These Spicy Thai Chicken Tenders are coated in panko, fried to perfection, then tossed in a delicious spicy sauce. They are delicious and take less than 20 minutes from start to finish!
These Spicy Thai Chicken Tenders came to existence because I was thinking about how to use my popular Thai sauce with chicken. If y'all follow Domestic Superhero, then you probably know that these One Pot Spicy Thai Noodles are one of my most popular recipes.
With over one million pins on pinterest, thousands of shares on Facebook, they are popular and so delicious. These tenders are a perfect main course!
How to make Spicy Thai Chicken Tenders:
**scroll down for full ingredients list and printable directions**
This recipe is so simple, and only has a few steps..
- Get all the ingredients together and prep the chicken.
- Coat the chicken in egg wash then shake in the panko. Heat up the oil and then fry the chicken tenders.
- Then mix and cook the sauce: Dump all the ingredients (aside from water and cornstarch) together in a sauce pot, whisk together, and simmer until bubbling. Whisk the cornstarch and water in a small bowl, then add to the bubbling sauce. Bring to a quick boil and then reduce heat and simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally.
- Toss the sauce all over the chicken tenders and serve immediately.
The sauce is so majorly delicious and not TOO spicy. If you can't stand spice, then tone down the sriracha, but I am telling you it's not THAT spicy. If you like a lot of spice, add more sriracha to the sauce. You can test the sauce as you are making it and add more or less as you go...just make it however you like!
Actually, you know what might be amazing? Putting these Spicy Thai Chicken Tenders over the top of the Spicy Thai Noodles...ohhhhh yeah!
Tools you need to make Spicy Thai Chicken Tenders:
- A frying pan is going to be essential when frying these tenders. I don't have a deep fryer, and it's just as simple to use a skillet to cook these up!
- Using Panko to crust your tenders will be key in order to get the crispy coating on the outside.
- Having a sauce pot to whip up the sauce and a whisk to continuously mix the sauce while cooking will be two needed items.
Side dishes to serve with these chicken tenders:
- Garlic Ginger Spinach
- Asian Spaghetti Squash
- Air Fryer Crab Rangoon
- Asian Glazed Brussels Sprouts
- Air Fryer Roasted Asparagus (2 ingredients)
- Air Fryer Roasted Carrots (easy side dish)
- Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries (homemade)
Like Asian inspired recipes as much as I do? Check out these other recipes:
- Spicy Thai Noodles
- Copycat Panda Express Orange Chicken
- Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps (One Pot)
- Instant Pot Asian Meatballs
- Instant Pot Asian Pork
- Asian Sweet Chili Chicken
- Instant Pot Mongolian Chicken
- Spicy Asian Eggplant & Tofu Bowls
These Spicy Thai Chicken Tenders are coated in panko, fried to perfection, then tossed in a delicious spicy sauce. They are delicious and take less than 20 minutes from start to finish!
- 1 pound chicken breast tenderloins
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 cups canola oil or more depending on size of skillet
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 TBS brown sugar
- ⅓ cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1.5 TBS Sriracha hot sauce this is a medium amount of spice, tone it down if you don't like spicy
- 1 teaspoon creamy peanut butter
- 1 inch fresh ginger grated
- 2 TBS water
- 1 TBS cornstarch
- 2 TBS cilantro chopped
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Add oil to a frying skillet (should be about 1.5 inches of oil), and heat over medium heat.
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Place egg into a shallow bowl, set aside. Set panko and red pepper flakes into a different shallow bowl, mix to combine, set aside. Dip each tender into egg, then coat with panko breadcrumbs. Set aside.
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Place tenders into heated oil in the frying skillet. Don't overcrowd the skillet, cook in batches (I did 4-5 each batch). Fry for 3-4 minutes on the first side, when browned flip to other side, cook 2-3 minutes or until browned. Remove from skillet and set on a paper towel lined plate. Repeat for all tenders.
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Add garlic, brown sugar, soy sauce, sriracha, peanut butter, and ginger to a small sauce pot. Whisk to combine completely. Heat over medium high heat and bring to a boil, whisking occasionally. In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch and water, then add to the sauce. Bring to a quick boil and then reduce heat and simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally. If sauce seems too thick, add a bit of water to thin it.
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Carefully take each tender and dip into the sauce, coating completely. Repeat for all tenders. Serve immediately garnished with chopped cilantro.
Published March 2017. Updated February 2022.
