Fijian chilli chicken: A simple recipe to make at home

An easy Fijian Chilli Chicken which is perfect for a quick weeknight dinner served with jasmine or basmati rice. Follow our recipe with step-by-step photos.

On a visit to Fiji, we had the opportunity to eat some amazing traditional food like this Fijian Chilli Chicken. Many dishes clearly showed the influence of the other cultures that exist on the islands.  They also showed the input of the chefs, many of whom are citizens of other countries and with particularly strong ties to India.  Everything comes together in a melting pot of cuisines and ideas.  The end result is some very tasty, but very simple food.

This Fijian Chilli Chicken dish was one of my favourites.  I sat poolside at the Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort to eat this and washed it down with a local beer.   It was a perfect meal to end a great day of touring the island and swimming in the crystal blue waters. 

This chilli chicken recipe doesn’t use a lot of ingredients and most of them should be easily found in your own pantry or at your local grocery store or market.

What goes into this recipe

Why this recipe works

• Doing all of the preparation of ingredients first means a quick, simple and perfect cook. The ingredients don’t require much cooking, so if you have to start chopping vegetables or measuring liquids out when you have ingredients in the wok, it just won’t work as well as you will overcook or burn items.
• You can subsitute the chicken protein element and also include more or different vegetables.
• It’s a very versatile recipe that allows for substitution.
• It’s perfect for reheating as leftovers the next day.
• It uses simple ingredients and it is healthy.

Recipe ingredient notes

• Chicken breast fillet has been used in this recipe but it could be easily swapped out for chicken thigh fillets. If using thigh fillets, you will just need to cook a little longer.
• Pork also makes a good protein for this recipe. Just cut the pieces more finely than you would for chicken. You might also like to try this Chinese pork stir fry.
• Any or all of the vegetables can be swapped out, allowing you to make a simple, healthy meeal quickly at home with what you have available.
• Cornflour is the same thing as cornstarch.
• Vegetable oil is used in this recipe but you can use Rice Bran Oil, Grapeseed Oil, Canola Oil, even Olive Oil. The small amount of oil used in the recipe will make little difference to the overall flavour.

How to make Fijian Chilli Chicken

Step 1

Prepare all ingredients first. This dish cooks very quickly, so having them all ready makes the cooking process much easier.

Step 2

Cut chicken into strips or small chunks and marinate with garlic, ginger, oyster sauce, salt and pepper. Leave to marinate for at least one hour.

Step 3

Coat the chicken in a good layer of cornflour, enough to not just have a soggy mess of chicken in your hands.

Step 4

Fry the chicken for a few minutes until the outer coating is brown and they are partially cooked.

Step 5

Remove the chicken from the pan and place on kitchen towel to remove excess oil.

Step 6

Heat the oil in a wok and quickly fry off the onion, garlic and ginger.

Step 7

Add the chilli paste, soy sauce and oyster sauce and stir. Then add the drops of sesame oil. Add the vegetables and cook for several minutes, stirring around the wok.

Step 8

Add the chicken to the wok once again and finish cooking.

Step 9

Add the stock in with the cornflour to thicken and make a sauce. Season where necessary.

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Fijian Chilli Chicken

Yield: 1 serve

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Additional Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Chilli chicken, cooked simply with fresh ingredients. I was inspired to make this after eating it for lunch one day during my stay at the Outrigger Fiji Resort. Fiji has strong Asian infuences in its cuisine and this dish reflects that.

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Ingredients

• Boneless chicken breast 160grams
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste (1/2 to marinate, remainder in cooking)
• 1 tablespoon ginger paste (1/2 to marinate, remainder in cooking)
• 1 teaspoon chilli paste (or extra if you like it hotter)
• 1 teaspoon oyster sauce (1/2 to marinate, remainder in cooking)
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• several drops sesame oil
• 2/3 cup fresh chicken stock 
• Green capsicum cut into thin strips
• Carrot cut into thin strips
• Onion cut into chunks
• Cabbage cut finely
• 1 tablespoon cornflour/cornstarch for thickening
• Cornflour/cornstarch  for dusting
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Oil for frying

Instructions

1. Cut chicken into strips or small chunks and marinate with garlic, ginger, oyster sauce, salt and pepper. Leave to marinate for at least one hour.
2. Coat the chicken in a good layer of cornflour, enough to not just have a soggy mess of chicken in your hands.
3. Fry the chicken for a few minutes until the outer coating is brown and they are partially cooked.
4. Remove the chicken from the pan and place on kitchen towel to remove excess oil.
5. Heat the oil in a wok and quickly fry off the onion, garlic and ginger.
6. Add the chilli paste, soy sauce and oyster sauce and stir. Add the drops of sesame oil.
7. Add the vegetables and cook for several minutes, stirring around the wok.
8. Add the chicken to the wok once again and finish cooking.
9. Add the stock in with the cornflour to thicken and make a sauce.
10. Season where necessary.

Notes

• The type and amount of vegetables that can be added is completely variable. I also added fresh snow peas and beans.
• The amount of sauce can also be changed. If you like more sauce, increase the amount of chicken stock and vary the amount of cornflour depending on your preference for a thinner or thicker sauce. I like mine to have a lot of thick, juice sauce.
• The chilli level here is what I would call mild but always increase or decrease depending on your chilli tolerance. It can be left out altogether, but this is a chilli chicken recipe after all!

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 705Total Fat: 41gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 33gCholesterol: 108mgSodium: 2100mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 6gSugar: 13gProtein: 48g

This data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix.

Did you make this recipe?

We'd love for you to share it and show us how you went. Mention @beerandcroissants or tag #beerandcroissants

You might also like to cook these simple chicken dishes at home

Kundapur Curry Chicken

Baked Chicken Cacciatore

Malaysian Chicken Curry with roti

Thanks to the team at the Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort for sharing their recipe with me (with a few creative changes)