Sweet Fire Chicken
I don’t go to Panda Express very often, even though I LOVE it, so when I do splurge & get Chinese, I always get their sweet fire chicken. It is my favorite as well as the beijing beef. For some reason I like the spicy dishes there, even though I don’t “handle the heat” very well.
Anyway, I found this copy cat recipe & it is darn near an exact replica of the real deal. I don’t think I will ever need to go to Panda Express to get this chicken ever again. Delicious!
Sweet Fire Chicken
Yields servings
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 2 small chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
- Salt & Pepper
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 2-3 eggs beaten
- 1 cup cornstarch
- canola oil, for frying
Sauce:
- 1 red jalapeno, seeded (keep seeds for more heat) & chopped fine
- ½-1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, OPTIONAL – In addition to jalapeno if you need more heat
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup water
- 3 Tbsp white vinegar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 ½ Tbsp cornstarch
- 2 Tbsp COLD water
Extras:
- 1 Tbsp canola oil
- 1 red bell pepper, julienned
- ½ white onion, julienned
- 20 oz can pineapple chunks, drained
Instructions
- For the chicken: Season cut up chicken with salt & pepper. Set up your breading station: zip-top bag with flour, plate with beaten eggs, & zip-top bag with cornstarch. Dredge chicken in flour, then coat with egg, then shake in cornstarch. Repeat until all chicken is finished.
- Start your sauce: combine red jalapeno, garlic, sugar, water, vinegar & salt in a small saucepan. Heat until boiling. Make a slurry with your cornstarch & water & whisk into boiling sauce until thickened. Taste & adjust heat with crushed red pepper flakes if needed. Hold sauce on low temperature.
- In a large skillet, heat oil on medium-high heat. Carefully lay chicken strips into the oil. Do half the mixture at a time, so you don’t overcrowd your chicken. Cook until golden brown & no longer pink in the middle. Let rest on a paper towel to soak up extra oil. Repeat with other half of chicken. Keep warm. Wash pan.
- In the large skillet, that is now clean, add 1 Tbsp canola oil. Saute red bell pepper & onions for 3 minutes. Add pineapples, & the reserved sauce & chicken. Toss everything together until well-coated & heated through. Serve on top of your choice of rice.
Notes
Disclaimer: Nutritional values were calculated using a third-party tool and are provided as an estimation only.
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Yes, you are so right. Panda has gotten expensive, and they seem to give you so-so amount. Also, we have a recipe for this from Youtube from Jeremy at School of Wok. His is near-to-almost exact, and it is very delicious.
Hey, do you have a Panda ” beijing beef” recipe? If so, do post it, but I’ll look around here and see if I can find it. However, do check out Jeremy’s videos. He has lot of good recipes.
I made this last night it was spot on identical!
So good, right?! Glad it worked out for you!
Just came over to check out your Sweet Fire Chicken recipe. Holy cow… it looks so good! And I LOVE your picture too! Great photography 🙂 Just pinned while I was here!
I have to try this, it looks great! My blog was awarded the Liebster Award last week, and I’d like to pass it on to you! I’ll announce it on my blog this Saturday, so stop by to check it out!
http://www.gratefulbelly.com/
That’s so sweet of you Kristin! I will for sure stop by. Thank you! 🙂
Hi Amber – your cakes are gorgeous, just gorgeous! Bravo!
🙂
ButterYum
Thank you! I don’t do them as often as I should, but they are fun projects when I do! 🙂