Now make Chinese Chilli Chicken easily at home with this recipe that’ll give you the real deal restaurant style taste! A super simple recipe with juicy chicken, a sweet and spicy sauce and lots of onions and capsicum to snack on.
I’m damn serious about chinese chilli chicken. I’ve only been having chilli chicken for the last 30 years of my life (yes, I’m that old!) and it’s only like my favourite starter to order when we go out.
I’ve always had the best chilli chicken at shady bars and dhabas. I don’t know what it is but a chilled glass of beer and chilli chicken make the best combination.
And like so many of my restaurant favourites, I had to recreate this at home so that it reminds me of that taste.
Chinese Chilli Chicken at home in 3 easy steps
Fried chicken: Start by frying bite sized pieces of chicken in a batter made with all purpose flour, corn flour and some seasoning. This batter should be thick so that it coats the chicken well. I like using boneless, skinless chicken thighs because they have more flavour and remain juicy once they are deep fried. But I have also successfully used chicken breast. Chicken breasts make for thicker pieces. The chicken is fried on high heat (approx 300-350F), for approx 7-8 minutes till the outer coating is a deep golden brown on both sides.
Sauce and Mise en place: While the chicken is frying, keep the sauce and mise en place ready. This basically means that you should prepare and cut the ginger, garlic, onions, capsicum etc that you need so that during the final step of stir frying, there is no delay. This ensures that the ingredients stay crisp and don’t get soggy while stir frying.
Stir Frying Chilli Chicken: Once the chicken is fried and all the ingredients are ready, the final step is to stir fry the chilli chicken. I recommend using a wok or kadhai because it has a wide surface area and allows quick movement while stir frying. The veggies are cooked on high heat for a minute or two and the chicken is stir fried with the sauce for only a few minutes till it’s coated well.
Dry vs with Gravy
This recipe is really forgiving. The steps listed below are for dry chilli chicken, but you can easily make this with more gravy. All you’ll need to do is double the ingredients for the sauce, use 1 cup water and cornflour. Then just proceed with the recipe as is.
This recipe is absolute must if you love Indian Chinese (yes thats a thing) as much as I do! If you are making gravy, serve it with some fried rice or hakka noodles and you have a meal!
I have a step by step recipe video as well that you can watch below:
Watch Chinese Chilli Chicken Recipe Video
Easy Chinese Chilli Chicken Dry
Prep Time: 10 minutes- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4-6 people 1x
Category: Appetizer
Cuisine: Chinese
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Easy recipe for Indian Chinese Chilli Chicken Dry. This will give you fool proof restaurant style chinese chilli chicken every single time! It’s sweet and sour, crispy and spicy. You can also make it with gravy, but dry is our favorite.
Ingredients
For the Batter:
- 500 grams boneless chicken thighs or chicken breasts (cut into 3/4 inch pieces)
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour (maida)
- 3 tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch)
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon chilli sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper powder
- 1 egg
Oil for Frying
For the Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon chilli sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
- 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon distilled vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
For the Stir Fry:
- 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil (neutral flavored)
- 3–4 green chillies (slit lengthwise)
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
- 3 large onions (cut into 1 inch squares)
- 1 large green capsicum (cut into 1 inch squares)
- 2–3 spring onions, finely chopped
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix together all the ingredients listed under marinade (flour, cornflour, ginger garlic paste, soy sauce, chilli sauce, chilli powder, pepper powder and egg) and add chicken. Set aside for 15 minutes to an hour.
- Heat oil for deep frying in a deep pan or kadhai to the depth of 3/4 inches. Once the oil is hot enough (approx 350 F), start adding the chicken pieces and deep fry for 5-8 minutes, turning once or twice till golden brown on both sides. Take the chicken pieces out on a tray lined with tissue to absorb any extra oil and set aside.
- In the meanwhile, whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce (soy sauce, chilli sauce, tomato ketchup, chilli powder and vinegar) with 1/4 cup water and set aside.
- In another wok or kadhai, heat one and a half tablespoons oil and add green chillies, ginger and garlic. Saute for a minute or so and add the cubed onions. Stir fry on high heat for 2-3 minutes and add the capsicum and fried chicken. Toss together and cook for 2 minutes. This helps the chicken take on the smoky flavor from the capsicum.
- Add the sauce to the chicken on high heat and toss well till the sauce coats the chicken. Stir fry for a minute or two and switch off the flame. Top with spring onions and serve immediately!
Notes
Chilli Chicken with Gravy: To make this with gravy, double the ingredients for the sauce and use 1 cup water along with 1 1/2 teaspoon cornflour to make this more saucy.
Hey Richa,
Thank you so much for this recipe. I am making this on my dad’s birthday and want to add some Schezwan to it if possible. Could you please help me on how would this taste and you can I incorporate it into the dish.
