everything is well mixed.
- Next, place the chicken chunks in a large bowl. Add the soy sauce, egg and cornflour. Use your hands to turn the chicken and get it evenly coated with the cornflour/soy/egg mixture.
- Place ALL the sunflower oil in your wok, and heat the oil over a high heat for 3 minutes. (See Note 1.)
- Carefully add HALF the chicken pieces, using tongs and deep fry, turning each piece occasionally, until golden brown on all sides. (Approximately 4 minutes total – do not overcook!) Place 2 pieces of kitchen roll on a plate. Remove the chicken to the plate.
- Repeat for the second half of the chicken, using the same oil.
- Remove the oil from the wok (see Note 2) and return the pan onto a medium heat. Pour in the sauce from the jam jar and heat until it starts to gently bubble. Add the crispy chicken and stir to get the chicken evenly coated in the sauce.
- Turn the heat off immediately to stop the sauce thickening too much or making the chicken soggy. (See Note 3.)
- Serve immediately with jasmine rice and garnished with sliced spring onions, fresh red chilli and sesame seeds.
Notes
- Use a neutral oil for deep frying such as rapeseed, vegetable or sunflower. Alternatively, if you prefer cooking with olive oil, use a mild olive oil. You are not really ‘deep’ frying, more ‘medium-depth’ frying. But if you don’t want to do that, you can just ‘shallow fry’ in the normal way instead – the chicken won’t be as crispy, but it will still taste good! Do this with a couple of tablespoons of oil heated for 1 minute before adding HALF the chicken. Fry for 2 minutes on each side, or until golden and cooked through. Remove to a plate and repeat for the second half.
- Please take care when removing the oil from the wok. It will be extremely hot. Pour into a suitable container. Do not throw down the sink. Discard responsibly when cool.
- Cooked as per the above instructions, the chicken should be fully cooked all the way through. However, if you are at all unsure, check the chicken is cooked through by cutting open the largest piece you can find. There should be no pink meat. If you do find pink meat, return the pan to the heat and continue cooking for a further minute.
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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Disclosure
*This blog post contains affiliate links, this means if you click on a link and go on to buy the product I recommend, I will get a small commission, but you will not be charged a penny more – thanks in advance!
Helen Watkin says
This is a brilliant recipe Eb, we loved it. I think next time I will try it with some thinly sliced steak to make crispy chilli beef. I’m sure that will be delicious too.
Eb Gargano says
Aw yay – I am so happy to hear you like this recipe so much! And I love the idea of trying it with beef. Thank you for such a lovely review 😀