This Asian-inspired Sweet Fire Chicken is a fantastic copycat recipe from Panda Express! As its name suggests, it’s both sweet and spicy, with enough of a chili-pineapple combination to really make it memorable. And it’s easy-peasy to make!
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Panda Express Sweet Fire Chicken
In my family, we all have the same cravings that come up from time to time. Chocolate, big steaks, bacon, and of course, Asian-style cuisine. Panda Express is delicious and hits the spot, but sometimes we don’t want to go out, or can’t go out, or just can’t fit it into the budget!
That’s why copycat recipes are so good, like this Sweet Fire Chicken! It’s just like Panda Express’s, except, of course, homemade. I’d also wager it’s faster than ordering it with an app or driving over to your nearest restaurant. With the price of gas and all that, it’s definitely cheaper, too!!
This Sweet Fire Chicken is an easy dinner recipe any night of the week. It’s the best when you’re craving Panda Express or Asian-inspired cuisine in general.
Serve this sweet and spicy chicken recipe over steamed white rice for a quick and easy meal idea the whole family will enjoy.
If you haven’t had Sweet Fire Chicken before, it’s a sweet and spicy chicken dish that’s easy to make, even for beginners, as well as 100% filling. I hope you enjoy it!
Copycat Sweet Fire Chicken: Ingredients & Equipment
For this Copycat Sweet Fire Chicken recipe, you will need …
Ingredients
- chicken nuggets – yes, we’re just using frozen chicken nuggets for this recipe! It’s quick, it’s easy, and it still tastes very good. (You can also use popcorn chicken!)
- cooking oil – you’ll use this to saute your fruits and veggies. I use vegetable oil.
- red bell peppers, onions, pineapple chunks – said fruits and veggies mentioned before. These form the base of the flavors for your sweet fire chicken. If you use canned pineapple, save the juice from the can to use!
- Thai sweet chili sauce and pineapple juice – your final ingredients, which round out the sweet-yet-spicy taste of this dish.
- steamed white rice – for serving, of course!
Equipment
- skillet – you’ll cook all your ingredients in here.
How to make Copycat Sweet Fire Chicken
First, prep your chicken. That means just cooking the chicken nuggets according to the package instructions.
Second, cook your “sauce.” Grab yourself a skillet, set it over medium-high heat, and add cooking oil. When the oil’s hot, cook red bell peppers, onions, and pineapple chunks for about 2 minutes. After that, stir in your pineapple juice and sweet chili sauce, then boil it all.
Finally, add your chicken and serve! Add your chicken nuggets to the pan and mix it all together. Serve your sweet fire chicken over steamed rice!! Yum!
Copycat Sweet Fire Chicken: FAQs
It’s enough for 2-3 servings, so I’d call it one or two meals. You’ll have to double (triple etc.) the recipe for the whole family!
Good news, it’s a SUPER fast recipe, as I said. It takes only 7 minutes to prep the ingredients and about 25 minutes to cook them.
Absolutely! Feel free to make your own chicken from scratch. To get it close to the sweet fire recipe, be sure to bread the chicken first.
I find this recipe is somewhat mild by itself, even with the red bell peppers. However, it’ll mostly depend on the kind of chili sauce you use, so when you grab some, be sure you find one that’s at your desired spice level! You can also add hot sauce or chili pepper flakes to make it even hotter.
Brown rice also tastes absolutely fantastic with the recipe and provides a slight crunch!! I also enjoy adding snow peas to the mix from time to time. If you like shrimp, try that in place of the chicken!
Other recipes you may enjoy
Copycat Sweet Fire Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ lb frozen chicken nuggets
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- ⅓ cup diced red bell peppers
- ⅓ cup diced onions
- 1 cup pineapple chunks
- ⅓ cup Thai sweet chili sauce such as Mae Ploy
- 2 – 3 tablespoons pineapple juice
- steamed white rice for serving
Instructions
- Bake the chicken nuggets according to the package instructions.
- In a skillet over medium-high heat, add the cooking oil. Once the oil is hot, add the red bell peppers, onions, and pineapple chunks to the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes.
- Stir in the sweet chili sauce and pineapple juice. Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Add the chicken nuggets to the pan. Mix until all ingredients are well covered and heated through.
- Serve over steamed rice.
Notes
- You can use popcorn chicken in place of the chicken nuggets. Or use your favorite homemade chicken nugget recipe.
- If using canned pineapple, save some of the juice from the can.
- Try this recipe with shrimp instead of chicken!
Nutrition
Please note that the nutritional information listed on this page is an estimation based on the products I used. Ingredients and nutritional information can vary significantly between brands. Always be sure to read labels. Please verify that a recipe fits your needs before using it. Nutrition info may contain errors, so please verify it independently. Likewise, recipes may contain errors, so please use your common sense when following them.
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