Crispy Chilli Chicken

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Chinese Crispy Chilli Chicken

Make my favourite crispy chilli chicken! It’s a Chinese takeaway recipe that’s beautifully golden, easy to make and it’s full of so much flavour. Let’s get cooking!

Here’s my take on the one and only Chinese crispy shredded chicken, that’s coated in a delicious sweet and chilli sauce. Honestly, the flavours are amazing if I say so myself.

This dish is actually one of the first takeaway recipes to ever blow up on my Instagram, so I know you guys love it too. Not only is this recipe a real crowd pleaser, but it’s moreish and very simple to put together.

I like to separate this dish into three major sections: marinating the chicken in a soy sauce mixture, coating then frying the chicken, and finally glazing by tossing the crispy chicken in a sweet chilli sauce.

Though this dish has its own unique stamp to it, I think it’s quite similar to my chilli crispy beef and honey chilli chicken recipe. If you’ve tried either recipe, then I think you’re likely to love this crispy chilli chicken too!

Coating The Chicken In Cornflour Is A Must!

To get chicken that’s ultra crispy on the outside and moist and tender in the middle, I couldn’t recommend using cornflour enough. It creates a crispy crackling coating which holds sauces a lot better than flour. Plus, as a bonus… using cornflour instead of flour makes this recipe naturally gluten-free!

Recipe Ingredients

Below are the ingredients needed to make this crispy chilli chicken recipe:

• Chicken: I used boneless chicken breast which I cut into thin strips. As an alternative, you can use diced chicken thighs.
• Cornflour: This is what makes the shredded chicken really crispy.
• Spring Onions: For added flavour and colour.
• The Marinade: A mixture of dark soy sauce, garlic and ginger paste, sesame oil, sugar and white pepper are mixed to make the marinade.
• Stir-Fry Sauce: The crispy chicken is tossed in a glaze made from honey, sriracha, lemon juice and dark soy sauce.

How To Make Shredded Crispy Chilli Chicken

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how I make this takeaway style Chinese crispy chicken. You can get the full recipe instructions on the recipe card below:

Step One:

I start by slicing the chicken breast into thin strips then add them to a mixing bowl. Then, I add the marinade ingredients and leave it to rest for at least 10 minutes.

Whilst the chicken is resting, I like to make the stir fry sauce by mixing honey, lemon juice, dark soy sauce and sriracha together in a small mixing bowl.

Step Two:

To create the cornflour coating, I add an egg white into the chicken and mix well. Then, I pour the cornflour into the chicken and mix it thoroughly until each piece is coated.

Step Three:

To cook the chicken, I heat oil in a wok or frying pan at 180°C and fry the pieces of chicken for 1 to 2 minutes. Once all pieces of chicken are fried, I fry the chicken again for 2 to 3 minutes to get it really crispy.

Step Five:

Now it’s time to make the sauce! In a clean pan oil is added and the garlic and ginger paste is fried for 5 to 10 seconds. Then I add the stir fry sauce ingredients (honey, lemon juice, dark soy sauce and sriracha) and stir for 30 seconds or until thickened.

Step Six:

At this stage everything is brought together. The crispy chicken is mixed into the sweet chilli sauce until evenly distributed. I then finish this dish with a sprinkling of spring onions.

How To Store Shredded Crispy Chilli Chicken

I like to keep leftovers in an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 2 to 3 days.

This recipe works best eaten straight away, so I recommend that you eat it whilst it’s nice and crispy. The pieces of chicken will be less crispy when reheated.

My Top Tips

Make sure the oil is hot before you start frying the chicken! If the oil is not hot, the chicken will absorb the oil and become soggy and greasy – which we don’t want. To test if the oil is hot enough I place a chopstick into the oil, if the oil starts bubbling then it’s ready.

Don’t skip double frying the chicken, it makes the outside coating really really crispy!

