Looking for a quick and flavour-packed fakeaway? This Crispy Shredded Chicken with Chilli is your answer! Ready in under 30 minutes, it's a perfect blend of crispy chicken strips tossed in a sweet and spicy chilli sauce—ideal for a Friday night treat!
If you love crispy shredded beef from the takeaway, you’re going to be obsessed with this crispy shredded chicken with chilli – same idea, but with chicken instead!
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I’m a big fan of fakeaway nights at home (so much cheaper and you know exactly what’s going in it!). Some of my other go-tos are this copycat Five Guys burger, slow cooker beef massaman curry, Nando’s butterfly chicken breast and spicy rice.
This Chinese chilli chicken is so easy to make, just like my air fryer sweet & sour chicken.
You just marinate the chicken in a simple soy sauce mix, coat it in cornflour and egg (I’ve included allergy-friendly swaps below), then fry until golden and crunchy.
Finish it off with a quick toss through stir-fried peppers and a sweet, sticky chilli sauce – and you’re good to go.
Don't fancy shallow frying? No worries, scroll to the FAQs near the bottom of the post where I show you how to make them in the air fryer or the oven.
Jump to:
🥘 Ingredients You Will Need
Here is a brief overview of the main ingredients needed to make Chinese crispy shredded chicken. For the full list, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the page. To find out how to make it allergy-friendly, simply keep scrolling to the section below this one.
✋ Double check all packaging for allergens ✋
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
🥜 How Can I Make This Allergy-Friendly?
✔️ Make It Gluten-Free: Swap regular soy sauce for a gluten-free variety.
✔️ Make It Egg-Free: Instead of using eggs, use buttermilk or double cream to coat the chicken.
✔️ Make It Sesame Free: Use vegetable oil instead of sesame oil.
✏️ How to Make Crispy Shredded Chicken With Chilli
⬇️ 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
Slice the chicken into thin strips and pop them in a bowl with the marinade ingredients.
Give it all a good mix, cover, and leave in the fridge for at least 15 minutes (overnight is even better if you’ve got time).
Step 2: Prep The Sauce & Veg
While the chicken is marinating, stir together all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Chop the peppers and fry them in a little oil with the garlic paste for a few minutes – you want them just softened, not mushy.
Step 3: Coat The Chicken
Add the egg white and cornflour to the chicken and stir to coat.
💡 If it starts clumping, coat each strip in cornflour individually – a bit more faff, but worth it for that crispiness.
Step 4: Fry Until Golden
Heat your oil in a deep pan (about a third full).
Once hot, fry the chicken in batches until crispy and golden, then drain on kitchen paper to get rid of any excess oil.
Step 5: Toss & Serve
Throw the crispy chicken into the pan with the peppers, pour over the sauce, and stir-fry for a couple of minutes until everything’s coated and sticky.
Scatter over spring onions and serve straight away.
💡 Lauren's Top Tips
- 🌟 Get The Oil Hot Enough: around 180˚C (or 350˚F) is perfect. If you’ve got a meat thermometer, fab! If not, just stick the end of a wooden spoon into the oil – if it bubbles up around the spoon straight away, you’re good to go.
- 🌟 Add The Chicken Slowly: 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. Fry in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
- 🌟 Want More Sauce? 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 Ideas: Turn it into a fakeaway feast with my Salt & Pepper Chips, No Egg Fried Rice, and Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings. Don’t forget the prawn crackers and a big bowl of sweet chilli sauce for dipping!
🔨 Meal Planning Toolbox
🗒️ Make Ahead: Marinate the chicken, chop the veg and prepare the sauce up to a day in advance. Store in the fridge until ready to cook.
🗒️ Batch Cooking: Double the recipe and once cool, freeze half of it in a freezer-safe container. When needed, thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat as below.
🗒️ Leftovers / Storage / Reheating: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat either in the oven at 180°C until warmed through, in the air fryer or in the microwave. Note: The chicken may lose some crispiness if you reheat it in the microwave.
🗒️ Freezing: This really is a dish best eaten straight away, but it is perfectly safe to freeze and reheat any leftovers. Freeze for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container. 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.
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.
🍴 More Asian Recipes You May Like..
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you loved this recipe, please leave me a 5🌟 rating or comment below. I really do appreciate it. 😊
📖 Recipe
Crispy Shredded Chicken With Chilli
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.
Catherine Riding says
Great recipe, the kids loved this and it’s great that it feels like a takeaway as they feel like they’re getting a treat!
Lauren Woodger says
So glad everyone enjoyed it, it's a winner with my kids too! It's so nice to feel like you're having a takeaway treat, but know exactly what ingredients you are putting in! x
Rob Lowe says
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 says
Using the air fryer is a great idea, glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Adam Sankey says
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 says
Thanks very much, glad you enjoyed it:-)