Looking for a quick and easy recipe to serve as an appetizer, snack, or light meal? Follow this no-fuss air-fried Chinese chicken on a stick recipe, which you can finish in less than 30 minutes! Enjoys its juicy texture and burst of flavors made with only pantry ingredients.
What Is Chinese Chicken On A Stick?
Chinese chicken on a stick or Chinese skewers is the perfect dish to serve for potluck parties, backyard BBQs, or a picnic in the park with friends and family. Each skewer promises a bite of juicy, tender chicken marinated with cooking wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, white sugar, and black pepper. The chicken bits pair wonderfully with the sweet and crunchy bell pepper slices.
You’ll love its charred caramelized taste and texture as it cooks in the air fryer. It is a balance of sweet and savory flavors with the added soy sauce and oyster sauce. As a finishing touch, savor an extra kick of flavor with a sprinkle of barbecue seasoning on top.
Serve this dish with traditional Chinese egg fried rice (蛋炒饭) or plain white rice. Pair it with appetizers and main dishes like Campfire Chicken, KFC BBQ Meltz, and Crispy Chinese Salt And Pepper Pork Chops. This recipe differs from traditional skewered dishes because it uses an air fryer instead of a typical grill. Why use an air fryer, you may ask? You are about to find out why!
Reasons Why Use An Air Fryer For This Recipe
I know most people are used to using a grill for anything barbecued or skewered. However, using a grill requires quite a lot of cleanup after using it – and nobody likes that!
So, this is where an air fryer comes in handy. Here are my top reasons why an air fryer is the clear winner when it comes to cooking.
- No more constant cleaning: Whether you use a pan or grill for cooking, these require major cleanup after use. But with an air fryer, you don’t have to constantly cook the air fryer basket. Why? Because you can simply place parchment paper or foil in the basket before placing the chicken skewers. When you are done cooking, simply remove the skewers and throw out the lining used. This leaves you with a clean and untouched air fryer basket, which means you don’t have to wash it each time. Who wouldn’t love this feature, right?
- More time to relax:Unlike a pan or grill, you have to constantly watch the chicken skewers to avoid burnt chicken. It can be quite fast to burn just the exterior with the added sugar that caramelizes. You cannot simply leave them grilling unattended. This is why an air fryer is better: you just have to set the time and temperature and leave the chicken to cook. Halfway through cooking time, you will only have to flip the chicken skewers to cook the other side evenly and brush with more marinade. On top of that, an air fryer typically cooks faster than other cooking methods thanks to its convection heating method. Thus, it gives you more time to relax since you leave the job to the air fryer and the cooking time is cut shorter.
- Say goodbye to oil:Most fried foods require lots of oil to have that golden brown and juicy exterior. You can get “almost” the same fried crispy texture with an air fryer, just minus the oil! Using an air fryer is better if you want to cut out oil in your dishes completely. Depending on your desired texture, you can spray some oil on the exterior to achieve it. Despite spraying oil, it is still a lot less oil than deep-fried or pan-fried dishes.
I hope these reasons were able to convince you why using an air fryer is an excellent way to cook your Chinese chicken on a stick. Not only it is best for grilled dishes like chicken skewers, but you can also use it for various deep-fried or stir-fried dishes. Use an air fryer as well for the following recipes:
- Crispy Pork Belly
- The Easiest Air Fryer Bok Choy Recipe
- The Crispiest And Juiciest Air Fryer Wontons (Fried Pork Dumplings)
- Easy Air Fryer Char Siu Pork
- Crispy And Juicy Air Fryer Pork Belly
- Air-Fried Taro Fries
- Air-Fried Taro Chips
Recipe Tips To Consider
I have here some tips to consider when making Chinese chicken on a stick. Learn more about the ingredients to use and their alternatives. Moreover, I share cooking methods to try if you want another way besides air-frying.
- Chicken: I suggest using boneless chicken cuts, such as breasts, thighs, and tenders. These should be cut into small 1-inch chunks or any size you prefer. Small cuts of chicken are preferable in order to cook faster in the air fryer and chew off easily from the skewer. Make sure to cut it into equal slices to ensure even cooking. Boneless chicken is a more convenient option since you can skip removing the bones in the steps. However, you can use bone-in chicken as an alternative and take the time to remove the bones.
- Marinade: For the marinade, I use a mix of cooking wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, white sugar, and black pepper.
- Cooking wine: Cooking wine or Chinese cooking wine adds a sweet and briny taste to the marinade. An example of Chinese cooking wine is Shaoxing rice wine, which is sweet with a dry and sharp aftertaste. You can swap cooking wine with dry sherry, meat or vegetable broth, red wine vinegar, or alcohol-free wine.
- Dark and light soy sauce: I use both dark and light soy sauce for taste and color. Dark soy sauce helps darken the color of the chicken and adds a thick consistency and sweet taste to the marinade. On the contrary, light soy sauce is mainly for flavor, which gives the marinade a salty and umami taste. You can use both or either of the two. Substitute soy sauce with tamari, liquid aminos, coconut aminos, or gluten-free soy sauce.
- Oyster sauce: The taste of oyster sauce is a combination of sweet and savory, reminiscent of the flavors of soy sauce and barbecue sauce. It also adds a hint of caramel-like taste. Some excellent alternatives to oyster sauce are hoisin sauce, teriyaki sauce, kecap manis, Worcestershire sauce with soy sauce and sugar, oyster-flavored sauce, or fish sauce.
- Sugar: Sugar will balance out the saltiness of oyster sauce and soy sauce. Brown sugar, white sugar, maple syrup, or coconut sugar are all excellent sugars to use.
