Easy homemade sweet chilli chicken recipe made with fried coated chicken with a sweet, spicy, savoury sauce. If you love fried chicken with sweet chilli sauce, this is the right recipe for you to try out!
Perfect as an appetizer or pair it with rice and noodles and create a complete dinner! This sweet chilli sauce goes well with other proteins like fish fillets, beef, and prawns. Sweet Chilli Salmon is also a great hit on our family meal rotation.
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Ingredients
Please scroll down to see the detailed measurements and printable recipe on the recipe card.
Main Ingredients
- Chicken
- Cornstarch
- Egg
- Salt and White Pepper
- Regular Soy Sauce
- High smoke point oil for frying
For Sweet Chilli Sauce
- Garlic
- Crushed Chilli
- Chinese or Thai sweet chilli sauce
- Regular soy sauce
- Sugar
- Cornstarch slurry ( cornstarch + water )
Variations & Substitution
- Adjust the spice level by adding more or less sweet chilli sauce and crushed chillies. Add some more chilli pepper flakes or extra Sriracha to the sauce for extra heat.
- This recipe works well with other proteins such as prawns/shrimp, squid, or tofu. Adjust the frying times as needed.
- Add sautéed bell peppers and onions to the dish for extra crunchy texture and flavour.
- Bake or air-fry the chicken pieces instead of deep frying them for a healthier alternative. Preheat your oven or air-fryer to 400°F (200°C) and cook for 10-15 minutes or until crispy.
Expert Tips
- Frying Oil Temperature: Keep the oil at around 350°F (185°C). Test the oil with a food thermometer, a wooden chopstick or a spatula.
- Fry Small Batch: Fry the chicken in small batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. An overcrowded pan can lower the oil temperature, resulting in greasy fried chicken.
- Drain the Oil Properly: Let the fried chicken pieces rest on a wire rack to drain excess oil. This helps keep them from being soggy coating texture.
- Taste Best Freshly Cooked: For the best texture, serve the sweet chilli chicken immediately after coating it with the sauce. The longer it sits, the more it may lose its crispiness.
- Double Frying: For a crunchy coating texture, consider double-frying the chicken pieces. Fry them once until they are lightly golden, let them cool, and fry again until golden brown.
How To Make Sweet Chilli Chicken
Prepare the Chicken
Dice the chicken breast into same-size cubes and add soy sauce and white pepper. Add one egg and combine well with the chicken pieces. Next, dredge the chicken pieces in the cornstarch. Make sure each piece is well coated.
Fry the Chicken
Fill the frying pot with oil and heat the oil over medium-high heat at 350°F (180 °C).
Once the oil is hot, carefully add the chicken pieces and fry for 1-2 minutes. Remove the chicken from oil and set it aside for 4-5 minutes. Do not overcrowd the oil and fry in batches.
Then fry them again in the hot oil for another 2-3 minutes until golden brown and crispy. Remove the chicken from the pan and place it over the cooling rack.
Toss Chicken with Sweet Chilli Sauce
In a large wok or pan, drizzle oil and saute the garlic for a few seconds until fragrant. Then add dried crushed chillies. Reduce the heat to low, and add the sweet chilli sauce, sugar, soy sauce, and cornstarch slurry. Stir well to combine, and once the sauce starts to thicken, add the fried chicken pieces. Toss to coat the chicken pieces evenly with the sauce.
Garnish with spring onions and enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
Sweet Chili Chicken is delicious on its own as an appetizer or snack. You can also pair it with various side dishes. Here are a few ideas to complete your dinner!
- Simple plain rice: Jasmine rice is my favourite classic combo that balances the sweet and spicy flavour of fried chicken. You can also have it with basmati rice, brown rice, cauliflower rice, etc.
- Fried Rice: egg fried rice or chicken fried rice can never go wrong too!
- Noodles: Serve it with plain chow mein, just like you’ve had at your favourite Chinese takeaway!
- Vegetables: Salads like Smashed Cucumber Salad and steamed vegetables are perfect paring for low-carb options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use chicken thighs instead of breasts?
Yes, you can use chicken thighs, wings, or chicken cuts if you prefer. Adjust the frying time according to the size of the chicken pieces.
How do I store and reheat leftovers?
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. It can last for up to 3 days. You can use a microwave or reheat in a preheated air fryer for 1-2 minutes to reheat.
How can I keep the chicken stays crispy?
To keep the chicken crispy, make sure to fry it at the right temperature and avoid overcrowding the pan. Additionally, serving the dish immediately after coating it in the sauce helps maintain its crispiness.
What other sauces can I use?
