This Thai Sweet Chili Chicken recipe is on the table in under 15 minutes. There's no deep frying but the chicken is still crispy, sweet, sticky and spicy all in one.
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This is a healthier take on a classic fave as there is much less sugar, and you can use either a low sugar/sugar free sweet chili sauce or make it at home in 10 minutes. Its just as easy to make as my healthy take on Chinese Mongolian Chicken and Chinese Chicken with Pineapple.
Recipe Highlights
- Super quick and easy to make mid week in under 15 minutes
- Perfect for meal planning and meal prepping, like this Chinese Garlic Chicken
- The chicken is light, crunchy and tender
- No deep frying
- Use whatever veges you have on hand
- Use either chicken breast or chicken thigh
- Easy to make less or more spicy
- Even the fussiest of eaters love this
- Perfect balance of sweet, spicy, salty and savory
- Lots of sauce to soak up the rice
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Sweet Chili Sauce: There are several varieties of low sugar and no sugar sweet chili sauce available n the supermarket and online these days. There is Mingle Sweet Chili Sauce (No Added Sugar), The Good Sauce Sweet Chili Sauce (No Added Sugar), and Ayam Light Sweet Chili Sauce, of you can make your own at home with my simple sugar free sweet chili sauce.
- Chicken: I used chicken breast diced into chunks, however you could also use skinless chicken thigh if you prefer.
- Rice Flour: this helps to dry the flour of moisture and helps the chicken to crisp up in the oil. Use cornflour or cornstarch instead of rice flour. Ina pinch, plain or all purpose flour could be used.
- Vegetable Oil: used for cooking the chicken to get it light and crispy. Alternatively any high smoke point oil could be used like grapeseed oil, sunflower or grapeseed oil. I don't recommend using olive oil.
- Vegetables: I love using zucchini and capsicums (bell peppers), however you could swap these for green beans and broccoli, snap peas, or even cauliflower.
- Soy sauce: Light or regular soy sauce is best. I don't recommend using dark soy sauce (too bitter), or kecap manis - sweet soy sauce (will make it too sweet)
- Garlic and Ginger: whilst fresh will always result in a slightly punchier flavor, using the jar varieties will work just as well. Feel free to add a little extra if you like big flavors.
- Rice Wine Vinegar: this is essential to balance the tartness, sweetness and saltiness. Alternatively you could use the same amount of lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, or cooking sake.
- Green onions and Sesame Seeds: Whilst these are optional, I highly recommend for freshness and texture. If you don't have sesame seeds you could used crushed peanuts, or fried shallots (found in the Asian aisle of supermarkets). In lieu of green onions, coriander/cilantro or diced chives can be substituted.
Whilst there are many recipes for sweet chili chicken out there, with some even being as simple as adding the bottle of sauce itself to the cooked chicken, there is really so much more flavour you can add with practically no effort.
The trick to this Thai chili chicken is all in the sauce, and the secret is what you add into the sweet chili sauce as that is just the base for create a truly addictive and universal healthy sweet chili sauce that can be used in many different dishes.
With a base of sweet chili sauce, soy, garlic and ginger are added, along with a splash of rice vinegar. These 5 ingredients whisked together create a sweet, spicy and slightly tart sauce that you'll want to slather on everything.
How to Make
- Flour Chicken: Add chicken pieces to a bag with flour and toss to combine
- Cook Chicken: Heat pan on high heat and add oil. Add chicken pieces to pan in a single layer, gently moving around until just golden and cooked (around 4 to 5 minutes).
- Add Veges: Add vegetables and toss through for 1 - 2 minutes.
- Make Sauce and Add: Whisk sauce ingredients in a bowl and add pan stirring through for 1-2 minutes, or until the chicken is coated and sauce begins to reduce
- Serve and Garnish: Remove from heat and serve immediately with your favorite rice. Garnish with diced green onions and sesame seeds.
Recipe Notes
- Wok/Skillet: you don't need to make this recipe in a wok. A skillet pan will work perfectly fine
- Extra Saucy: If you love saucy dishes and want it extra saucy, make a double batch of the sauce
- More Spicy: for extra heat, add in half a teaspoon of red chili flakes to the sauce, or alternatively add fresh diced red chili on top to serve.
