Use Chinese takeaway style crispy chicken to whip up the ultimate salt & chilli chicken fakeaway at home – quick, delicious, and made effortlessly in the air fryer.
If you love Chinese restaurant salt & chilli chicken, this air fryer version is fast, easy and incredibly satisfying. Once you’ve cooked up a batch of Chinese takeaway style crispy chicken, you can keep portions in the fridge or freezer ready to throw in the air fryer whenever the craving hits. With vegetables, chilli flakes, chopped garlic in and salt & pepper seasoning added, you’ll have a spicy, aromatic takeaway style salt & chilli chicken in just minutes.
Love Scottish Chinese takeaway style recipes?
You can find more in my cookbook The Chinese Takeaway Secret.
Ingredients For Air Fryer Salt & Chilli Chicken
This air fryer salt & chilli chicken recipe uses Chinese takeaway style crispy chicken. This crispy chicken is perfect for salt & chilli dishes, or paired with your favourite curry and stir fry sauces. It keeps well in the fridge or freezer, so it’s well worth cooking up a batch on a lazy afternoon – you’ll set yourself up for takeaway style meals in minutes!
Restaurant style salt & chilli chicken also requires the classic Chinese takeaway salt & pepper seasoning mix. There are various ways to make this mix and most Chinese supermarkets even now stock commercial brands. You can make your own with this recipe.
- Crispy Chicken: You can use this Chinese Crispy Chicken recipe
- Onion
- Green Pepper
- Red Pepper
- Chopped Garlic In Oil
- Chinese Takeaway Style Salt & Pepper Mix
- Dried Crushed Chilli Flakes
- Spring Onion
- Rice Wine
How To Make Air Fryer Salt & Chilli Chicken
With Chinese takeaway style crispy chicken perfectly cooked, the air fryer is a fantastic way to reheat it. From fresh or frozen (frozen just takes a few minutes longer), the chicken pieces air fry beautifully and come out crispy. With onions, peppers, chopped garlic in oil, salt & pepper mix, chilli flakes, spring onions and rice wine added, the mix is ready to air fry again until piping hot and aromatic.
Step 1: Air Fry
Air fry 1 portion cooked crispy chicken for 6 minutes in an air fryer at 200C. Add 1/2 onion, sliced, 1/2 green pepper, sliced, 1/2 red pepper, sliced, 2 teaspoons chopped garlic in oil, 1 teaspoon Chinese salt & pepper mix, 1/4 teaspoon crushed dried chilli flakes, 1 spring onion, sliced and 1 teaspoon rice wine. Air fry for another 4 minutes until sizzling and aromatic.
Step 2: Serve
Give the basket a shake to mix everything up. Transfer air fryer salt & chilli chicken to a serving bowl, season with a touch more salt & pepper mix if desired and serve.
Recipe Tips For Air Fryer Salt And Chilli Chicken
Make Ahead
The Chinese crispy chicken used in this recipe freezes well for use in a variety of stir-fry dishes. After the chicken is coated and fried, set aside to cool completely. Store in a food-safe container in the fridge or freezer, ready to fry or air fry later.
Supermarket Crispy Chicken
Frozen crispy chicken pieces are commonly sold in supermarkets nowadays and can work well for this recipe. Try to choose crispy chicken without any added flavour, since we’ll be adding our own aromatic Chinese salt & pepper seasoning.
Munchy Box
Air fry some chips (or even some chips in light batter) and mini spring rolls, or throw a handful of frozen shop bought mozzarella sticks and onion rings in the air fryer and finish with the salt and pepper mix to make a mini salt and pepper munch box!
I hope you’ll try this air fryer Chinese takeaway style salt & chilli chicken recipe. If you do, let me know in the comments how it went!
Air Fryer Salt & Chilli Chicken (Chinese Takeaway Style)
Equipment
- 1 Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 1 portion cooked crispy chicken
- 1/2 onion, sliced
- 1/2 green pepper, sliced
- 1/2 red pepper, sliced
- 2 teaspoons chopped garlic in oil
- 1 teaspoon Chinese salt & pepper mix
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed dried chilli flakes
- 1 spring onion, sliced
- 1 teaspoon rice wine
Instructions
- Air fry 1 portion cooked crispy chicken for 6 minutes in an air fryer at 200C. Add 1/2 onion, sliced, 1/2 green pepper, sliced, 1/2 red pepper, sliced, 2 teaspoons chopped garlic in oil, 1 teaspoon Chinese salt & pepper mix, 1/4 teaspoon crushed dried chilli flakes, 1 spring onion, sliced and 1 teaspoon rice wine. Air fry for another 4 minutes until the chicken pieces are piping hot.
- Give the basket a shake to mix everything up. Transfer air fryer salt & chilli chicken to a serving bowl, season with a touch more salt & pepper mix if desired and serve.
Video
Notes
Got some questions about making air fryer salt & chilli chicken at home? Here’s the answers to some that come up most often:
Air Fryer Salt & Chilli Chicken Recipe FAQ
What sort of crispy chicken is used in this recipe?
This recipe uses Chinese takeaway style crispy chicken. You can use this recipe to bulk cook crispy chicken and set aside in the fridge or freezer for future use in Chinese fakeaway style dishes.
Can I air fry crispy chicken from scratch?
Yes – you can coast diced chicken breast and brush with oil then air fry to make crispy chicken from scratch in the air fryer. Full recipe coming soon!