by Maya Last Updated on 17 Comments
Jump to Recipe
This Chinese Almond Chicken is just like your favorite dish at your local Chinese restaurant.
Have you ever had Chinese Almond Chicken? It’s called something different in each individual restaurant, Boneless BBQ Chicken, Boneless Almond Chicken. No matter what it’s called though it remains one of my favorite Chinese dishes. Crunchy tempura battered chicken sets on top of wilted lettuce and then gets topped with an almond gravy, sliced almonds, green onions, and hot Chinese mustard. There’s nothing better.
I’ve been craving this chicken for awhile and knew that I had the perfect batter recipe but just needed to master the sauce. I found a pretty good looking recipe on Food.com and made a few tweaks. It tastes EXACTLY like the dish I remember! We had a bit of leftover gravy and I’m sitting here this morning having a bowl of wilted lettuce drenched in gravy with the almonds, green onions, and hot mustard for breakfast. That’s how much I LOVE it. Like I can’t get enough and I’m pretty sure I’ll be keeping this gravy on hand at.all.times. At least until I eat it every day for two weeks and then I’m tired of it and won’t make it again for a year because that’s what I do.
I use the same batter as with my Baja Fish Tacos except I used sparkling water instead of plain to give it more of a tempura like texture. Worked like a charm. This chicken is everything you want tempura chicken to be. Incredibly crunchy on the outside and moist and tender in the middle. I just use a bit of coconut oil to fry them in. I recommend using a wok because it’s shallow and you won’t need much oil. Just enough to come up half the side of the chicken. One flip and you’ve got perfectly fried chicken.
RECIPE CARD
Chinese Almond Chicken Recipe
This Chinese Almond Chicken is just like your favorite dish at your local Chinese restaurant except that it's Paleo! Almond fried chicken is allergen-free and delicious.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Chinese
Keyword almond chicken chinese, almond chicken recipe, almond fried chicken, chinese almond chicken
Calories 407 kcal
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Author Maya Krampf from WickedSpatula.com
Servings 4 servings
★ Review Print
Ingredients
Please ensure Safari reader mode is OFF to view ingredients.
Tempura Chicken
- 4 medium Chicken breasts (flattened to 1/4 inch thickness)
- 1 cup Tapioca flour
- 1/4 cup Sparkling water
- 1 large Egg
- 1 pinch Sea salt
- Refined coconut oil (for frying - refined doesn't have a coconut flavor)
Gravy
- 6 tablespoons Tapioca flour
- 3 tablespoons Water
- 3 cups Chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons Ghee
- 2 tablespoons Coconut aminos
- 1/4 teaspoon Almond extract
- 1 Chicken bouillon cube
- Sea salt (to taste)
- Black pepper (to taste)
Toppings
- Iceberg lettuce (shredded)
- Sliced almonds
- Green onions (sliced)
- Hot Chinese mustard (essential for the full flavor profile)
Click to convert between US & metric measurements:
US Customary - Metric
Instructions
More TIPS about this paleo recipe in the post above!
To make the gravy: In a large saucepot over high heat whisk the tapioca starch and water together. Stir in the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce heat and keep warm.
Fry the chicken: Flatten the chicken breasts. Whisk together the batter ingredients until smooth. In a large wok over high heat, heat about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of refined coconut oil until very hot. Working in batches, dip the chicken into the batter and allow a bit of the excess to drip off before dropping it directly into the hot oil. Give the chicken a little nudge with a wooden spoon to loosen any bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan. Let fry about 5 minutes per side until crispy and golden. Remove and drain on paper towels, repeat with remaining chicken. You can also cook the chicken using an air fryer.
Assemble the dish: Place a bed of shredded lettuce on a plate and top with the hot chicken, pour gravy over top and top with almonds, green onions, and mustard.
Recipe Notes
Serving Size: 1 piece of chicken
Nutrition Information Per Serving
Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.
Calories 407
Fat 16g
Protein 27g
Total Carbs 39g
Net Carbs 39g
Fiber 0g
Sugar 1g
Where does nutrition info come from? Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy, sourced from the USDA Food Database. Net carb count excludes both fiber and sugar alcohols (though the latter are rarely seen on this site), because these do not affect blood sugar in most people. We try to be accurate, but feel free to make your own calculations.
© Copyright Wicked Spatula. We'd LOVE for you to share a link to this recipe, but please DO NOT COPY/PASTE the recipe instructions to social media or websites. You may share a photo with a link back instead.
Did you make this recipe?
Click here to leave a comment + star rating! ★★★★★
Then, share a pic on Instagram. Tag @wickedspatula or #wickedspatula!
Reader Interactions
rubianne lander
ReplyDo not stir starch and water in the beginning…stir together add to other ingredients
Christie
Replycoconut aminos are made from coconut blossom sap and salt. It has a soy sauce or umami type flavor and is a soy and gluten free option for those who want the soy sauce flavor but can’t use the regular stuff.
Laurie Jaeger
Reply
Since we cook for 2, we were able to enjoy this great dish twice! The hot mustard is an absolute must. It was amazing how it changed the flavor, from the chicken and gravy without it. We had to make a couple of substitutions for ingredients we didn’t have like Ghee (we used butter and olive oil), Tapioca Flour (we used 1/2 the amount with corn starch; and lastly we substituted low sodium soy sauce for the Coconut Aminos. We had all of the ingredients we needed without going to the store and it was still Fabulous!!!Gary Stewart
Reply
I used to buy this in Detroit at the China Dragon, it came with a lemon flavored sauce. OMG !! It was so good . Can’t find it anywhere in Fort LauderdaleShelly
Reply
It tasted great but boy did I have an issue with the gravy. I feel 6tablespoons of tapioca is way too much. My gravy came out like that slime that kids are making. It was stiff so so stiff… but tases greatRobert Kynaston
ReplyPlease….Where in San Antonio Texas can I enjoy ?
Mary
ReplyWhat are coconut aminos and where can I buy them? If they are tricky to find in the grocery store is ther a substitute.?
Mary holton
ReplyThe best almond chicken I’ve ever made. Making it again for Easter dinner.
Mary holton
ReplyThe best almond chicken! I’ve made it for holidays and family requests it again for Easter.
Maureen
ReplyIt looks like I need to try this Chinese almond chicken. Why? Because it sounds and looks really delicious! I think I will really love that Almond gravy. And I really appreciate the fresh lettuce. Really lovely!
Healing Tomato
ReplyI have never tried to cook a main dish with Almonds. This is very creative. Great recipe.
Barbara | Creative Culinary
ReplyI never think of ordering salad at a Chinese Restaurant but not sure why…or why I should now. I’ll just make this; sound divine.
Amanda @ Cookie Named Desire
Replyi don’t think I’ve tried almond chicken yet, but it sounds amazing! I’ve had something similar, but without the almonds. It’s probably a million times better with the almond gravy though mmmmm
jean | lemons & anchovies
ReplyIf it’s a dish I love, I’d eat it for breakfast, too. I’m more of a savory breakfast girl anyway. This almond chicken looks so good, I don’t think it would take more than a couple of bites for me to fall in love with it. Love almonds in savory dishes!
Becky Winkler (A Calculated Whisk)
ReplyThis looks delicious! I’ve never had almond chicken at a Chinese restaurant but I’m sure I would LOVE your version.
Judy@ImBoredLetsGo
ReplyI’ve never tried the almond chicken at the restaurants before. Your recipe sounds, and looks, absolutely delicious!
pam (Sidewalk Shoes)
ReplyI think I’d have that gravy for breakfast too!
