Hey! I'm Des!
Welcome to Life’s Ambrosia where Dinner is served and memories are made. Here you will find over 1000 tried and true recipes for every possible occasion. In the last 10 years, this blog has helped millions of families put dinner on the table and create food memories. Let me help you too.
Sweet Chili Popcorn Chicken
Are you a fan of crispy, crunchy chicken? A fan of sweet chili sauce? If you answered yes to both of these you are absolutely going to love this Sweet Chili Popcorn Chicken. It was a huge, huge hit in our house and I’m pretty confident it’ll be a huge hit in yours too.
Let’s be honest, when it comes to eating with kiddos, things can be…difficult. I always knew though that it would be a rule in our house that I make one thing for dinner and you eat that. If you don’t there is no dessert or snacking later. It’s kind of tough but so is making a different meal for everyone. But because I am not one that likes seeing my little guys hungry, I am always looking for crowd pleasers. By crowd pleasers, I don’t just mean a meal that everyone takes a little bite out of here and there. I mean meals where my little guys gobble down their first plate and ask for more. That is exactly what happened with this Sweet Chili Popcorn Chicken.
The first thing that makes this popcorn chicken a winner, especially for the little ones, is the fact that it’s in bite size pieces. Easy for little hands to old and little mouths to bite.
The second thing that makes it a winner, is the sweet chili marinade. It’s simply sweet chili or Thai sweet chili sauce, soy sauce and rice vinegar. The hard part is that you do have to marinate it for at least 6 hours, so plan ahead. You want to do this because you really want that sweet chili flavor to work it’s way into the chicken.
The final thing that makes this Sweet Chili Popcorn Chicken a total winner is the coating that you get from the combo of plain and panko bread crumbs. It is crispy, crunchy and all kinds of delicious.
Seriously guys, popcorn chicken does not get much better than this.
Sweet Chili Popcorn Chicken
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup sweet chili sauce or Sweet Thai Chili Sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 pound about 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced into bite size pieces
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
- oil for frying such as avocado or canola
Instructions
- Whisk together sweet chili sauce, soy sauce and vinegar. Place chicken in a container and pour sauce over the top and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- Set up an assembly line. Place flour on one plate. Whisk together egg and milk in a bowl. Combine panko, plain bread crumbs, salt and granulated garlic on another plate.
- Remove chicken from marinade and shake off excess. Dredge pieces in flour, dip in egg/milk wash and then dredge in bread crumbs. Repeat until all chicken pieces are coated.
- Heat a 1/4 inch of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Drop a couple bread crumbs in oil and if they sizzle it's ready. Fry chicken, in batches about 2 minutes per side or until golden brown and cooked through. Use tongs to transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle with salt. Repeat until all chicken is fried. Serve immediately.
Notes
Hey! I'm Des!
Welcome to Life’s Ambrosia where Dinner is served and memories are made. Here you will find over 1000 tried and true recipes for every possible occasion. In the last 10 years, this blog has helped millions of families put dinner on the table and create food memories. Let me help you too.
Dorothy at ShockinglyDelicious
December 7, 2015 at 11:54 amMy answers are an enthusiastic YES and YES!
Krista
December 6, 2015 at 1:36 pmso basically i adore anything with sweet chili sauce – translation, we are having these for dinner tonight! :)
Jessica @ Sprinkle Some Sugar
December 5, 2015 at 8:31 amOh man, I LOVE popcorn chicken and the fact that they’re marinated with sweet chili sauce makes them even better! Gotta try these soon!
Renee Goerger
December 5, 2015 at 6:52 amI do believe the title comes from the fact that I wouldn’t be able to stop popping these tasty little morsels into my mouth one after the other. Seriously! They look SO SO SO SO good! Can’t wait to make them for myself!
Renee – Kudos Kitchen
Heather | girlichef.com
December 4, 2015 at 1:17 pmThese seriously look so good! I do love both sweet chili sauce and popcorn chicken, so these are definitely going on the menu soon.
Lemons for Lulu
December 4, 2015 at 11:44 amEven I love bite sized food and that sauce sounds crazy good!
Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness
December 4, 2015 at 11:16 amThis looks great!! Super easy and a great party food!
Ashley Walkowiak
December 4, 2015 at 8:15 amcan you make a “christmas crack” recipe please?
Des @ Life's Ambrosia
December 4, 2015 at 5:18 pmI had to google “christmas crack” and now I’m pretty sure I HAVE to make it. I happened to buy a costco sized box of saltines a few weeks ago and my husband keeps asking me what I’m going to do with all of them. Now I know!
Ashley Walkowiak
December 7, 2015 at 6:11 amahh life is good, thanks Des!
Heather @FrenchPress
December 4, 2015 at 7:16 amyes yes yes, we are fans!
Amy Stafford
December 4, 2015 at 5:15 amLove how easy and cute these are. The perfect party food!
Michelle Nahom
December 4, 2015 at 4:50 amLove sweet chili sauce and this looks perfect for game day! I need to try your recipe!
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel
December 4, 2015 at 3:57 amI love how easy these come together! That coating looks incredible!
Ramona from Kitchen Simmer
December 4, 2015 at 3:30 amMy family would love this popcorn chicken… we love sweet chili sauce ( I already have a big bottle in my fridge). This definitely is a winner. :)