This Chicken Karaage with Sweet Chili Sauce (スイートチリソースの唐揚げ) is a popular variation of chicken karaage in our household. The bite-size chicken thighs are deep-fried to perfection and coated with sweet chili sauce.
Chicken Karaage with A Twist
Now that my children are older, they have been enjoying more spicy food so I try to incorporate spicy condiments, sauces, and various spices into Japanese foods whenever I can. Even though Japanese food is not known as a cuisine laden with spices and spicy flavors, it is still fun to play with different seasonings and spice things up a little.
What is Sweet Chili Sauce?
There are a few brands of sweet chili sauce in the market and you can definitely use your favorite brand. The one that I always keep in my pantry is Mae Ploy Thai sweet chili sauce, also known as nam chim kai in Thailand. It has a slight heat to it, but I would not consider it spicy at all. So it’s perfect for someone who appreciates bolder flavor but is overly spicy. You can find Mae Ploy Thai sweet chili sauce being sold in bottles in major grocery stores or Asian grocery stores. If you’re tempted to make your own sweet chili sauce, you can follow the recipe in my Grilled Lemongrass Chicken post. The sweet chili sauce comes in handy whenever you feel like adding a little kick to your dish or just to up the ante. The nice blend of mildly spicy and sweet flavors just makes everything better. The classic chicken karaage is commonly served with a wedge of lemon and some side condiments such as Japanese mayo for dipping. With the addition of the sweet and spicy sauce, the classic Japanese fried chicken is now packed a serious flavor punch and extra vibrancy.
Too Spicy for Children?
If you have small children who are not used to spicy food yet, you can serve the chicken karaage as it is, and then coat the rest of the karaage with sweet chili sauce for yourselves. For a more garlicky flavor of chicken karaage, you want to check out this recipe. Chicken karaage is pretty tasty on its own already, but I am certain you will thoroughly enjoy this fun and zingy version as well. So head for the kitchen and make this Chicken Karaage with Sweet Chili Sauce tonight!
More Popular Chicken Recipes
Lemon Chicken Ootoya’s Sweet and Sour Chicken (Tori Kurozu-An)
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram. Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on January 5, 2011. The post has been updated with new images and content.
