This Crispy Sweet and Spicy Asian Chicken recipe is absolutely perfect! They’re sticky, sweet, and spicy! These battered chicken pieces are deep-fried to perfection then coated in the best sweet chili sauce, making these a family favorite.
If you’re craving crispy fried chicken, then you’re going to want to make this sweet and spicy chicken recipe! It’s so easy, so delicious, and can be served as a main dish or as an appetizer.
There’s honestly nothing more satisfying than biting into a piece of juicy, fried chicken. If you’re looking for another crispy chicken recipe, you have to try my Crispy Baked Chicken Tenders or my Baked Parmesan Crusted Chicken. They’re so delicious and a crowd-pleaser.
Why You’ll Love This Spicy Asian Chicken Recipe
- A crowd-pleasing recipe. There is never a single piece of crispy chicken nugget leftover when I bring these out. Whenever I plan on making extra for leftovers, it never happens because everyone goes for seconds and thirds. They’re THAT good.
- Sweet but spicy. You’ll love how this sweet chili chicken is the perfect balance of sweet and spicy. The sauce is one of my favorites and goes so well with crispy chicken.
- A light but crispy crust. Coated in tempura batter, this crispy Asian chicken is so light but crispy! The coating doesn’t feel heavy at all.
What You’ll Need for this Asian Chicken
- Tempura batter: to make the tempura batter, you’ll need all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, water, egg whites, and oil.
- Chicken: I use boneless, skinless chicken. I prefer chicken tenders.
- Oil: you’ll need an oil with a high smoke oil to deep fry the battered chicken in.
- Sweet chili sauce: to make the sweet chili sauce for the chicken, you’ll need oil, minced garlic, chili sauce, and crushed red peppers.
- Garnish: for garnish, I’ll use sesame seeds and green onions.
How To Make this Sweet and Spicy Asian Chicken
- Make the tempura batter: In a medium bowl mix the ingredients to create tempura batter; flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, water, egg whites, and oil until smooth.
- Coat the chicken in batter: Add the chicken cubes and coat them well in the batter.
- Deep fry: Deep fry the chicken cubes until crisp and golden for 4-5 minutes.
- Make the sweet chili sauce and coat the chicken: Heat a medium pan, add oil and garlic. Sauté for 2 minutes. Add the chicken back to the pan, add sweet chili sauce, red pepper and toss the chicken until coated.
- Garnish: Finally, sprinkle some sesame seeds and green onions, toss and serve while it is still warm.
Tips and Notes to make Asian Chicken
- Want to make this healthier for your family? Serve the fried chicken up with some broccoli, green beans, or a green salad to add some extra healthy goodness to your dinner.
- This dish is best eaten immediately as the chicken does lose its crispiness over time due to the sauce. Leftovers are still just as delicious, just not as crispy!
- Be sure to use a heavy-bottomed pot to deep fry in as the temperature of the oil does get high.
- Be sure the temperature of the oil reaches at least 350F. If the chicken is added to the oil too early on, the chicken will be greasy as it absorbs a lot more oil.
- Add more or less red chili peppers to adjust the spice levels of the fried chicken.
- I like using canola oil or vegetable oil to fry the chicken in. Both have high-smoking points so they’re perfect for frying.
FAQs for this Sweet and Spicy Chicken
Leftovers can be stored for up to 3 days in an airtight container. Be sure to store it in the fridge. Be sure to let the chicken cool at room temperature before storing it as it will get soggy from condensation if it’s still warm.
The ideal way to reheat this to keep the chicken crispy is in an air fryer or the oven. While the microwave will work as well, the oven and air fryer will make sure the chicken stays super crispy. Due to the sauce soaking into the coating of the chicken, it’s natural for the dish to be less crispy the next day.
I love serving this dish with some white rice, Lo Mein noodles, or steam veggies, like green beans or steamed broccoli.
It is made with red chili peppers, rice wine vinegar, garlic, sesame oil sometimes and a sweetening ingredient such as a refined sugar or honey.
If you like to yes. You can add steamed broccoli, asparagus, sugar snap peas or sautéed bell peppers.
More Asian Recipes To Try
- Baked Teriyaki Salmon
- Easy Chicken Lo Mein
- Spicy Sriracha Chicken
- Mongolian Chicken
- Chinese Sesame Chicken
I hope you enjoy all the recipes I share with you, including this delicious Sweet and Spicy Asian Chicken recipe. I hope you try it, enjoy it, rate it, and share it with your friends and family!
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Sweet and Spicy Asian Chicken
Ingredients
For the Tempura Batter:
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup water chilled
- 2 whole egg whites
- 2 tbsp oil canola
- 1 lb. chicken tenderloins cubed
- canola oil to deep fry
For the Sweet Chili Chicken
- 1 tbsp oil sesame or vegetable
- 1 tsp garlic minced
- ¾ cup sweet chili sauce any brand
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper more or less
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds toasted
- 2 tbsp green onion chopped
Instructions
- In a medium bowl mix the ingredients to create tempura batter; flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, water, egg whites and oil until smooth.
- Add the chicken cubes and coat them well in the batter.
- Deep fry the chicken cubes until crisp and golden for 4-5 minutes.
- Heat a medium pan, add oil and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes.
- Add the chicken back to the pan, add sweet chili sauce, red pepper and toss the chicken until coated.
- Finally sprinkle some sesame seeds and green onions, toss and serve while it is still warm.
Video
Notes
- Want to make this healthier for your family? Serve the fried chicken up with some broccoli, green beans, or a green salad to add some extra healthy goodness to your dinner.
- This dish is best eaten immediately as the chicken does lose its crispiness over time due to the sauce. Leftovers are still just as delicious, just not as crispy!
- Be sure to use a heavy-bottomed pot to deep fry in as the temperature of the oil does get high.
- Be sure the temperature of the oil reaches at least 350F. If the chicken is added to the oil too early on, the chicken will be greasy as it absorbs a lot more oil.
- Add more or less red chili peppers to adjust the spice levels of the fried chicken.
- I like using canola oil or vegetable oil to fry the chicken in. Both have high-smoking points so they’re perfect for frying.
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