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
- Chicken Balls
- Prawn Balls
- Beef With Ginger And Spring Onions