You can add different sauces like Japanese teriyaki sauce or spicy Thai sriracha for a new twist!
If you enjoy this fried chicken with sweet chilli sauce recipe, you will also like these crispy chicken recipes from my website:
- Honey Butter Fried Chicken ( Crispy fried chicken with honey butter sauce. )
- Spicy Thai Fried Chicken Wings ( With spicy, sweet, Sriracha sauce. )
- Honey Lemon Chicken ( Chinese takeout style honey lemon chicken. )
If you've tried this Sweet Chilli Chicken recipe, please share your feedback in the comments and give me star 🌟 ratings!
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📖 Recipe
Sweet Chilli Chicken
Ingredients
- 400 grams Chicken breast Boneless chicken breast or thigh
- ¼ tsp White pepper
- 1 tbsp Soy sauce All-purpose soy sauce
- 150 grams Cornstarch About 1 cup ( add more if needed )
- 1 Egg
- Oil for frying
- Spring onions for garnish
For Sweet Chilli Sauce Mix
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1 tsp Dried chilli flakes Optional
- 1 tbsp Cooking oil Neutral flavour cooking oil
- 6 tbsp Sweet Chilli sauce Thai or Chinese sweet chilli sauce
- 2 tbsp Soy sauce Regular soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Sugar Brown sugar or regular white sugar
- ½ tsp Cornstarch Mix it with 3 tbsp water to make cornstarch slurry
Instructions
Prepare Chicken Coating
- Dice the chicken breast into same-size cubes and add soy sauce and white pepper. Add one egg and combine well with the chicken pieces.
- Next, dredge the chicken pieces in the cornstarch. Make sure each piece is well coated.
Fry the Chicken
- Fill the frying pot with oil and heat the oil over medium-high heat at 350°F (180 °C).
- Once the oil is hot, carefully add the chicken pieces and fry for 1-2 minutes. Remove the chicken from oil and set it aside for 4-5 minutes. Do not overcrowd the oil and fry in batches.
- Then fry them again in the hot oil for another 2-3 minutes until golden brown and crispy. Remove the chicken from the pan and place it over the cooling rack.
Toss Chicken the Sweet Chilli Sauce
- In a large wok or pan, drizzle oil and saute the garlic for a few seconds until fragrant. Then add dried crushed chillies.
- Reduce the heat to low, and add the sweet chilli sauce, sugar, soy sauce, and cornstarch slurry. Stir well to combine, and once the sauce starts to thicken, add the fried chicken pieces.
- Toss to coat the chicken pieces evenly with the sauce. Garnish with spring onions and enjoy!
Notes
- Air-frying option: You can air-fry the chicken pieces instead of deep frying them. Preheat the air-fryer to 400°F (200°C) and cook for 10-15 minutes or until crispy.
- Adjust the spice level by adding more or less sweet chilli sauce and crushed chillies. For extra heat, add some more chilli pepper flakes or add extra Sriracha to the sauce.
- Fry the chicken in small batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. An overcrowded pan can lower the oil temperature, resulting in greasy fried chicken.
Sheila says
Fantastic as is. I wanted to offer an alternative option I also tried.
I skipped the egg and starch completely. Cooked in high in frying pan with garlic olive oil.
It was also fantastic.
Kona Bella says
Wow, Khin, this was absolutely fantastic.
I added a couple of things to make it my own. First off, measure everything out and then follow the video on facebook as the written instructions were not as clear to me.
When I diced the garlic, I also did 1/2 inch of peeled ginger, a slice of onion gut in 1/2 rectangles, a cup of broccoli florets and 6 whole dried chilis.
zi found cooking the breaded chicken in a heavy bottom (All Clad Type) pan with lid. I cooked the chicken for 1 min and then took it out to drain(in batches) and then right before the sauce was done I did another fry(350 degrees) shook off grease and then tossed in the sauce to sauté.
The sauce was fantastic. I added the 5 1/2 tbs of Thai Sweet Chili Sauce and 1/2 garlic chili paste to add a little more spice.
Once the sauté of the onions, garlic, ginger and whole chilis was done, I added the sauce ingredients, (second fried the chicken (check internal temp with a thermometer), shook the chicken after removing from grease and tossed in the wok with the sautéed fixings, sauce (add florets here and green onions.) I sprinkled with sesame seeds and served with rice and home made dumplings.
The chicken was crunchy on the outside, moist in the inside and was spot on.
Wow! Spot on and thank you Khin.
Kona Bella
April says
The dish tastes good. Needs a better batter for the chicken it is not thick enough to coat the pieces well and causes the meat to be tough on the outside.