This Chinese Crispy Shredded Chicken makes the perfect Friday night fakeaway meal! Crunchy chicken coated in a sweet and sour spicy sauce and best of all it’s gluten free!
We all know the popular takeaway favourite, crispy shredded beef. Well, this Chinese crispy shredded chicken is exactly the same, just made with chicken instead!
It’s ready to eat in around 30 minutes, which is quicker than most takeaways can get to you!
That's why I love making my own fakeaway recipes. A few more favourites are this copycat Five Guys burger, Nando’s butterfly chicken breast and Nando’s spicy rice.
Re-creating your favourite restaurant dishes at home can be really fun. You can even go to town and serve them up in takeaway containers for extra authencitity!
This crispy chilli chicken is super simple to make. After marinating the chicken pieces in a gluten free soy sauce mixture, you will coat them in cornflour and egg (Allergic? Don’t worry there are substitution options below!), then deep fry the chicken strips until crunchy and golden, before tossing with crunchy vegetables and a sweet & sour spicy sauce.
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🥘 Ingredients
✋ Be sure to double check all packaging for allergens. ✋
- Chicken- I have used boneless, skinless chicken breasts as I find them easier to slice into strips, but you can also use chicken thighs if you prefer.
- Cornflour - This is used to coat the chicken & helps to make it super crispy. Even though it has flour in the title, cornflour is actually gluten free!
- Vegetables - I have used a mixture of red and green bell peppers and spring onion. Any colour pepper will work.
- Egg White- This is mixed with the cornflour to make the chicken crispy. If you have an egg allergy you can either leave it out completely, (the end result won’t be quite as crispy) or use a little buttermilk or heavy cream instead.
- Marinade - A mixture of gluten free soy sauce, garlic paste (or finely chopped garlic if you don’t have any), black pepper and sesame oil. (use vegetable oil if you can’t have sesame). Use regular soy sauce if you don’t need the recipe to be gluten free.
- Stir Fry Sauce - Made up of Sriracha sauce, lemon juice, honey and gluten free soy sauce. You can substitute the lemon juice for lime juice for a slightly milder, sweeter taste.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
✏️ How to Make Chinese Crispy Shredded Chicken
⬇️ Here you will find an overview of how to make the recipe. For full information on ingredients and quantities please see the recipe card at the bottom of the page ⬇️
Step 1: Marinate The Chicken
Chop the chicken breasts into thin strips, then put them into a large bowl with the marinade ingredients, give it a really good stir and marinate in the fridge for at least 15 minutes, but preferably overnight to really let the flavours soak into the chicken pieces.
Step 2: Make The Stir Fry Sauce
Mix all of the stir fry sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside for later.
Step 3: Cook the Vegetables
Whilst the chicken is marinating, chop the red and green pepper and add to a hot frying pan on a medium heat with a drop of oil, along with the garlic paste and fry for 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly.
Step 4: Coat The Chicken
Once the chicken has finished marinating, remove it from the fridge. Separate the egg yolk from the white and add the egg white to the chicken strips along with the cornflour and stir to fully coat. Note: If the chicken starts to clump together, put the cornflour in a separate bowl and coat each strip in the cornflour individually.
Step 5: Fry The Chicken
Add the vegetable oil to a large, high sided saucepan. You want it around a third full, but no more than half full.
Once the oil is hot enough, lower the chicken into the saucepan gently with a slotted spoon, a couple of pieces at a time and fry until crispy and golden.
Once cooked, remove the crispy chicken from the pan with a slotted spoon and leave to rest on a plate lined with kitchen towel to drain off the excess oil.
Step 6: Assemble
Add the chicken and the stir fry sauce to the frying pan containing the vegetable mixture and fry for 2-3 minutes on a medium-high heat until the sauce has completely coated the chicken.
Top with the sliced spring onions and serve immediately.
🍗 Can I Bake The Chicken In The Oven Instead?
You can, but the chicken will not be as crispy as it will be if you fry it. Coat the chicken in the cornflour and egg white as normal, then place on a baking tray in a preheated oven @ 200˚C for 20-25 minutes until golden brown, turning halfway through.
🌶️ Garnishes & Extras
For even more heat, garnish with some sliced red chilli.
To add extra crunch and texture, toast some sesame seeds for a minute or so in a dry, hot pan then sprinkle over the top of the chicken once cooked.
💡 Tips & Tricks
- You need the oil to reach 180˚C/350˚F before the chicken is added. You can check the temperature with a meat thermometer, or if you don’t have a thermometer stick the end of a wooden spoon in the oil & if lots of bubbles come up around the spoon, the oil is hot enough.