- Add In's: lightly toasted cashews thrown in at the end are a great addition for extra texture and crunch, like in my Cashew Nut Chicken
- Storing: Store in an air tight container on its own (without the rice) for upto 3 days. (If storing in portions with rice, the sauce will soak into the rice and it won't be as nice, so keep rice separate or cook as needed)
- Freezing: This recipe freezes well in individual portions without the rice. It can be frozen upto 8 weeks. Use your microwaves defrost settings to reheat.
- Rice: I usually eat this with a side of brown rice, however jasmine rice, cauliflower rice, or a combination of cauliflower rice and brown rice is also a great option.
This Thai chili chicken is a great option if you're looking for a quick and healthy dinner that's low in calories, can be made low carb and is easy to meal prep. Plus the sauce is so versatile and can be used on salmon and chicken breast as a glaze of finishing sauce. Or you can follow my Thai Sweet Chili Salmon recipe.
More Easy Meal Prepping Recipes
Thai Sweet Chilli Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken
- 500 grams Skinless chicken breast (1 pound) - diced 2cm chunks
- 6 tablespoons Rice flour
- 4 tablespoons Vegetable oil
Vegetables
- 1 medium Zucchini - diced
- 1 medium Red Capsicum/Bell Pepper - diced
Sauce
- ½ cup Sugar free/Light Sweet Chilli Sauce - see notes
- 4 tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 3 tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Crushed Garlic
- 1 tablespoon Grated ginger
To Serve
- 3 cups Cooked white or brown rice
- ½ cup Diced green onions
- 1 tablespoon Sesame seeds
Instructions
- Add chicken pieces to a bag with flour and toss to combine
- Heat pan on high heat and add oil. Add chicken pieces to pan in a single layer, gently moving around until just golden and cooked (around 4 to 5 minutes).
- Add vegetables and toss through for 1 - 2 minutes.
- Whisk sauce ingredients in a bowl and add pan stirring through for 1-2 minutes, or until the chicken is coated and sauce begins to reduce
- Remove from heat and serve immediately with your favorite rice. Garnish with diced green onions and sesame seeds.
Notes
- Sweet Chili Sauce: There are several varieties of low sugar and no sugar sweet chili sauce available n the supermarket and online these days. There is Mingle Sweet Chili Sauce (No Added Sugar), The Good Sauce Sweet Chili Sauce (No Added Sugar), and Ayam Light Sweet Chili Sauce, of you can make your own at home with my simple sugar free sweet chili sauce.
- Chicken: I used chicken breast diced into chunks, however you could also use skinless chicken thigh if you prefer.
- Rice Flour: this helps to dry the flour of moisture and helps the chicken to crisp up in the oil.
- Vegetable Oil: used for cooking the chicken to get it light and crispy. Alternatively any high smoke point oil could be used like grapeseed oil, sunflower or grapeseed oil. I don't recommend using olive oil.
- Extra Saucy: If you love saucy dishes and want it extra saucy, make a double batch of the sauce
- More Spicy: for extra heat, add in half a teaspoon of red chili flakes to the sauce, or alternatively add fresh diced red chili on top to serve.
- Add In's: lightly toasted cashews thrown in at the end are a great addition for extra texture and crunch.
- Storing: Store in an air tight container on its own (without the rice) for upto 3 days. (If storing in portions with rice, the sauce will soak into the rice and it won't be as nice, so keep rice separate or cook as needed)
- Freezing: This recipe freezes well in individual portions without the rice. It can be frozen upto 8 weeks. Use your microwaves defrost settings to reheat.
- Rice: I usually eat this with a side of brown rice, however jasmine rice, cauliflower rice, or a combination of cauliflower rice and brown rice is also a great option.
- Nutrition information includes rice
Nutrition
Note: Sugars contained in this recipe are from naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables or other natural sweeteners. Calories have been calculated for your convenience using My Fitness Pal and are based on the ingredients listed in the recipe card.
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