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Close up of sticky glazed fried chicken bites

Crispy Honey Chilli Chicken

Better than takeaway Chinese honey chilli chicken! The coating of the chicken is light, crispy and thin. This means the chicken will stay crispy for longer once coated with the perfectly balanced sweet, sour, spicy and savoury honey chilli sauce.
4.91 from 10 votes
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Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 341kcal

Ingredients

  • 500 g /1 pound chicken breast cut into bite-sized pieces
  • deep frying oil eg. canola, sunflower, vegetable oil (note 1)

Chicken seasoning

  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • ½ tablespoon soy sauce
  • ½ tablespoon shaoxing wine
  • 1 teaspoon chilli powder optional
  • ¼ teaspoon white pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Crispy coating

  • cup cornflour (cornstarch)
  • ½ cup plain four
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon white pepper
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup ice cold soda water straight from the fridge (note 2)

Honey chilli sauce

  • cup honey
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon tomato sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sriracha
  • ½ tablespoon chilli powder optional

Instructions

  • Preheat frying oil in a large pot or wok on high heat. (note 3)

Season chicken and prepare coating

  • In a large bowl, combine chicken with seasoning. Mix well and set aside.
  • In a separate large bowl, add 1 cup of cornflour (cornstarch). Working 5 - 6 pieces at a time, dip chicken in cornflour and coat each piece well. Once coated, place the chicken on a separate plate/bowl. Discard excess cornflour.
  • To make the batter, combine the remaining ¼ cup of cornflour, plain flour, baking powder, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Using a whisk, mix the dry ingredients for about 5 seconds. Add in ice cold soda water and whisk for 20 seconds or until a thin batter is formed. Don't worry if it is a tiny bit lumpy. The batter should be bubbly/foamy - that's exactly what we want! (note 4)

Deep fry

  • Using a pair of tongs, pick up 1 piece of cornflour-coated chicken and dip it into the thin batter then immediately (gently!) add it into hot frying oil. Repeat until about ½ of the chicken has been added to the oil.
  • Deep fry for about 2 to 3 minutes on high heat or until golden and crispy. (note 5) Transfer crispy chicken onto a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat for the remaining half of the chicken.

Coat with honey chilli sauce

  • In a large non-stick wok or frying pan, add all honey chilli sauce ingredients. Mix well with a spatula. Turn the heat on to medium until the sauce starts to bubble then reduce the heat to low. Allow the sauce to reduce to a thick consistency. About 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the heat off.
  • Add all of the fried crispy chicken bites into the wok/pan. Toss well until each piece is well coated. Transfer onto a serving plate.
  • Serve whilst it's still hot and crispy. Optional: sprinkle with sesame seeds for presentation.

Notes

1. Oil quantity depends - I used a 25cm (8.5 inches) deep pot and used 2 litres (half a gallon) of oil. If you used a smaller pot you might not need as much oil (and vice versa).
2. Ice cold soda water - ice cold being key here! It'll turn the coating ultra crispy and light. Substitute: ice cold beer. I find sparkling water not fizzy enough.
3. How to tell if the oil is hot enough - there are 2 simple ways:
  • Candy thermometer (deep fry thermometer) method - oil is hot enough once it reaches 170°C-180°C or 340°F-360°F.
  • Chopsticks method - a great and simple alternative if you don't have a thermometer. Simply dip the tip of a wooden (must be wooden) chopstick into the hot oil over high heat. If the tip sizzles immediately then the oil is hot enough.
 
4. Bubbly ice cold batter - creates the lightest, crispest coating for the chicken! 
5. Let the chicken deep fry undisturbed in the first 1 minute before separating - there is a high chance that the chicken pieces will stick together whilst frying. Don't worry, they come apart really easily. First let the coating form/harden then gently separate each piece apart using chopsticks or tongs.
Leftovers/storage - store in air-tight containers for up to 4 days in the fridge. The chicken will lose its crispiness but all of the flavours will still be there!
Nutritional values below are estimates.
Tried this recipe?Mention @Casuallypeckish or tag #casuallypeckish!

Nutrition

Calories: 341kcal | Carbohydrates: 45.9g | Protein: 12.7g | Fat: 12.6g | Saturated Fat: 1.6g | Sodium: 817mg | Fiber: 0.7g | Sugar: 27.4g