The sauce mixture is just enough for coating the chicken, doubling the sauce ingredients will give you a generous amount of sauce. If you’re serving this dish with plain rice, then you might want it more saucy.

The longer you marinade the chicken, the more flavour the chicken will absorb. Make sure to leave the chicken to marinate for at least 10 minutes or overnight for best results.

If when adding cornflour to the chicken, it starts to clump together. Separate the chicken pieces and coat them in cornflour individually.

How To Serve

When making this dish I almost always serve it with fried rice, like with my king prawn fried rice or char siu fried rice recipes.

If I’m adding a vegetable side, I like to serve my roasted tenderstem broccoli with a sprinkling of sesame seeds on top for added texture.

Of course, you can serve this dish on top of noodles! I think my plain chow mein is the perfect pairing.

More Chinese Takeaway Recipes

• Sesame Prawn Toast
• Sweet And Sour Chicken
• Kung Pao Chicken
• Chicken Balls
• Prawn Balls
• Beef With Ginger And Spring Onions

Crispy Chilli Chicken Recipe

Michelle

Chinese takeaway crispy chilli chicken! This recipe is so easy to make and tastes so good. Here's how to make shredded crispy chicken at home.

5 from 6 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Marinade Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 3 People

Calories 380 kcal

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

• 300 g Chicken Breast
• 100 g Cornflour Add More If Needed (See Notes)
• 1 tsp Garlic And Ginger Paste
• 1 Egg White
• 2 Spring Onions
• Vegetable Oil

Chicken Marinade

• 2 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
• 1 tbsp Garlic And Ginger Paste
• 1 tsp Sesame Oil
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp White Pepper

Stir Fry Sauce

• 3 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
• 4 tbsp Honey
• 1 tbsp Sriracha
• 2 tbsp Lemon Juice

Instructions

 

• Prepare your chicken breast by cutting it into thin strips.
  300 g Chicken Breast
• Place the chicken into a large mixing bowl and add the marinade ingredients (dark soy sauce, garlic and ginger paste, sesame oil, sugar and white pepper). Leave to rest for at least 10 minutes.
  1 tsp Garlic And Ginger Paste, 2 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce, 1 tsp Sesame Oil, 1 tsp Sugar, 1 tsp White Pepper
• Whilst the chicken is resting, add the stir fry sauce (honey, lemon juice, dark soy sauce and sriracha) into a small mixing bowl and leave aside for later use.
  3 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce, 4 tbsp Honey, 1 tbsp Sriracha, 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
• Add an egg white into the chicken and mix well. Pour the cornflour into the chicken and mix thoroughly until each piece of chicken is coated in cornflour.
  1 Egg White, 100 g Cornflour
• Heat oil in a wok or frying pan at 180°C and fry the pieces of chicken for 1 to 2 minutes. Once all pieces of chicken are fried, fry the chicken again for 2 to 3 minutes to get it really crispy.
  Vegetable Oil
• In a clean pan add a tablespoon of oil and fry the garlic and ginger paste for 5 to 10 seconds. Add the stir fry sauce ingredients (honey, lemon juice, dark soy sauce and sriracha) and stir for 30 seconds or until thickened.
  1 tbsp Garlic And Ginger Paste
• Add the crispy chicken and mix into the sweet chilli sauce until evenly distributed. Sprinkle with chopped spring onions and eat straight away.
  2 Spring Onions

Video

Notes

If when adding cornflour to the chicken, it starts to clump together. Separate the chicken pieces and coat them in cornflour individually.

Can I Bake The Chicken?

Yes, you can bake the shredded chicken but it won’t be as crispy as frying. If you want to bake the chicken, preheat the oven to 200°C and bake for 20 minutes or until golden and crispy. Turn the chicken over halfway.

Nutrition

Calories: 380kcalCarbohydrates: 59gProtein: 26gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 64mgSodium: 1957mgPotassium: 506mgFiber: 1gSugar: 26gVitamin A: 117IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 23mgIron: 2mg

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