Crispy Sweet Chilli Chicken

5 from 1 vote

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!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian, Chinese, Fusion

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Servings people

Calories 350kcal

Author Eb Gargano

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)

Metric - US Customary

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.

Nutrition