If you’re craving a bold, flavorful dinner that comes together faster than takeout, this spicy chicken stir-fry is exactly what you need. It features crispy tempura-fried chicken tossed in a sweet and spicy stir-fry sauce with tender vegetables and juicy pineapple.
The combination of crunchy chicken, colorful vegetables, and a sweet-and-spicy pineapple-chili sauce creates an irresistible dish that’s perfect for weeknight dinners. Serve it over rice, noodles, or enjoy it on its own for a delicious and satisfying meal.
If you love Asian-inspired recipes like this one, you might also enjoy dishes such as chili crisp pork potstickers or flavorful dinners like this teriyaki chicken rice bowl.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Crispy tempura chicken
- Sweet and spicy stir fry sauce
- Packed with colorful vegetables
- Quick and easy weeknight dinner
- Better than takeout
- No waiting to be seated
Key Ingredients
See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for a full list of ingredients and their exact amounts.
- Chicken Breasts: They’re the main protein in the dish and provide the hearty base for the sweet-and-savory stir fry.
- Soy Sauce: Provides the salty, umami backbone of the stir fry sauce, balancing the pineapple’s sweetness.
- Sweet Chili Sauce: Adds sweetness with a mild heat, helping create the sticky, flavorful glaze for the chicken.
- Tempura Mix: Creates the light, crispy coating on the chicken, adding texture that contrasts with the sauce.
- Bell Peppers & Red Onion: Bring color, freshness, and slight sweetness while adding crunch to balance the crispy chicken and sauce.
Variations
- Make It Extra Spicy: Add additional chili crisp or red pepper flakes to the sauce.
- Add More Vegetables: Try adding broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, baby corn, water chestnuts, or bamboo shoots.
- Use Shrimp Instead of Chicken: Tempura shrimp pairs beautifully with the sweet-and-spicy sauce.
- Make It Lighter: Skip frying and sauté the chicken pieces in a skillet instead.
How to Make Spicy Chicken Stir Fry
Step 1: Cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes. Then, toss them in half the tempura mix until coated.
Step 2: Mix the remaining tempura with cold water. Then, just before frying, dip the chicken into the wet mixture.
Step 3: Fry the chicken in hot oil in batches until golden and crispy.
Step 4: Whisk the sauce ingredients and set aside.
Step 5: Saute the onions over medium-high heat until fragrant. Then, add the bell peppers until bright and slightly softened.
Step 6: Add the remaining veggies and cook until tender-crisp.
Step 7: Add the sauce and bring to a boil.
Step 8: Remove from the heat, add the chicken, and toss to coat. Enjoy with rice, noodles, or as is.
Expert Tips
- Keep the Oil Hot: Maintaining the oil temperature ensures the chicken cooks up crispy rather than greasy.
- Prep Ingredients First: Stir fry recipes cook quickly, so having everything chopped and ready makes the process smoother.
- Don’t Overcrowd the Pan: Cooking vegetables in batches prevents them from steaming instead of sautéing.
- Use Fresh Ginger and Garlic: Fresh ingredients add far more flavor than their powdered counterparts.
- Use a Wok or Heavy-Bottomed Skillet: The dish cooks quickly over high heat. Use a pan that can stand up to that.
Spicy Chicken Stir Fry FAQs
This dish has a mild to medium heat level thanks to the chili crisp and sweet chili sauce. If you prefer more heat, you can add extra chili crisp, red pepper flakes, or a splash of hot sauce.
Yes. If you prefer a lighter version, you can skip the tempura batter and sauté the chicken pieces in a skillet with a little oil until fully cooked before adding them to the stir fry sauce.
This recipe uses bell peppers, onions, sugar snap peas, and pineapple, but many vegetables work well in stir fry. Try broccoli, carrots, mushrroms, zucchini, baby corn, water chestnuts, or bamboo shoots.
Chili crisp is a flavorful oil made with crispy chili flakes, garlic, and aromatics. It adds both heat and texture to dishes and is commonly used in many Asian-inspired recipes.
This dish pairs perfectly with steamed rice, fried rice, lo mein noodles, rice noodles, or cauliflower rice for a low-carb option.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
The best way to reheat stir fry is in a skillet over medium heat so the sauce warms evenly. You can also microwave it in short intervals, stirring in between.
Serve This Stir Fry With:
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Spicy Chicken Stir-Fry
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 box tempura mix, divided
- ¾ cup water, for tempura batter
Stir Fry Sauce
- ¾ cup reserved pineapple juice
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup sweet chili sauce
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoons green onions, reserved for garnish
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon chili crisp
Sauteed Vegetables
- 1½ cups tricolor bell peppers, cubed
- 1 cup cubed red onion
- 1 cup canned pineapple rings, cut each ring into 8 pieces
- ¾ cup sugar snap peas
- 1 tablespoons garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoons ginger, finely minced
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- Vegetable oil, for frying
Instructions
For the Chicken
- Cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise. Cut into 1-inch strips and then into bite sized cubes.
- In a small bowl, add half of the dry tempura mix and coat the chicken pieces.
- With the remaining tempura mix, add to a bowl with ¾ cups of cold water.
- Heat a large frying pan or skillet, with oil to 375°.
- Shake off the excess dry tempura mix from the chicken and coat in the wet mixture.
- Drop into hot oil and fry until golden brown and crispy. About 6-8 minutes.
- Set fried chicken aside. Work in batches so the temperature of the oil stays the same.
Stir Fry Sauce
- Whisk together pineapple juice, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, pepper, chili crisp, green onions and cornstarch.
Saute the Vegetables
- In a large heavy bottom skillet or wok, heat sesame oil over medium high heat.
- Once hot, add the onions and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the bell peppers, cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Add sugar snap peas, garlic, ginger and pineapples. Cook for an additional minute.
- Add the stir fry sauce to the pan and bring to a boil.
- Remove from heat and toss the chicken in the sauce to coat.
- Serve over rice, noodles, or just as is.
- Makes 4-6 servings
Notes
- Keep the Oil Hot: Maintaining the oil temperature ensures the chicken cooks up crispy rather than greasy.
- Prep Ingredients First: Stir fry recipes cook quickly, so having everything chopped and ready makes the process smoother.
- Don’t Overcrowd the Pan: Cooking vegetables in batches prevents them from steaming instead of sautéing.
- Use Fresh Ginger and Garlic: Fresh ingredients add far more flavor than their powdered counterparts.
- Use a Wok or Heavy-Bottomed Skillet: The dish cooks quickly over high heat. Use a pan that can stand up to that.
Nutrition
Made this last night and it came out so good! Love the little heat and crunch from the chili crisp. I can’t get enough of that stuff. Such a great weeknight meal!
Truly one of the best stir-fry sauces I’ve tried. This came out so delicious! Worth every bit of effort to make because its so much better than takeout!
This was bold, sweet, spicy, and full of flavor. The crispy chicken with pineapple and vegetables makes it such a fun dinner that’s faster than takeout.
This has just the right amount of heat to make it interesting without being too much. It’s way faster than ordering takeout and the veggies stayed nice and crisp. Definitely a solid weeknight win.
That’s what I’m talking about! I love heat, so I added some choped red chili peppers for even more kick.
This is so good! All I needed was some white rice, and I was set.