By Jehan Yusoof  |  Updated September 09, 2026  |  ★ 4.6 (28 reviews)  |  14 Comments.

My family’s go-to devilled chicken(also known as deviled chicken) recipe.
The smell and sound of sizzling oil, ginger and garlic around the house are always followed by someone running into the kitchen asking, “Are you making deviled chicken?”

If you try this, I’d love to know how it turned out; a quick rating or comment really helps other readers decide what to cook.c

What is devilled chicken?

Crispy, tender chicken pieces tossed in a delicious, spicy, mildly sweet, thick sauce.
This restaurant-style devilled chicken can be served as an appetiser or a main dish.
It’s one of my family’s most requested chicken stir-fries to come out of our kitchen.

Why you’ll love this devilled chicken recipe.

• It’s a one-pan, easy-to-make recipe that can be cooked and served immediately.
• Can be made within an hour; if you’ve prepped the ingredients, just 45 minutes.
• So many uses: serve over rice, as a filling for wraps or sandwiches, etc…
• The flavours can be adjusted to your needs.

Ingredients for the Devilled chicken recipe.

• Marinating ingredients.
  • Boneless chicken cubes from chicken thighs or chicken breast, cut into medium-sized pieces.
  • Turmeric powder
  • Red chilli powder
  • Salt to season
• Cooking ingredients.
  • Oil: use any type of cooking oil, preferably coconut or vegetable/sunflower oil.
  • Minced ginger
  • Minced garlic
  • Onions cut into thick wedges
  • Medium-sized tomatoes cut into thick wedges
  • Capsicums or Banana peppers(substitute with bell peppers)
  • Oyster sauce
  • Soy sauce
  • Tomato sauce
  • Red chilli flakes(increase if you need more heat).
  • Red chilli powder(optional)
  • Sugar

Tips and adjustments you can make for the recipe.

• Here’s where you can make little adjustments to suit your tastes.
  • For adults, I increase the heat by adding red chilli sauce(do not use sriracha sauce here).
  • For kids, I have done the devil chicken with extra spoons of sweet chilli sauce. 
• If you want a thicker sauce, add 1/4 cup thick coconut milk to make the devil chicken extra thick and to have a little gravy for my rice and curry menu.
• Taste and make necessary adjustments as given above; check for salt seasoning, and chill.
• Don’t go rinsing the pan you made this chilli chicken in; there’s a lot of goodness coating the pan that you can still use.
  • Drop a cup of cooked rice and mix it with the leftover sauce, and have a few slices of bread.
  • Then wipe the sauce off the pan or simply let the kids use their fingers to lick all that thick sauce.

What you will need in the kitchen.

• Chopping board and knife.
• Bowls to hold ingredients.
• Wooden spoon and tongs.
• Kitchen paper towels are used to absorb excess oil from the fried chicken.
• A large frying pan, wok or skillet to fry the chicken and later assemble all the ingredients to make the devilled chicken stir-fry.
• A platter to serve the spicy chicken fry.

PHOTO TUTORIAL.

How to cook Sri Lankan Devilled chicken.

Step 1: Prep work to make the recipe.

• Prep the chicken cubes or use pre-cut chicken cubes
• Have all the spice powders and sauces ready.
• Minced garlic and ginger separately.
• Cut the onions, tomatoes and green peppers into thick wedges.

Step 2: Marinating the chicken cubes.

Place the chicken parts in a bowl. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, and season with salt. Combine well. Use disposable gloves if you are sensitive to the spices.
Cover and let the chicken parts marinate for 15 to 20 minutes.

Step 3: Frying the chicken.

Choose how you would like to fry the chicken.

• Shallow frying vs deep frying.
  • Try to choose what’s best for you.
    • Deep frying gives you a much crisper chicken.
      • You can fry the pieces evenly on all sides, but this method of frying is not the healthiest option for those who are thinking about wellness.
    • Shallow frying is a better option as you are using less oil.
      • You’ll still get a crispy chicken, but you’ll have to constantly keep turning the chicken to get an even fry. Still, I prefer shallow frying.
    • To make air fryer devilled chicken.
      • You can now use the air fryer chicken tenders recipe to make a way healthier devilled chicken recipe.

