This tasty, creamy Chinese Coconut Chicken is a super easy Asian dinner entree to make and it's so much better than any takeout! The tender pieces of tempura battered chicken breast are wok fried then coated in an amazing sweet and tangy creamy coconut sauce!
Chinese Buffet Style Coconut Chicken Recipe
If you love Asian food as much as my family does, this will be a 'must have' recipe for you! Tender Chinese buffet style coconut chicken is absolutely the perfect entree to enjoy with some rice and vegetables (and it's so easy)!!
It's a 5 ingredient sauce, and you can cut and marinate the chicken breasts in the tempura batter sauce way in advance.
Whenever you're ready to serve up your dinner, it's a snap! And your family is sure to love the crispy fried chicken breast tenders that are smothered in the amazing creamy coconut sauce! They might even dream up new ways of using the sauce just as a dipping sauce, it is that good!!
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🥘 Ingredients
Chicken Marinade Ingredients
- 2 large eggs (beaten)
- ½ cup cornstarch
Chicken Fry Ingredients
- 1 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1 inch pieces)
- ¼ cup coconut oil (or cooking oil of your choice)
Coconut Chicken Sauce Ingredients
- 1 can coconut milk (full fat coconut milk)
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger (or ½ teaspoon ground ginger)
- 1 lime (zested, then juiced)
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🔪 Instructions
Start your super easy coconut chicken by preparing the chicken. Trim off fat, if needed, then cut into roughly one inch pieces. The chicken should be about bite-sized for easy eating.
Make the Chicken Fry Marinade
- In a medium sized mixing bowl combine the beaten egg with cornstarch.
- Whisk until the cornstarch is fully dissolved and the marinade is well combined.
- Next add the cut chicken breast pieces to the bowl of marinade.
- Stir the chicken pieces into the marinade to coat thoroughly.
- Cover the bowl with a sheet of plastic cling film wrap and refrigerator to marinate for at least 30 minutes. This step can be done ahead of time to make dinner even easier! You can prepare the chicken the night before, or anytime the day of cooking this easy chicken entree.
Fry the Marinated Chicken
- To fry up the chicken pieces, heat a large skillet, frying pan, wok, or Dutch oven with the coconut oil over medium high heat. The oil should begin to shimmer and be just about to start smoking when it is hot enough to fry the battered chicken.
- Shake off the excess batter from the chicken when transferring into the heated oil.
- Fry the chicken until lightly golden browned and the pieces have an internal temperature of 165ºF (75ºC) as read by a digital meat thermometer. *You may also need to fry off your chicken in batches to prevent over-crowding the chicken in your pan.
- Transfer the cooked chicken pieces to a paper towel lined plate and continue cooking until all of the chicken is done. Discard any remaining marinade.
Make the Creamy Coconut Sauce
- In a saucepan, combine the sauce ingredients: coconut milk, sugar, rice vinegar, ginger and lime juice (reserve the zest for just before serving).
- Heat the saucepan over medium heat and cook the sauce until thoroughly warmed and thickened, about 3 - 5 minutes. ***(This may take longer depending on how thick you want the sauce.)
- Whisking the sauce constantly while heating to prevent burning.
- When your sauce has thickened remove from heat.
Assemble the Chinese Buffet Style Coconut Chicken
- Combine the coconut chicken by tossing the ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Add the fried chicken pieces in small batches, ladle the sauce over the chicken, then sprinkle with lime zest.
- Toss to coat each serving, and serve immediately. Enjoy!
😋 You Might Also Like
- Instant Pot Mongolian Chicken
- Beef with Garlic Sauce
- Fried Rice
- Hunan Shrimp
- Chinese Beef Meatballs
- Benihana Ginger Salad Dressing
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📖 Recipe Card
Coconut Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
- 2 large eggs (beaten)
- ½ cup cornstarch
Chicken Fry
- 1 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1 inch pieces)
- ¼ cup coconut oil (or cooking oil of your choice)
Coconut Chicken Sauce
- 1 can coconut milk (full fat coconut milk)
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger (or ½ teaspoon ground ginger)
- 1 lime (zested, then juiced)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
Chicken Marinade
- Mix the cornstarch with the beaten egg until the cornstarch is fully dissolved. Add the cut chicken breast pieces to the bowl of marinade and stir to coat. Cover with plastic cling film wrap and place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
- Heat a large skillet, frying pan, wok or Dutch oven with the coconut oil to medium high heat. Shake the excess off the marinated chicken pieces and fry until golden brown and keep frying until the internal temperature of the chicken pieces reaches 165 degrees F (75 degrees C).
