Description
Quick and easy sweet chilli chicken recipe featuring tender chicken breast cubed and coated in smoky spices, then glazed with a sticky sweet chilli sauce. Ready in under 30 minutes, this restaurant-quality dish is perfect for busy weeknights and pairs beautifully with rice or noodles.
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 600 g chicken breast, cut into rough cubes
- 2 tablespoons cornflour (for coating)
- 1 teaspoon garlic granules
- 1 teaspoon onion granules
- ½ to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (adjust to heat preference)
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- Salt, to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
For the Sauce:
- 60 ml (4 tablespoons) sweet chilli sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely grated
- 200 ml chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon cornflour (for slurry)
- ½ tablespoon rice vinegar
- Fresh chives (for garnish)
Substitution Notes:
- Chicken: Thighs are cheaper and honestly taste better, I use those half the time
- Sweet chilli sauce: I grab whatever’s on sale, though I do like Mae Ploy best
- Fresh ginger: Tried ground once when I ran out, wasn’t the same but worked in a pinch
- Rice vinegar: Regular white vinegar from under the sink works fine
- Cayenne pepper: Those crushed red pepper packets from pizza delivery? Yeah those work
Instructions
Throw your chicken chunks in a bowl. Add the garlic granules, onion granules, 2 tablespoons of cornflour, cayenne, and paprika. Get in there with your hands and mix it all up. Every piece should be covered. Now if you’ve got time before dinner, stick this in the fridge for an hour. The flavors sink in more and the coating gets stickier. But look, I skip this step constantly when I’m rushed and it’s still delicious. Don’t stress about it.
Get your pan hot over medium-high heat, add the olive oil. When the oil starts shimmering a bit, dump in all your chicken. Spread it out in one layer if you can. Now here’s where I messed up for years – I used to stand there poking at it with my spoon constantly. Don’t do that. Walk away for 3 or 4 minutes. Let it sit there and get golden brown underneath. Then give it one good stir and leave it alone for a few more minutes. That’s how you get the good crispy bits.
Toss in that grated ginger and a good pinch of salt. Stir it around for maybe a minute. The smell is incredible. This is when my dog comes running into the kitchen because he knows something good is happening. Your whole place will smell like an actual restaurant.
Grab a small bowl and mix the last tablespoon of cornflour with maybe 2 or 3 tablespoons of water. Whisk it with a fork until there’s no lumps at all. Pour in your sweet chilli sauce, the chicken stock, and that cornflour water. Stir everything together in the pan. Watch it go from thin and watery to thick and shiny. Takes maybe 2 minutes, 3 tops. You’ll know it’s ready when it coats the spoon.
Add the rice vinegar and give it one more stir. Taste a little bit – does it need salt? Add some if it does. Sprinkle those chives over everything and get it on plates immediately. This is best eaten hot right out of the pan.
Notes
- If you crowd the pan everything steams and gets soggy instead of getting those crispy bits. I cook in two batches now if I’m making a lot. Worth the extra minute
- Cold chicken works better than room temp. Something about the coating sticking. Just take it straight from the fridge
- Whisk that cornflour slurry really good or you’ll get weird lumps in your sauce and that’s annoying to fish out
- Start with less cayenne if you’re nervous about spice. Half a teaspoon is pretty mild. My kids eat it no problem
- Line everything up on the counter before you turn on the stove. Once you start this goes quick and you don’t want to be hunting for the stock while your chicken’s burning
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Pan-frying/Sautéing
- Cuisine: Asian-Inspired