★★★★★
Hey Farohar, schezwan would be great in this recipe. If you are adding the sauce, then just mix a tablespoon along with all the other sauces.
Delicious chicken chili recipe
Thank you!
Nice recipe. But I noticed there is no mention of salt. Did it get missed or the recipe doesn’t need it?
Hey Manvi, I don’t feel the need to add salt because all the sauces used have salt in them and theres no need for extra salt in the recipe
Best ever chili chicken recipe I was looking and craving for years. Not just my family, but also my extended family loves it. Delicious!!!
Wohooo! I’m a big chilli chicken snob and this flavour is hard to beat
Hey there! Should we add a little salt according to our taste
Sure thing!
How can I make chilli chicken with gravy?
Hey Ash, I’ll post a recipe for making this with gravy soon. But for now, you can double the ingredients for the sauce, use 3/4 cup water and whisk in a teaspoon of cornflour. Simmer the ingredients for the sauce till they thicken and then toss in the chicken, capsicum etc
hii
can i make the chicken with milk?
Hi Brithika, I don’t understand. Do you want to substitute the egg with milk? The egg helps with binding and also adds crispness to the coating. If you don’t want to use eggs then please use water instead to bind the batter. Apart from that, I’m not sure where you want to use milk to make this chilli chicken
Hello. I’ve made this before and everyone loved it, most especially my hubby. Thanks so much!
One question, I want to make it with more gravy this time. How can I do that?
Hey Gordafreed, so glad your family liked this! To make more gravy, increase the amount of water in the last step to a cup and add 1 teaspoon cornflour to the mixture. The water will increase the liquid and the cornflour will help thicken the sauce.
Came out really yummy, gave a good surprise to wife.. thanks a lot.
Awesome! Love a husband who cooks for his wife!
no salt
Really? Then you can just taste and add some. We didn’t feel the need for any extra salt because all the sauces already have salt in them.
Hi Richa, just a quick question. Can I marinade the chicken overnight and keep it in the fridge?
Absolutely Ann! That will work beautifully
Thanks Richa 🙂
Wow… awesome i tried its too good thank u
Thank you so much!
What is pepper powder? What kind of chili powder?
Pepper powder is basically ground pepper. You can use paprika instead of chili powder. Chili powder is usually made with ground red chillies.
Hi, I just stumbled onto your site. and like what i see. I would like to make this recipe, but need some clarifications on some of the ingredients. I live in the states and don’t know if we have the same ingredients here that you are using. our chili powder contains cumin, paprika, chili powder,oregano. is this the chilli powder you are using? Or is it a single chile in powdered form that you are using? If so, what kind? also,you use chilli sauce. we do have a chilli garlic sauce. would this work? and you call for a capsicum. There are so many different ones here. but in your photo it looks like a red bell pepper cut into large chunks. is that what you used?I would like to make this as authentic as possible. I hope you can help. Thank you for sharing.
Hey Theresa, I’m sorry it took me a while to get back to you. Let me clarify – the chili powder we get in India comes from a single chili (if you really want to try it, its easily available at an Indian store but be warned – it can be quite hot). You can use paprika instead of chili powder. The chilli sauce is just a generic spicy chinese sauce so you can use Sriracha instead. And as for capsicum, I like a combination of red and green bell peppers here. I hope this answers all your queries.
Is there any substitute to egg used in the marinade for chicken?
Hey Shalini, egg is the best way to create this marinade as it lends a crispy coating and also adds moisture. But you can try water or broth instead.
I tried it today & came out really well… thanks.😻
Glad you liked it!
Is there a way I can make it without frying???
Not really, you can try baking it but it wouldn’t get as crisp and the cornflour will remain mushy.
Revisiting your blog after such a long time. I love this recipe because chili chicken is one of those dishes that I keep going back to whenever I want to revisit familiar flavours from my childhood and this recaptures everything I have grown up loving. But honestly, I liked your old blog styling and layout better. Maybe this will grow on me. Keep up the good work! 🙂
Ooooh Chilli Chicken is all of that for me!
We are just trying something new with the layout of the blog. It’s still work in progress 🙂
In kolkata its called Chilli chicken and there is no restaurant (almost) who does not sell Chilli chicken . There are 2 versions one is a dry for snacks and the gravy one is famous as a meal. Great post by the way
Thanks Anindya, Chilli Chicken is the same everywhere in India I think except the Military Hotels in Bangalore where I’ve had a really spicy Green Chilli Chicken 🙂 It’s one of my favourites!
The one with hell lotsa green chillies right?
Yea, the gravy is actually green in colour and tastes like it was made with green chilli paste – probably was 🙂