The Best Firecracker Chicken For Just 99p a Head

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Including how to make the firecracker sauce

Firecracker chicken is a delicious and spicy Asian-inspired dish that’s perfect for adding a little excitement to your dinner routine. This recipe features juicy chicken coated in a sweet, tangy, and fiery sauce that’s sure to delight your taste buds.

The key to this dish is the blend of flavours, which includes soy sauce, rice vinegar, chili garlic sauce, and a touch of honey to balance out the heat. The chicken is first pan-fried to create a crispy exterior, then simmered in the flavourful sauce until it’s cooked through and infused with all the bold tastes.

Serve your firecracker chicken over a bed of fluffy white rice or noodles to soak up all the delicious sauce. You can also garnish it with sliced green onions, sesame seeds, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice for a bright, fresh finish.

Whether you’re looking to spice up your weeknight meals or impress guests at your next dinner party, this firecracker chicken recipe is sure to be a hit. Give it a try and enjoy the fiery, flavourful feast!

This quick and easy firecracker chicken recipe is not only budget-friendly, but it’s also really easy to make.

The firecracker chicken recipe is also Slimming World friendly and can be made less spicy by making your own sauce. You can find the recipe we use for our homemade firecracker sauce below or grab a bag from Spicentice using our code LASAVE20 and link for 20% off.*

If you like spicy chicken recipes or are looking for more fakeaway ideas then have a look at:

Chicken Tikka Masala Curry For Under £4 a Head – This is really easy to make and slightly spicy. We make it in the slow cooker on days we want a hot meal after a busy day.

The Best Katsu Curry Recipe For Under £1 a Head – We love Katsu curry. It’s a perfect dish that you can easily cook instead of going for the takeaway menu.

Easy Chicken Fajita Recipe: A Family Meal for 94p a Person – Fajita’s is our Friday night favourite! We make them spicy for us grownups and add more cheese for the kids.

Cooking as a beginner

What we love most about this recipe is that it comes in at under £1 a head for a family of four. Saving money on your food bill is the easiest way to keep more money in your pocket.

Our quick tips for saving money on food are:

Downshift

This means buying the lowest brand first and trying it. You may be surprised and it may taste great. If you don’t like it then go up one level and see. Saver brands normally taste just as good as the branded items but cost a lot less

Meal Plan

Having a meal plan and shopping list when you shop is vital to saving money. Write down what you need as you need it and turn it into a meal plan and shopping list. You can use our templates here if you need some help for a weekly shop.

Use freezer vegetables

Freezer vegetables are a great way to save money. They are already pre-cut which means no prep and you only need to take out the amount you need.

If you are looking for more £1 a head meal ideas then have a look at:

A Week of Budget Family Meals For Under £1 a Head – This is a week meal plan that you can use to keep your shopping bill down.

The Ultimate £1 Per Head Budget Meal Planning List – This is every meal that we use for under £1 a head for a family of 4.

31 Cheap Family Meals That Are Under £1 a Head – Use our month of money saving meals here to fill up your meal plan.

If you are new to cooking or are looking for new meals to eat for the whole family then have a look at Spicentice.

They send out packets of spices with easy to follow instructions so you can make a meal from scratch.

Cooking for beginners

They are great to use if you are new to cooking from scratch or if you are looking to get your family eating new budget-friendly meals and have no clue where to start.

We tried them at the start of this year and loved them. We got stuck in a food rut and they helped by giving us ideas while keeping our food budget really low.

If you’d like to try Spicentice yourself then make sure you use our link here with our code LASAVE20 to get 20% off every purchase.*

Using Spicentice we have cooked:

Beginner Chilli Con Carne Recipe for Just 95p a Head

Vegan Shepherd’s Pie For Just 82p Per Portion

Spaghetti Meatball Recipe For 73p a Head

Really Easy Homemade Beef Burgers For Under £1 a Head

The Best Southern Fried Chicken Recipe For Under £1 a Head

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How to make firecracker chicken

This firecracker chicken is great for the whole family. It only takes 10 minutes to cook and if you decide to use frozen vegetables hardly any time to prep either.

You could use the slow cooker if you prefer. Make sure to add 100ml extra water and maybe some brown sugar to keep it sweet.

How to make firecracker sauce

If you are looking for your own hot sauce or just a general marinade for your firecracker chicken then try our one below. It’s made from ground spices that you should have in your cupboard. These are all cheap to buy and you can make it as spicy as you like.

We sometimes add a fresh red chilli and red pepper flakes to our mix to really turn it into a spicy sauce. For the kids, we take out the chilli as it’s far too hot for them.

1 tsp Ground Chilli Flakes
1 tsp Ground Coriander
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1 tsp Ground Fenugreek
1 tsp Ground Garlic
1 tsp Ground Ginger
1 tsp Ground Paprika
1 tsp Ground Turmeric
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 Dried Bay leaf
1 tsp Ground Cardamom
1 tsp Ground Star Anise
1 tsp Ground Fennel

Chinese Firecracker Chicken Ingredients

This firecracker recipe is based on four people. It takes only takes about 10 minutes to actually cook the sauce but the rice could take up to 20 minutes.

We prefer to buy frozen chicken breasts and defrost them as we need them. You could use fresh chicken breast. we have priced this up using fresh vegetables but you could use pre-cut and frozen vegetables and these would work great.

This makes a great fakeaway dinner when your whole family craves a takeaway!

3 frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts (defrosted) £2.10
2 onions 20p
3 garlic cloves 15p
5g ground ginger 5p
1 red pepper 45p
1tbsp lemon juice 10p
1 bunch of spring onions 37p
2 tbsp tomato puree 5p
4 tbsp soy sauce 6p
2 tbsp hoisin sauce 6p
1 tbsp plain flour 10p
1 tbsp low cal cooking spray 5p
150g wholemeal rice 25p
Total: £3.99 (prices correct at time of publishing)

Chinese Firecracker Chicken Recipe

Chop the pepper, onions, and chicken pieces into chucks. Chop the garlic and spring onions into small pieces.

Boil water and add the rice as per packet instructions. This normally takes about 20 minutes.

In a large bowl, add the puree, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, lemon juice, 100ml cold water, and the Spicentice mix, or any other spices if using. Add the garlic, ginger, and chicken to the bowl. Marinade for 15 minutes.

Heat a wok. Scoop the chicken out and add it to the wok.

Add the plain flour to the marinade and whisk any lumps out.

Add the sauce with 100ml of water to the wok. Turn down to a simmer and add the vegetables.

Stir fry for 5 to ten minutes or until the vegetables are soft.

Related Posts: 

• 101 Aldi Recipes That Will Give You Dinner Ideas For Tonight
• 9 Slow Cooker Chicken Curry Recipes That Are Budget Friendly
• 31 Aldi Slow Cooker Recipes For The Whole Family

Turn off the heat.

Serve the rice in the middle and add the sauce around it. Enjoy!

Laura x

If you enjoyed this post and would like some more family friendly budget recipes or meal plan ideas, then head over to the budget food section here on Savings 4 Savvy Mums where you’ll find over 30 cheap posts dedicated to helping you cook and shop wiser for less. There’s enough tips to help you save over £300 a month! You could also pop over and follow my family food Pinterest boards for lots more ideas on how to eat well and spend less; Family Meal Plans on a Budget, Budget Family Meals & Budget Slimming World Recipes for Families. 

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