- Transfer cooked pieces to a paper towel lined plate. Fry in batches, if needed, so that the chicken is not crowded in your pan. Set aside.
Make the Creamy Coconut Sauce
- In a saucepan, combine the coconut milk, sugar, rice vinegar, ginger and lime juice. Bring the saucepan with sauce to medium heat. Cook for about 3-5 minutes, whisking constantly.
Assemble the Coconut Chicken
- In a large bowl add the chicken in small batches and ladle the coconut sauce over the fried chicken. Add the lime zest and toss in the bowl to combine. Serve immediately.
Regina says
How can I make the sauce a little thicker? Mine always comes out so thin.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
After cooking the sauce for a few minutes, if it has not reached your desired consistency, use a teaspoon of cornstarch mixed with an equal amount of cold water to make a slurry. Whisk the slurry into your sauce and bring to a low boil, whisking frequently. If needed, repeat until your desired consistency. Remember that the sauce will thicken some more once removed from heat, so your aiming for a just a little bit of cornstarch. Hope that helps!
Regina says
My sauce never thickens, what am I doing wrong?
Angela Latimer says
You're not doing anything wrong. Alot of our chicken is injected with a solution to make it look plump. This excess liquid varies. Add a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce of needed, start with 1 teaspoon cornstarch with 1 teaspoon cold water, whisk to combine and then whisk into your sauce. Make sure your sauce simmers before removing from heat to serve (the sauce should thicken once heated).
Karen says
Is the sweeten condensed milk a substitute for the coconut milk and sugar or just for the sugar?
Angela Latimer says
It was swapped for both the coconut milk and sugar (as suggested in the comments by Mary). I haven't tried the substitution yet so let us know how it turns out if you try it. Thanks!
Lisa Lowe says
Add mayonnaise it makes it creamier and thicker just trust me and try I promise you'll love it
Mary says
OMG! This dish is AMAZING! We were simple and I just served it on Jasmine Rice. My husband loved it. The only deviation I made from the recipe was substituting a can of sweetened condensed milk for the sugar. #HEAVEN. Thank you so much.
Anonymous says
This was delicious but the sauce never thickened on its own. I had to add cornstarch to it to make it thicken.
Mary says
If you substitute a can of sweetened condensed milk, instead of the sugar, it thickens up nicely. No cornstarch needed.
Kari says
Definitely the best Chinese buffet version I have tried online, wow this one is good thanks!
Danielle says
It turned out great! The tip of cornstarch and water to help thicken the sauce came came im handy so thanks for that too 😬
Frank Wallath says
The recipe was good but how do you thicken up the coconut sauce?
Cheryl Stoltzfus says
How big is a “can of coconut milk”?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Most are 13-15 ounces, mine were the 13.66 oz by Thai Kitchen.
Susan says
Hands down the absolute best recipe for coconut chicken I have ever made and so easy . thank you for sharing this 🎁🙏😋😋😋😋
Bee says
I was wondering if I could substitute the coconut milk with coconut cream. After putting the chicken in the marinade I realised that I only had unsweetened coconut cream and cream of coconut in my pantry.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
I have never made this recipe with coconut cream, although I suspect it would simply make a thicker sauce. Try it and let me know how it worked out if you do! Thanks for asking!
Kathleen says
I have made this a couple of times now and it is so easy and my family and friends really enjoyed it. I severed this with a easy coconut rice that paired very well with it. I also made the chicken into strips and fried them in my deep fryer and tossed them in bbq sauce also came out great. I am thinking about trying shrimp next. Thank you for a great recipe.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
It is so easy (and easy to enjoy)! Glad you and your family have been enjoying it as much as my family and I do!
Asha says
Delicious recipe! When I get it at the restaurant it's thicker sauce, do you have a suggestion for how to thicken it or is your recipe supposed to have thin sauce? Thanks!
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
I've noticed this and am firmly convinced that it has to do with the buffet-style heating. Being cooked and then held in a heated cambro. To mimic the sauce thickness, I would start out with a teaspoon of cornstarch mixed with an equal amount of cold water. Make the slurry, then whisk it into the sauce right after you have heated the sauce fully. A simmer will help it to thicken with the cornstarch. Hope that helps!
Melinda says
super good and easy!
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Thanks Melinda! Glad you enjoyed the chicken!!