*Peanut butter can be left out of this recipe to omit the peanut butter flavor.
Candice Clark says
Holy heck, these look amazing! I can't wait to try them!
anna says
Thanks for the recipe and tutorial here, a great fan of anything spicy i shall pin and try.
Allyson says
I hope you like it as much as we did!
Jo says
My husband and I have made these on many of our cook at home date nights. Easy to make and they are so delicious!
Allyson says
So happy to hear that!
Trisha says
Thanks for the recipe. Could you please tell me how many eggs you used for dipping, I don't see it listed in the ingredients. Thank you
Allyson says
It is 2 eggs! Thanks for letting me know!
Kristen says
Could these be baked.
MaryJane M. says
These were absolutely amazing!
Michelle MaBelle says
Made this delicious recipe for dinner last night. All six adults enjoyed it! I tripled the amount of chicken, to accommodate the number of guests I had. My only note, to myself, (NOT the recipe's instructions, which were spot- on!) would be to make the sauce, then take it off the heat. I forgot that I had the burner on, while I was busy frying the tenders, and so the sauce was a bit overcooked. (It still managed to taste wonderful, even though I fumbled it.)
Jacque says
On the whole ok. Found the sauce a bit dominated by the soy sauce. Be careful to cook sauce gently as it may catch ( the sugars cook quickly).
It was all gone , so that makes it a winner recipe.
Skip says
How would a person air fry these instead of frying ? Thank you !
Allyson says
Coat as directed then place into the air fryer. Lightly spray with oil. Cook at 400 degrees for 4 minutes, then open, flip over, spray lightly with oil and cook another 3-4 mins until done. May take a min or 2 longer depending on size so check temperature. Then coat with sauce before serving! YUM!
Kurt says
Fantastic! Made on the fryer. Sauce is tangy with a spicy peanut finish.
Sallyjojo says
The sauce is WOW! Thank you for sharing, we really enjoyed it!!
Keri Anne says
I made these with the Spicy Noodles and they were absolutely delicious as well! The only thing with mine was that my chicken didn't have that nice red hue to them like the picture. Mine looked brown like the peanut butter but they still tasted amazing! Thank you!
Allyson says
YUM!!! So good together!!!
Heather Rose says
This was a huge hit with my family, even my picky youngest son! I will definitely make these tenders again!
Agnes says
Wow, these look amazing. Anything Thai has my attention. Thank you for sharing!
Taylor says
These are incredible!! The panko adds the best texture and the sauce is out of this world. Sticky, spicy and SO flavorful. We loved them!
Lil Coffee says
This sauce was great on wings!!! Thanks
Beth says
This is my new favorite recipe! I love all that sweet and spicy goodness. I made this over the weekend, and it was seriously the best thing I've ever had.
Amanda says
This is my new favorite flavor for chicken. They went so well together. Thank you!
Aditi Bhardwaj says
This is looking great!! This is a proper holiday recipe really. thanks for sharing the recipe.
Aditi Bhardwaj says
it seems it is going to be my fav!! I am in love with this recipe.
Catalina says
Yum! This is my new favorite chicken dish! Deliciousness!
Erik says
Really love the flavors here. So good!
Sandra says
I love how tasty these are!! So yummy!
Bridget says
Very good with pork chops too!
Delia Henry says
Can I omit the peanut butter
Allyson says
Yes!
Heather says
Can you air fry instead of frying in oil?
Susan says
what I've done in the past is to massage some canola oil into my panko crumbs, maybe 1 TBS. I've done this with shrimp, but not chicken. the shrimp was very crispy!
Allison says
You need to remember to add the water to the cornstarch and mix prior to adding to the other ingredients, or you will have clumps.
Dayna B says
Can I use peanut oil to fry instead of canola?
Allyson says
Yes that shouldnt be an issue!
Linda says
I make this recipe once a month. We always enjoy it. I double the sauce and cut the chicken in chunks, add broccoli and serve over rice. I serve egg rolls on the side. Very good!
Allyson says
Wow that sounds like a great meal!!! So happy you are enjoying it!
Carol says
Help! I’ve always been violently allergic to peanut products so I don’t even know what would be a suitable substitute for peanut butter. Any suggestions?
Allyson says
You don't need to use it/sub it - leave it out!
Maureen says
Excellent! Will definitely make again. 😋
Jaimee says
Hi there! I don’t have any ginger nor cilantro. Would those be missed terribly in this recipe?
Allyson says
You can probably skip them 🙂