Dragon Chicken – Restaurant Style
on Oct 15, 2021, Updated Jun 11, 2025
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Craving something spicy, saucy, and seriously satisfying? Dragon chicken is your answer! This Indo-Chinese favorite brings together crispy fried chicken strips tossed in a bold, fiery sauce that’s addictive AF!
You know those days when you want something fast but not boring? Enter Dragon Chicken. It’s a total lifesaver when you’re craving something satisfying but don’t want to spend hours making it. Start making it RN and you’ll have it ready quicker than takeout!
It’s become a go-to in my house alongside my Crispy Honey Chilli Potatoes, Chinese-Style Paneer Kathi Rolls, and Homemade Momos! Something about that bold, fiery sauce and perfectly fried juicy pieces of chicken make this Indo-Chinese dish totally addictive. You need to try it!
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Ingredients for Dragon Chicken
Here are the main ingredients you’ll need:
- Chicken Thighs: Highly recommend using boneless, skinless thighs because they can withstand the high cooking temps without drying out. If you are not a fan, use breasts instead but cut them slightly thicker
- Egg White: Creates a crispier, lighter coating
- Binding Agents: Rice flour and all purpose flour for the batter which will create the crispy coating. Replace all purpose flour with corn flour for gluten free batter
- Seasoning: Soy sauce, red chilli powder or cayenne, pepper, salt. Don’t skip the chilli powder because it gives it that unique red colour and that spicy kick
- Aromatics: Finely chopped ginger and garlic – lots of it. They add layers and layers of flavour
- Veggies: Onions and capsicum that are cubed. Green capsicum adds spiciness without the heat
- Cashew nuts: You can skip them but we love the texture they add!
- Sauces: Red Chilli sauce (made from scratch – recipe in notes), dark soy sauce (I recommend Chings for that typical Indo chinese flavour), Ketchup (because sweet and spicy) and vinegar
- Cornflour: For thickening. Sub with corn starch, tapioca starch or potato starch
Step by Step Recipe
- Marinate: Marinate the chicken in a mixture of soy sauce, salt, pepper, red chilli powder (or cayenne), rice flour, all purpose flour and egg white. Set this aside while you prep everything else
- Fry: Fry the chicken in about 1 inch oil till crispy and brown on both sides. About 2-3 minutes total
- Saute aromatics in hot oil in a wok. There’s ginger, garlic and red chilli paste. Saute for 30-45 seconds till the chilli paste is fried and doesn’t smell raw anymore
- Saute veggies – onion and capsicum for a minute on high heat till they start turning translucent but still remain crispy
- Saute cashews for 10-15 seconds just to roast them off. I’m using whole cashew nuts. Peanuts would also be amazing here
- Add sauces – soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, salt and pepper
- Stir fry for 10-15 seconds to get everything mixed well
- Thicken with a cornflour slurry – basically cornflour mixed with water. Stir fry for another 15 seconds till you see a thick sauce forming. The sauce should be like glaze because this is a dragon chicken dry and we want the sauce to just coat the chicken
- Add fried Chicken to the wok right before serving. The longer the chicken sits in the sauces, the softer it’ll get
- Toss and serve immediately. Top with some spring onions. This doesn’t need anything else!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it called Dragon Chicken?
The name comes from its spicy, “fire-breathing” flavor! Okayy it’s not thaaaat spicy – but what a fun name!
Is Dragon Chicken the same as Chilli Chicken?
Not exactly! Dragon Chicken is saucier, a little sweeter, and typically made with chicken strips, while Chilli Chicken is chunkier and more savoury.
Is Dragon Chicken an Indo-Chinese recipe?
Yes! Dragon Chicken is an Indo-Chinese recipe – one of my favorites along with Chicken Majestic and Chilli Chicken!
Richa’s Top Tips
- Marinate the chicken for at least 10-15 minutes or up to 2 hours if you have the time. This builds flavour from the inside out
- Prep everything before you start cooking. This is especially important with chinese cooking because the stir frying is always so fast – in this case, the actual stir frying takes only 5 minutes.
Serving Ideas
- Serve hot as an appetizer with cold beer for the adults
- Pair with fried rice or noodles for a full meal.
- Stuff into lettuce wraps for a fun yet light dish!
How To Store Leftover Dragon Chicken
- This Chinese Dragon Chicken is best eaten fresh while crispy, but you can store leftovers for up to 2 days in the fridge.
- Reheat in an oven or air fryer for best texture — avoid microwaving to retain crispness.
Tips To Customise Dragon Chicken
- Use paneer, tofu or babycorn to make a vegetarian version of this recipe
- Just add a little water while tossing the chicken to make it more saucy so you’ll have some gravy if you want this for main course.
Bold, spicy, sticky, and totally irresistible — Dragon Chicken is the kind of recipe that disappears the second it hits the table. Whether you’re cooking for a crowd or just spicing up your weeknight dinner, this is one fiery dish you’ll want on repeat.