- Black pepper powder: Black pepper powder is great for extra heat and a woody, piney taste. You can use pepper powder or freshly cracked peppers. For a touch of Asian, you can also swap it with white pepper powder. White pepper is more musty and earthy with mild heat.
- Optional flavoring ingredients: You can play around with the marinade by swapping or adding these optional flavoring ingredients:
- Sesame oil – For a nutty and earthy Asian taste.
- Garlic – Add garlicky flavors with garlic powder or minced garlic.
- Ginger – Use grated ginger to bring a warming taste that is peppery with a hint of citrus.
- Green onions – Impart an oniony taste with chopped green onions or scallions.
- Gochujang – Make it spicy, earthy, and sweet with gochujang.
- Bamboo skewers: Use metal or bamboo skewers. Make sure to use the correct size that fits in your air fryer, or else you will have to cut the bamboo skewers short. If you want to avoid burning the bamboo skewers, you can soak them in cold water first for 15 to 30 minutes before adding the chicken and bell peppers.
- Cooking method alternatives: In case you don’t have an air fryer or are looking for other ways to cook chicken skewers, here are some other cooking methods to consider:
- Grill – The typical way to cook barbecued dishes is using a grill. Preheat the grill to medium heat and cook the chicken skewers on low heat for about 3 minutes on each side. You will have to continuously flip the chicken to avoid burning them. Continue to flip and grill until all sides are evenly cooked and tender.
- Oven – These skewers can also be baked in an oven. Preheat the oven and bake the skewers at 200°C or 400°F for about 15 to 20 minutes or until all sides are cooked.
- Pan or grill pan – Cooking on a pan or grill pan is similar to cooking on a grill. You will have to brush it with oil and cook the skewers on medium heat. Cook each side for about 3 minutes and continuously flip it to avoid burning.
Ingredients And Kitchenware To Prepare
You only need three basic pieces of kitchenware: a knife for chopping, a mixing bowl for marinating, and a foil for lining the air fryer basket. This is another reason why you’ll love this recipe because of its minimal and readily available items and ingredients. The ingredients to prepare are the following:
- 500g of chicken breasts (cut into bite-sized pieces)
- 3 tbsp of cooking wine(Shaoxing wine)
- 3 tbsp of light soy sauce
- 1 tsp of dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp of oyster sauce
- 1/2 tsp of white sugar
- 1/2 tsp of black pepper
- 100g of sliced bell peppers (red, green, or yellow)
- A sprinkle of barbecue seasoning (optional)
- Bamboo or metal skewers
Detailed Steps To Make Chinese Chicken On A Stick
In a nutshell, the chicken is marinated, placed on a skewer with bell peppers, and sprinkled with barbecue seasoning for extra flavor before cooking in the air fryer. Check out my short tutorial video on Instagram or TikTok for more information on the steps. Don’t forget to share and post a comment on your tips and recommendations!
- Clean and slice your chicken into small chunks. Chop the bell peppers into small square slices.
- In a bowl, marinate the chicken pieces with cooking wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, white sugar, and black pepper.
- Mix the ingredients well and let it marinate for 10 minutes.
- After marinating, insert the marinated chicken and bell pepper slices into the skewers.
- Prepare the air fryer basket with foil and place the skewers. Do not stack or overload the air fryer basket with chicken skewers. Otherwise, the chicken will not cook evenly.
- For an extra kick of flavor, sprinkle some barbecue seasoning on the skewers before closing the air fryer basket.
- Spray some oil on top of the chicken sticks. This is optional if you prefer a no-oil recipe.
- Air-fry the skewers at 180°C or 356°F for about 15 minutes.
- Flip the skewers halfway through the cooking time at about 7 minutes and brush them again with the marinade sauce.
- Serve while fresh and hot and enjoy these skewers with a refreshing drink like Refreshing Hand-Brewed Lychee Tea With Lemon.
Chinese Chicken On A Stick (Air-Fried Method)
Ingredients
- 500 g of chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
- 3 tbsp of cooking wine Shaoxing wine
- 3 tbsp of light soy sauce
- 1 tsp of dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp of oyster sauce
- 1/2 tsp of white sugar
- 1/2 tsp of black pepper
- 100 g of sliced bell peppers red, green, or yellow
- A sprinkle of barbecue seasoning optional
- Bamboo or metal skewers
Instructions
- Clean and slice your chicken into small chunks. Chop the bell peppers into small square slices.
- In a bowl, marinate the chicken pieces with cooking wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, white sugar, and black pepper.
- Mix the ingredients well and let it marinate for 10 minutes.
- After marinating, insert the marinated chicken and bell pepper slices into the skewers.
- Prepare the air fryer basket with foil and place the skewers. Do not stack or overload the air fryer basket with chicken skewers. Otherwise, the chicken will not cook evenly.
- For an extra kick of flavor, sprinkle some barbecue seasoning on the skewers before closing the air fryer basket.
- Spray some oil on top of the chicken sticks. This is optional if you prefer a no-oil recipe.
- Air-fry the skewers at 180°C or 356°F for about 15 minutes.
- Flip the skewers halfway through the cooking time at about 7 minutes and brush them again with the marinade sauce.
This was fast, easy and very flavorful! My husband spotted the recipe on his Instagram and I made it today. Served with rice and broccoli.
Marinated it for an hour. Skipped the skewers. Less clean up. Family loved it.
Hi Anna G,
Thank you for trying out the recipe and sharing your feedback! I’m glad to hear that you love it.
Marinating the chicken for an hour and skipping the skewers for less cleanup are great tips.