Crispy Chilli Chicken | Chinese Fakeaway Recipe

If you catch yourself reaching for the Chinese takeaway menu, again and again, we have a wonderful recipe here for you that will come together in just over 30 minutes, and will definitely satisfy the craving for sweet, salty, slightly spicy and umami flavours that only Chinese cuisine can offer! We present to you the takeaway of the year - Crispy Chilli Chicken recipe (that sometimes goes by the name of Shredded Crispy Chicken in Chilli Sauce)!

Jump to:

• Chinese Fakeaway Tonight?
• Ingredient Notes
• Secrets To Crispy Shredded Chicken
• Step-By-Step Method
• Reader Review
• What To Serve With Crispy Chilli Chicken? 
• Storage And Reheating
• More Chinese Takeaway Recipes To Try
• Crispy Chilli Chicken | Chinese Fakeaway Recipe

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Chinese Fakeaway Tonight?

Chinese Takeaway is one of our favourites here, at Somebody Feed Seb. We love Kung Pao Tofu, Steamed Bao Buns, Chicken Manchurian and Crispy Chilli Beef, not forgetting Salt & Pepper Chicken and Hong Sue Chicken. But let's be honest, ordering takeaways can get very expensive... And that's why we started making our own Chinese fakeaways at home! 

Instead of ordering in, you can easily create beautiful replicas of your favourite dishes in your own kitchen. And the beauty of it is, you can often prepare a great Chinese dish quicker than the delivery driver would have arrived. What is more, it will be a lot less expensive!

Ant whatever you are having, you must try our homemade salt and pepper chips (these taste just like ones from Chinese restaurants!)

Want a Chinese-inspired feast that you don't need to cook - let your slow cooker do all the work! Try our Sticky Crispy Chinese Pork Belly!

Ingredient Notes

Here's everything you will need to make this easy chilli chicken recipe:

• chicken breast: skinless, boneless chicken breasts. You can also make it with chicken thighs, but they will take 1-2 minutes longer to cook. 
• sesame oil: we used toasted sesame oil. 
• caster sugar: or white granulated sugar. 
• soy sauce: we used dark soy sauce, but light soy or tamari will work too. 
• small egg. 
• cornflour: an essential ingredient for crispy chicken pieces. It is also known as corn starch. You may replace it with potato starch (potato flour) to make a crispy coating. 
• vegetable oil: or other odourless oil, like sunflower or canola oil. 
• fresh veggies: small carrot and red bell peppers.
• ginger. 
• garlic cloves. 
• chilli flakes: also known as red pepper flakes. 
• tomato ketchup: avoid overly acidic ketchup or reduce the amount of rice vinegar used. 
• rice vinegar: white wine or apple cider vinegar may also be used. 
• honey. 

You will also need spring onions and a pinch of sesame seeds for garnish. 

Find the ingredient quantities, detailed instructions and nutritional information in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. 

Secrets To Crispy Shredded Chicken

One of the best things about Chinese cuisine for us is the crispy chicken coated in stick stir fry sauce. This simple recipe is no exception and has all the best elements Chinese Takeout can offer. So how to create a crispy texture without the chicken drying out? Here are our tips for the best results: 

Coating

To coat the chicken fillet strips for the crispiest results, we use  2 ingredients in this recipe. First, we roll the chicken strips in a beaten egg, then dredge them in cornflour (an excessive amount of cornflour). After shaking off any excess coating, the chicken is ready to hit the pan. What each ingredient does, you ask?

• egg is used to make the coating stick to the chicken better. It also helps create the puffed-up batter effect without making the batter. You may use egg whites only in this recipe for an even crispier chicken and save the yolk for other recipes 🙂 
• cornflour (cornstarch): is one of the best things out there to use for crispy chicken. Cornflour absorbs moisture very well, ensuring the chicken stays moist inside and crispy on the outside.

Cooking

There are a few things to note regarding the cooking of the coated chicken strips: 

• Make sure to use enough oil. Whilst we do not use a deep fryer to make our chilli chicken crispy, we do add enough oil to cover the strips at least halfway up, but you may choose to deep fry. 
• Make sure the oil is hot before you add the chicken to the pan. This way the coating will be crispy, rather than absorb the oil in the pan creating a soggy coating. 
• Don't overcrowd the pan. Adding too many chicken strips to the pan at the same time will result in pieces sticking to each other and the chicken stewing in its own moisture rather than frying and crisping up. 
• Cook the chicken quickly on high heat. Once again, it will prevent the coating from absorbing too much oil and the chicken will turn golden brown. 
• Once cooked place the chicken on a piece of paper towel which will absorb any excess oil. Do not cover the cooked chicken. It will heat up again in the sauce. 