- Marinate the chicken for as long as possible to really let the flavours soak into the chicken.
- Don’t overcook the peppers and onion, you want them to still have a nice crunch to them.
- Add the coated chicken pieces to the oil one or two strips at a time with a slotted spoon, to stop all of the pieces from sticking together.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan. Cook in small batches if necessary.
- When coating the chicken in the cornflour, if the chicken starts to clump together, separate the chicken and coat each strip individually in the cornflour.
- The measurements for the stir fry sauce are enough to coat the chicken. If you prefer more sauce you can double the amount used in the ingredients.
🍴 Serving Suggestions
Whip up a Chinese banquet and serve this chilli chicken alongside these Chinese Salt & Pepper Chips, “No Egg” Fried Rice & Baked Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings. Don't forget the prawn crackers & bowl of sweet chilli sauce for dipping!
🥡 How To Store
It’s best to eat the crispy chicken immediately as this is when it will be at its crispiest and juiciest, however, you can safely store it in an airtight container in the fridge once cooled for 3 days.
Reheat the chicken in the microwave for a couple of minutes, stirring halfway through until piping hot. Please be aware though, that the chicken will lose most of its crispiness when reheated.
Once cooled, you can freeze it in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat as above.
💬 Recipe FAQs
Yes! Simply pre-heat the air fryer to 190˚C / 380˚F. Spray the bottom tray with spray oil and add the coated chicken in a single layer, not overcrowding the pan. Give the chicken another spray and cook for 10-12 minutes until cooked, shaking halfway through.
There are 564 calories in one portion of this crispy shredded chicken.
How is crispy shredded chicken different from regular fried chicken?
Crispy shredded chicken is different from regular fried chicken in terms of preparation and presentation. It involves cutting the chicken into thin strips or shredding it, coating it in a light batter, and deep-frying until it becomes crispy. Regular fried chicken, on the other hand, typically involves larger pieces of chicken coated in a thicker batter or breading.
🍴 More Asian Recipes You May Like..
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If you loved this recipe, please leave me a 5🌟 rating or comment below. I really do appreciate it. 😊
📖 Recipe
Chinese Crispy Shredded Chicken
Equipment
- Meat thermometer optional
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1 tablespoon gluten free soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Stir Fry
- 3 tablespoon gluten free soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce
- 3 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice freshly squeezed
Vegetables
- ½ medium green pepper diced into small squares/sliced
- ½ medium red pepper diced into small squares/sliced
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 spring onion finely sliced
Chicken
- 250 g (8.8 oz) chicken breast sliced into thin strips
- 100 g (¾ cup + 1 tbsp) cornflour
- 1 egg white
- Vegetable oil for deep frying enough to fill saucepan a third full.
Instructions
Marinate The Chicken
- Chop the chicken breasts into thin strips, put into a large bowl with the marinade ingredients, stir and marinate in the fridge for at least 15 minutes, but preferably overnight to really let the flavours soak into the chicken pieces.
Cook the Vegetables
- Whilst the chicken is marinating, chop the red and green pepper and add to a hot frying pan on a medium heat with a drop of oil, along with the garlic paste and fry for 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly.
Make The Stir Fry Sauce
- Mix all the stir fry sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside for later.
Heat The Oil For The Chicken
- Add the vegetable oil to a large, high sided saucepan. You want it around a third full, but no more than half full. Heat on high until bubbling.
Coat The Chicken
- Once marinated, remove the chicken from the fridge. Separate the egg yolk from the white and add the egg white to the chicken strips along with the cornflour and stir to fully coat.
- Fry The Chicken
- Once the oil is hot enough, lower the chicken into the saucepan gently with a slotted spoon, a couple of pieces at a time and fry for 5-6 minutes until crispy and golden.
- Once cooked, remove the crispy chicken from the pan with a slotted spoon and leave to rest on a plate lined with kitchen towel to drain off the excess oil.
Assemble
- Add the chicken and the stir fry sauce to the frying pan containing the vegetable mixture and fry for 2-3 minutes on a medium-high heat until the sauce has completely coated the chicken.
- Top with the sliced spring onions and serve immediately.
Rob Lowe
Tried this over the weekend, was really nice. Didn’t have enough oil in to fry so we used the air fryer on high. It worked well as we made sure to not over pack the draw. One for the list for sure
Lauren
Using the air fryer is a great idea, glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Adam Sankey
I loved this dish! Crispy Chilli Beef is my usual go to takeaway so I like to think I’m a good judge. Recipe was easy to follow and well thought out
Lauren
Thanks very much, glad you enjoyed it:-)