Tried it? Tag me at @my_foodstory I love to see your recreations!
Watch Dragon Chicken Recipe Video
Restaurant Style Dragon Chicken
This Dragon Chicken has the same restaurant-style flavor, loads of texture, but is incredibly easy and is ready in 30 minutes–start to finish!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Oil , for frying
Marinade
- 450 Grams Chicken Thigh, boneless, cut into 1/2 inch thickness strips
- 1 Teaspoon Soy Sauce
- ½ – ¾ Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Pepper, crushed
- 1 Teaspoon Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder, or cayenne
- 1 ½ Tablespoons Corn flour
- 1 ½ Tablespoons All Purpose Flour, maida
- 1 Egg White
Stir Fry
- 1 ½ Tablespoons finely chopped Garlic
- 1 ½ Tablespoons finely chopped Ginger
- 1 ½ Tablespoon Red Chilli Paste, can reduce to 2 teaspoon if you want less spicy
- 1 cup Onion, cut into petals
- 1/2 Green Capsicum, cut into 3/4th inch squares, approx 1/2 cup
- 1/2 red capsicum, cut into 3/4th inch squares, approx 1/2 cup
- ¼ Cup Cashew Nuts
- 2 Teaspoons Soy Sauce
- 2 Teaspoons Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Ketchup
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Pepper, crushed
- 1 1/2 Teaspoon Corn Flour
- 1/3 Cup Water
- 2 tablespoons spring onion greens
Instructions
Marinade
- Add all the marinade ingredients into a mixing bowl. Use a pair of tongs or spoons to mix well. Ensure there are no lumps of flour. Set aside.450 Grams Chicken Thigh, 1 Teaspoon Soy Sauce, ½ – ¾ Teaspoon Salt, 1 Teaspoon Pepper, 1 Teaspoon Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder, 1 ½ Tablespoons Corn flour , 1 ½ Tablespoons All Purpose Flour, 1 Egg White
- Heat oil in a frying pan, kadai or wok. Heat enough oil for shallow frying the chicken pieces. Once hot, carefully add the marinated chicken pieces into the oil one at a time. Allow to fry on medium high heat for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.1/4 cup Oil
- Remove the oil used for frying and retain only 2 tablespoons of oil in the wok for stir fry.
Stir Fry
- Heat oil in a wok on high heat. Once hot, add garlic, ginger and red chilli paste. Fry on high heat for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant.1 ½ Tablespoons finely chopped Garlic, 1 ½ Tablespoons finely chopped Ginger, 1 ½ Tablespoon Red Chilli Paste
- Add onions, capsicum and saute on high heat for 2-3 minutes. Add cashew nuts and fry for 1-2 minutes.1 cup Onion, 1/2 Green Capsicum, 1/2 red capsicum, ¼ Cup Cashew Nuts
- Add soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, salt and black pepper. Combine corn flour and 1/3 cup water in a small bowl and add it to the wok. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Add fried chicken pieces and toss to combine. Garnish with spring onion greens and serve hot!2 Teaspoons Soy Sauce, 2 Teaspoons Vinegar, 1 Tablespoon Ketchup, ½ Teaspoon Salt, 1 Teaspoon Pepper, 1 1/2 Teaspoon Corn Flour, 1/3 Cup Water, 2 tablespoons spring onion greens
Video
Notes
- Use chicken thighs vs breast for chicken that stays juicy till the end. Breasts tend to dry out faster
- Make red chilli paste at home if possible. Its easy – soak dried red chillies in hot water for 10-15 minutes and then grind them to a thick paste. Homemade is punchier! But in a pinch, use chilli flakes. If you use chilli flakes, the colour of the sauce won’t be as red
- You can deep fry or shallow fry the chicken. It only needs 2-3 minutes total because the chicken is cut into 1/2 inch strips
- Toss the chicken right before serving so that it still remains crisp. The longer it sits in the sauce the softer it becomes and we are looking for nice, crispy chicken!
Nutrition
Calories: 486kcal, Carbohydrates: 18g, Protein: 23g, Fat: 37g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g, Monounsaturated Fat: 19g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 110mg, Sodium: 865mg, Potassium: 511mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 866IU, Vitamin C: 44mg, Calcium: 42mg, Iron: 2mg
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!
This article was researched and written by Navya Khetarpal.
Can you look at the recipe again? You have double garlic. was that for ginger?
looks healthy & tasty too I will definetely try this one
Hey! You mentioned garlic twice in the list of ingredients in the recipe card. One of them should be ginger, right?
Thanks for pointing that out Debadutta. It’s a typo and you are right, it should be ginger. I’ll change it.
Loved this! Super easy and a great snack night food!
The dragon chicken came out amazingly awesome. It’s simple and fun to make. Everyone must try it out.
Thanks Rhea!