Chile Crisp Chicken Cutlets Recipe (2025)

I baked these breaded “chicken Katsu” pieces on a wire rack over a baking sheet at 400°F for about 30 minutes. No slaving over an oil-frying mess, and just as crispy. The key is to pre-toast panko crumbs with a bit of oil in a frying pan - it only takes a few minutes. It’s a method I learned from Nami of the JOC fame.

Chile Crisp is a Chinese condiment made up if oil, chilies, garlic, shallots, black beans etc. it is fabulous and much more than the sum of its parts. Sorry if you were joking or being ironic.

Hey Nancy, so happy you enjoyed! If you have time, try leaving the breaded cutlets in the refrigerator for a little while, 30 minutes, an hour or even a few hours before frying. It will help set the crust, so it's more durable sticks to that cutlet :)

Can you use an air-fryer for this recipe?

Can these be baked instead of fried? If so, suggestions on temp/time? Thanks!

After breading anything for frying, put them on a cooling rack and put them in the fridge for an hour. This works better than putting them on a plate or pan because it keeps the underside from getting soggy. None I’d the breading will come off during frying.

Fly by Jing Sichuan Chili Crisp is brand I use..had gotten rave reviews, I think in the Times, few years ago..or you can make your own..etc

Good advice on longer refrigeration time for marinated cutlets, Christian. I suggest to also make sure the oil is hot as recipe directs. Also if doing in two batches make sure the oil heats back up for a few minutes before frying the second batch.

I re-heated two left-over cutlets, the next night...in the oven at 375 for 15 minutes or so and they were fabulous...crispy, juicy and the breading stayed on perfectly. Dipped in chili crisp, sweet chili sauce and shoyu. Fabulous.

Fantastic recipe, super simple , and absolutely delicious. Marinated the chicken for about a half an hour, then breaded it and refrigerated for another half hour, it came out Incredibly crispy and flavorful, what a winner.

For everyone asking about air fryer or oven, the only way to know for sure is to try the original recipe and compare it to an air fryer or oven version. I have 4 cutlets in my fridge and play to do in a pan, one in oven and one in air fryer using the same marinade, chilling, etc.

So this was great! Super crispy and pretty quick to put together. I don’t care much for wilted spinach, so I served this with a side of quick-pickled Persian cucumbers — cut them into bite-sized spirals and marinated them for a half hour or so in rice vinegar, soy sauce, and minced garlic. I think they went together well. Oh, and Tammi: there’s a thing called manners.

Hey A O, potentially! I didn't test in an air fryer, but i'd be interested to see how that turns out for you :)

I do a recipe a lot like this in the air fryer at the home and it comes out great. About 375 for 10 mins, flip and another 10 or so. Keep an eye on 'em

Wonderful with thinly shredded raw green cabbage - like a tonkatsu side.

I used red pepper flakes and rice wine vinegar in a pinch and it was still delicious! Can't wait to try it with the intended ingredients.

Omitted the sugar & used low sodium soy sauce & decreased the table salt to 1/4 Tsp. Marinaded the chicken cutlets in a large mixing bowl, not a medium bowl. Used wax paper for the flour & panko dredging. Baked in oven at 350° 15 minutes, flipped then baked for an additional 7 minutes. Tasted fine, slight heat. Added sriracha mayo for dipping.

This is a keeper and despite my fears, it wasn’t too spicy. Just a nice level of heat. I followed the recipe to the letter up to the cooking. Rather than pan-frying, I cooked the cutlets in my air fryer until they hit 160F. Less messy and less oil! And the results were fantastic. Tender, flavorful chicken with a crispy coating. Served them with rice and blistered shishito peppers. Will make again.

It also works well with chicken thighs (boneless, skinless). Pounded or not.

Gosh these are good, although I'd love to know how many tries it took to get everything picture-perfectly browned! Heartily recommend This Little Goat's Chile Crunch.....best I've had so far and you can get it on Amazon (in several varieties), or at one of Izard's Girl and the Goat restaurant locations. Great twist on the usual cutlets.

I followed the recipe exactly. Pounded the chicken (as opposed to the slicing option), and did not refrigerate the breaded cutlets before frying. We loved it!

Wonderful recipe - great taste and texture. Sure to repeat.

I was trying to use up things in my pantry so I served this with Momofuko Soy and Scallion Ramen Noodles and steamed green beans. Very, very good!!!

I made this; the breading was great, but the overall flavor was just meh. I love chile crisp, but this just didn't work for me. Personal preference...

I think that next time I made these, I would possibly halve the amount of sugar. Tasted way too sweet to me.

These are unexpected, in a good way! There's kind of a kung pao chicken vibe with the salty-sweet-spicy-savory thing going on, but much more subtle. Used chicken thighs and they came out super tender—honestly, just barely on the edge of too tender (I wouldn't marinate longer than 30 minutes next time). I didn't need to refrigerate for the breading to stick. Served alongside a peanut sauce-dressed cabbage slaw.

I love chili crisp, so I was really excited for this, but it didn't work for me. My chicken was a little thicker so it took much longer to fry and most breading fell off in the process. Probably would marinade longer next time and try baking like others did.

This chicken is shockingly delicious- WOW

Just made these cutlets. I was so excited that these were made up of chile crisp, ( my favorite condiment) They turned out crispy, moist and flavorful. However, I could have made these as a cutlet without the chile crisp, soy sauce, etc and just added the chile to the cutlet after it was presented at the table. It seemed that after all the hoop-la, it just needed a dollop of chili sauce after they were cooked. I know you all have your preference and that is what this is all about. Anyway.

Wow, these are DELICIOUS! I made the recipe as written but since I'm a total failure at frying, I made them in the oven as mentioned by several other reviewers. I pre-crisped the panko (thanks to those who recommended that step) and the final result was delicious, tender chicken with a fabulous crispy crust. This will be on regular rotation since it uses things I keep on hand AND is very simple to make.