To deep fry or shallow fry…
Place a shallow skillet or pan over medium heat.
Pour in the oil and let it heat for a few seconds.
Add the chicken pieces in a single layer.
Shallow fry the chicken pieces on both sides until they turn golden brown and crispy.
Take care not to burn yourself while frying the chicken pieces.
As you fry the chicken pieces, maintain a constant medium heat while tossing them regularly for an even fry.
This should take 10-15 minutes.
Once done, transfer the fried chicken to a paper towel.

Step 4: Make the sauce for the devil chicken

Place the same pan with the remaining oil over medium heat.
Add the minced garlic and ginger to the oil and sauté for two minutes. 

Add the onion wedges, capsicums, and tomatoes to the pan.
Sauté until the capsicums turn slightly soft(should still have a crunch) over medium heat.
5-10 minutes.

Reduce heat to low and pour in the soy sauce, oyster sauce, tomato sauce and red chilli flakes.
Combine and cook for a few minutes.

Add the sugar once the onion and capsicum turn soft with the sauce mixture.
Reduce or increase the amount of sugar as needed.

Once you have the sauce mixture prepared, transfer the crispy chicken pieces to the pan.
Over low heat, combine well and continue to cook for 2 minutes.
Taste and adjust the flavour as per your need.

Cook until the sauce is thick and completely coats the chicken, with a little gravy left in the bottom of the pan.

Frequently asked questions: devilled chicken.

• Is the devilled chicken spicy?
  • By reducing the chilli sauce, chilli flakes, red chilli powder and increasing the sweet sauce or tomato sauce and sugar, you can adjust the heat levels.
• What can I use instead of Banana peppers?
  • Substitute with green or red Bell peppers.
• Is devilled chicken the same as devilled chicken?
  • Yes, they are the same. They are simply the British and American spellings.

Menus for Sri Lankan devilled chicken.

• Rice dishes you can pair with devilled chicken.
  • Plain white rice.
  • Sri Lankan Yellow Rice(turmeric rice)
  • Indian fragrant ghee rice(nei choru).
  • garlic and egg fried rice(in 30 minutes).
• Other Main carbs to serve with devilled chicken.
  • Garlic Naan recipe without yeast.
  • How to make Sri Lankan paratha (godamba)roti.
  • How to make Sri Lankan egg roti/paratha.
• Side dishes you can pair with devilled chicken.
  • Spicy pineapple curry
  • Potato curry.
  • Pumpkin curry(Sri Lankan wattakka curry).
  • Eggplant sweet and sour curry(Sri Lankan brinjal pahi).
• More serving ideas for the devilled chicken recipe.
  • Serve as an appetiser with a few soft pita chips; if you make the devilled chicken in large chunks, they can replace the usual chicken wings.
  • Since these are spicy, make a yoghurt dip or a sweet sauce to balance the heat.
  • Use boneless chicken, and you can make a few gyros for dinner with a green salad on the side.

More Devilled recipes.

• Devilled fish.
• Devilled sausages.
• Sri Lankan spicy devilled Beef. 
• Devilled tuna stir-fry(good as a filling as well.
• Devilled prawn stir-fry. 
• Devilled soya chunks. 
• Devilled chicken wings

Storage, freezing and reheating guide.

• Storing.
  • Once the stir-fry is done, leave it out to cool and store it in a preferably airtight glass container.
  • The stir-fry ingredients might stain new plastic containers. Refrigerate and use within 3 days.
• Freezing.
  • Can be frozen for up to a week, but I would highly recommend not freezing; use within a few days.
• Reheating.
  • If you freeze and need to reheat, leave on the counter to reach room temperature and then reheat over low-medium heat.
• Stop food waste by,
  • Knowing your family members’ eating habits, if you feel that the number of banana peppers and onions will go to waste, simply reduce them by half.
  • Any leftovers can be used in wraps, sandwiches, stir-fry rice, or noodles.

Join me on the ISLANDSMILE YOUTUBE CHANNEL

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JEHAN
Recipe creator. Food Blogger. Video creator
I’ve been cooking and sharing Sri Lankan recipes, along with other dishes I love making at home on Island Smile since 2015. I’ve tested every recipe on this site more than once in my own kitchen before it goes on the blog.
I grew up eating this food, and I still cook it the same way my family taught me, just written down clearly enough that you can follow it too.
If a recipe doesn’t work the way I say it will, tell me in the comments; I read every one, and I’ll help you fix it.