Thai-Malaysian Three Flavoured Chicken is a sweet, sour, and spicy fusion, delighting taste buds in every bite. Effortlessly air fried!
If you love Sweet and Sour Chicken, you’re going to love this Three Flavoured Chicken! I always call this the Better Sweet and Sour Chicken – with a spicy twist!
Picture this: perfectly crispy chicken, coated in a layer of thick, spicy-sweet and sour sauce, generously studded with vibrant bell peppers. The best part of this recipe? We’re using an air fryer to make that crispy chicken bites without the mess and fuss of deep frying! I have an older, stir fry version of Three Flavoured Chicken right here.
What is Three Flavoured Chicken?
Inspired by its Thai counterpart, the Three-Flavoured Fish, this is a Malaysian rendition! You can often find Three-Flavoured Chicken alongside well-loved dishes like Sweet and Sour Chicken, Black Pepper Chicken and Paprik in the menu. You can also find this in Singapore’s restaurants, and they are likely the Malaysian version – unless it’s a fully Thai restaurant.
While the fish variant remains a menu favourite, the chicken adaptation is a ubiquitous presence on many menus.
While the Thai version boasts a mix of bird’s eye chillies, fish sauce, tamarind, and palm sugar for its sweet, sour and spicy profile, the Thai-Malaysian twist opts for a combination of seasoning sauces such as tomato ketchup, chilli sauce and vinegar enriched with zesty sambal for that spicy kick.
Although distinct, both versions are equally delightful!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Spicy Twist: Say goodbye to ordinary sweet and sour chicken! The addition of sambal or sriracha brings a tantalizing spiciness that elevates the dish to new heights.
- Crispy Perfection: Thanks to the air fryer, your chicken will achieve that coveted crispy exterior without the need for excessive oil, making it a healthier (and FUSS-FREE!) alternative.
- Dynamic Flavour Profile: The combination of sweet, sour, and spicy flavors, along with the medley of bell peppers, creates a harmonious dance of tastes and textures that will leave your taste buds craving more.
Key Ingredients for Air Fryer Three Flavoured Chicken
Crispy Chicken
- Boneless Chicken: Thighs or breasts will work for this recipe, cut into bite-sized pieces
- Fish Sauce, Oyster Sauce and Pepper: This is the combo marinade I’m using today – you use any seasoning you like! You can even keep this simple with just salt and pepper.
- Cornstarch, for coating
Three Flavoured Sauce
- Tomato Ketchup: This makes the base of the sauce, for its mild sweet and sour sauce quality.
- Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce: This adds lots of sweetness, flavour, and a hint of spice to the dish.
- Sambal or Sriracha: You can stop at the sweet chilli sauce, but if you want even more heat, add sambal or sriracha! Sambal will add lots of richness, but sriracha will work too.
- Oyster Sauce: This adds a lovely umami and salt to the dish.
- Brown Sugar: To further boost the sweetness.
- Vinegar: To amplify the sourness! I use apple cider vinegar
- Cornstarch: This is going to help thicken the sauce to coat the chicken bites later on.
- Water: A splash of water will help to dilute the seasonings AND help it to combine into a sauce easier. Use warm water to help everything combine easier.
Alternatively, you can make your favourite combo of sweet and sour sauce, and add chilli sauce or sambal to it!
The Stir-Fry
- Garlic, minced (optional)
- Onion, cubed
- Colourful bell peppers, cubed
- Green onions, chopped (for garnish)
- Sesame seeds (for garnish)
Key Equiment: The Air Fryer
This is the Air Fryer I use; but this and this are great options too.
What if I don’t have an Air Fryer?
You can pan fry or deep fry the battered chicken until crispy! The marinating and battering steps of the recipe remain the same.
The crispy chicken is great with the sauce – but you can skip this step altogether and make this into a chicken stir fry! Simply stir fry the chicken first until almost cooked, before adding the rest of the ingredients, as per recipe.
How to Making Three Flavoured Chicken an Air Fryer
1. Preparation
Preheat your air fryer to 400Ā°F (200Ā°C).
Spray the rack with oil.
In a bowl, coat the chicken pieces with fish sauce, oyster sauce and pepper. Give a quick mix to combine. Add cornstarch next to fully coat pieces.
TIP! To quickly coat chicken, use a bowl with a cover. Add about 1/4 cup of cornstarch, and cover the bowl. Give a few shakes of the bowl, until the chicken are coated through.
2. Air-Fry the Chicken
Arrange the coated chicken in a single layer in the air fryer basket.
Spray the chicken with oil, until there are no dry, floury surfaces. This is important to get truly crispy chicken!
Air-fry for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Halfway through, flip the chicken and give the basket a few quick shakes. Give another spray of oil, if there are floury spots.
3. Prepare the Sauce
While the chicken is air frying, combine the ingredients for the sauce. Whisk until the sugar and cornstarch is dissolved.
TIP! Use warm water (quickly blitz water in the microwave!) for easier mixing.
You should get a saucy consistency, and the sauce should taste sweet, sour and spicy! Feel free to adjust the amounts according to preference.
4. Combine and Stir-Fry
In a wok or large pan, stir-fry the onions and bell peppers until slightly tender. Pour in the sauce and stir fry until the sauce thickens.
Add the air-fried chicken to the wok. Toss everything to coat evenly.
Serve and Garnish
Dish up the Three Flavoured Chicken on a serving platter. Garnish with chopped green onions and sesame seeds.
More Recipes Like This
- Sweet and Sour Chicken (air fryer recipe!)
- Air Fryer Bang Bang Salmon
- Air Fryer Salt and Pepper Chicken ā SUPER CRISPY!
Leave a Reply