Step-By-Step Method

Step 1: Marinate The Chicken

Cut the chicken breasts into thin slices against the grain, that is, in a different direction from which the natural muscle fibres run in.

When the chicken is cut, place the thin strips in a large bowl with sesame oil, soy sauce and caster sugar and leave the chicken to marinate, whilst you prepare all the other elements of the dish.

Step 2: Making The Sauce

In a small bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients: honey, tomato ketchup, rice vinegar and soy sauce. Mix well and set aside for later. That's it! It's that easy! 

Short on time? Use shop-bought sweet teriyaki sauce instead, like we do in our recipe for Crispy Teriyaki Chicken With Rice.

Step 3: Prepping Vegetables

Using a large knife, crush the garlic clove with a swift sharp bang of the palm of your hand. Peel the garlic cloves and chop them up very finely. Do the same with the ginger. Use a wide-bladed knife, place it on top of your unpeeled garlic with the sharp edge facing away and slam the palm of your hand to crush it under the blade (take care not to cut yourself). 

Julienne (cut into short thin strips) a small carrot and red bell pepper. You can use a mandoline slicer if you wish.

Step 4: Fry the Chicken

Crack a small egg into your chicken and mix well so all the marinated chicken strips are well coated. Spoon the cornflour into a large mixing bowl and season well with salt and pepper. Then add the chicken strips (let any excess egg drip off) into cornflour and mix well with your hands until each piece of chicken is fully coated.

Strips should now be separated from each other and each should have a full coat of cornflour. It's essential to use an excessive amount of corn flour to make sure your chicken is crispy, so don't be stingy.

Heat oil in a large wok, a deep pan or a large frying pan over medium heat. I tend to use a smaller pan and fry my chicken strips in three batches. Using a small pan means I need to add less oil for the beef to fully submerge (just me being extra frugal). 

Add the chicken strips to hot oil. Make sure not to overcrowd the pan - the chicken needs to fit in a single layer with a little space in between. Better fry in batches. It will only take 5-7 minutes per batch so you won't save that much time if you do it all in one go.

Using a pair of tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer the crispy chicken onto a plate lined with paper towels to absorb any excess oil. Then repeat with the rest of the chicken. 

Step 5: Assemble And Serve

In a separate pan or wok, add a tablespoon of oil (I just take a spoonful from my chicken pan) and set it over medium-high heat. Add carrots, pepper, chilli flakes, ginger and garlic and fry on high heat for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Then add the sauce that you prepared earlier. Stir and leave to vigorously bubble for a minute.

Add the crispy chicken and toss just enough to coat.

Serve your crispy chilli chicken with some spring onion and sesame seeds scattered on top and some fluffy white rice on the side! 

What To Serve With Crispy Chilli Chicken? 

To keep it traditional, we always serve Chinese-inspired main course with white rice and steamed green beans, Dou Miao Pea Shoots or Easy Tenderstem Broccoli Stir Fry With Oyster Sauce. But hakka noodles or egg-fried rice taste very nice with this easy recipe as well. If you fancy some more greens to do with your dish, we love serving Asian Broccoli Salad or Chargrilled Pak Choi on the side too.

What is more, this Crispy Chilli Chicken makes a great filling for Steamed Bao Buns, especially paired with Asian Cabbage Slaw!

Storage And Reheating

Crispy Shredded Chicken is always best served immediately. When the chicken is covered in sticky sauce, it will start losing its crispiness, so we do not recommend making this dish ahead of time. However, if you do have leftovers and don't mind (or even like) the slightly chewy texture of leftover chicken in sauce, you can place the rest of the chicken in an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 2 days! 

To reheat leftover Crispy Chilli Chicken, place it in a large frying pan on high heat and stir fry for a few minutes until the chicken warms through. Unfortunately, the chicken will no longer be crispy, but we think it still tastes amazing! 

More Chinese Takeaway Recipes To Try

If you like this Crispy Shredded Chicken recipe, you are sure to like our Crispy Chilli Beef version of this dish! But if you're looking for slightly different flavours, why not make a lovely Chinese Tofu Kung Pao or Chinese-Spiced Beetroot & Sweet Potato Salad?

For other Chinese Takeaway-inspired chicken recipes, have a look at some of our favourites below:

• Quick Chinese Crispy Lemon Chicken
• Quick Chicken Manchurian
• Easy Crispy Honey Chicken
• Chinese BBQ Chicken Bao Buns