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    Home » Appetizers

    Published: Jan 11, 2022 by Richa · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Easy Chinese Chilli Chicken Dry

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    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.

    Easy Chinese Chilli Chicken Dry in a black wok.

    I love Indo Chinese food and 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 favorite 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 favorites, I had to recreate this at home so that it reminds me of that taste.

    How to make Chilli Chicken in 6 Easy Steps 

    Step by step picture collage showing how to marinate chicken
    1. Chicken Batter 

    The batter is really simple - just add all the ingredients and mix to combine. Ensure there are no lumps in the batter. The ingredients that go into this mix are meant to season the chicken as well so be sure to season, taste and adjust to your liking!

    2. Coat 

    Add small bite sized chunks of boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs (the best for this recipe) to the batter. Mix everything together and allow it to marinate for at least an hour to get the best results. It’s always best to marinate for a long duration. You can even marinate it overnight - just seal the chicken in an airtight container and place it in the fridge. 

    Step by step picture collage showing how to deep fry chicken

    3. Deep Fry 

    The chicken is fried on high heat (approx 350F), for approx 4-5 minutes till the outer coating is a deep golden brown on both sides. If the oil is too hot, you risk undercooking the chicken and if the oil is too cold, then you might over cook the chicken making it tough and chewy. 

    Step by step picture collage showing how to make sauce and stir fry

    4. Sauce

    Always prep all ingredients before you begin to stir fry. The most important is the sauce mix. This allows you to taste and adjust the seasoning beforehand. Chinese cooking is all about speed. If you end up spending extra time adjusting the sauce while stir frying, you could overcook the whole dish!

    5. Saute

    Saute on high heat! Keep the heat as high as it can go and quickly stir fry all the mentioned ingredients. The high heat will ensure the aromatics and vegetables are tender but still remain crunchy. If you saute it for too long or on low heat, they tend to get soggy and lose all the natural crispness. 

    Step by step picture collage showing how to add sauce and finish cooking the chilli chicken

    6. Toss

    The final step is to add the fried chicken and sauce mix and toss everything together. This is where all the magic happens. You can smell each ingredient and see the whole dish come to life in this step. As the sauce thickens, the elements all come together and get coated with a glossy sauce. And voila! Restaurant style Chilli Chicken made in the comfort of your own home.

    Easy Chinese Chilli Chicken Dry in a black wok.

    Chilli Chicken Dry vs Chilli Chicken 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 an absolute must if you love Indo-Chinese (yes that's 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!

    Richa's Top Tips

    1. Prep: Keep all the ingredients chopped and ready to go before starting the cooking process. As with most Indo-Chinese dishes, the stir-frying bit has to happen quickly and on a high flame. You will not have time to chop or look for ingredients once you start cooking
    2. Wok: A well-seasoned wok adds an intense smoky flavour to the dish - this is what restaurants use for all Chinese cooking and what gives the food that distinct smoky flavour. I would suggest using a wok for Asian dishes in general. If you do not have one you can use a pan or a kadai.
    3. Red Colour: Most restaurants use red food colour which gives chilli chicken its distinct colour, but at home, kashmiri chilli powder does the same work. The colour is more orange than red but thats the only difference
    4. MSG: I don't have strong opinions about MSG. Most restaurants use them in Chinese cooking and it definitely boosts the flavour of food. I generally don't use it at home
    5. Cut of Chicken: I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe but you can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. The key is to fry them on high heat for only a few minutes so the chicken doesn't dry out.
    6. Chilli Chicken with Gravy: To make this with gravy, double the ingredients for the sauce and use 1 cup water along with 1 ½ teaspoon cornflour to make this more saucy.

    Check out More Indo-Chinese recipes:

    • Crispy Honey Chilli Potatoes - so easy to make at home!
    • Salt and Pepper Chicken
    • Veg Manchurian | How to make Manchurian
    • Dragon Chicken - Restaurant Style
    • Crunchy Chinese Chicken Salad
    • Chinese Cashew Chicken Noodles Stir-Fry
    • Chinese Potli Samosa Wontons
    • One Pan Veg Noodle and Manchurian Stir Fry
    • Crispy Tofu Broccoli Stir Fry
    • Lazy Girl’s Schezwan Chicken Bowl
    • Chinese Hot and Sour Soup with Ramen
    • Drums of Heaven – Spicy and Saucy!

    We love fried rice!

    • Burnt Garlic Mushroom Fried Rice
    • Egg Fried Rice
    • Schezwan Fried Rice
    • Low Carb Asian Cauliflower Rice

    For the Indo-Chinese Chilli Chicken, I have a step by step recipe video as well that you can watch below:

    Watch Chilli Chicken Recipe Video

    Easy Chinese Chilli Chicken Dry in a black wok.

    Easy Chinese Chilli Chicken Dry

    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.
    4.93 from 42 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Snacks & Appetizers
    Cuisine: Chinese
    Diet: Halal
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes
    Servings: 5 Portions
    Calories: 341kcal
    Author: Richa

    Equipment

    • Wok

    Ingredients

    For the Batter:

    • 500 grams Chicken thighs / chicken breasts boneless cut into ¾ inch pieces
    • 3 tablespoons All purpose flour maida
    • 3 tablespoons Cornflour cornstarch
    • ½ teaspoon Ginger garlic paste
    • 1 tablespoon dark Soy sauce
    • 1 tablespoon Chilli sauce
    • ½ teaspoon Kashmiri Chilli powder paprika
    • ½ teaspoon Black Pepper powder
    • 1 Egg
    • Oil for Frying

    For the Sauce:

    • 2 tablespoon dark Soy sauce
    • 1 tablespoon Chilli sauce
    • 2 tablespoons Tomato ketchup
    • ½ teaspoon Chilli powder
    • 1 teaspoon Synthetic Vinegar
    • ¼ cup Water

    For the Stir Fry:

    • 1 ½ tablespoons Vegetable oil neutral flavored like canola, rice bran or sunflower
    • 3-4 Green chillies slit lengthwise
    • 1 teaspoon finely chopped Garlic
    • 1 teaspoon finely chopped Ginger
    • 3 medium Onions cut into 1 inch squares, approx 1.5 cups
    • 1 medium green Capsicum cut into 1 inch squares, approx 1 cup
    • 2 tablespoon finely chopped Spring onions (green part only)

    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 ¾ inches. Once the oil is hot enough (approx 350 F), start adding the chicken pieces and deep fry for 5-6 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 ¼ 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!

    Video

    Notes

    1. Prep: Keep all the ingredients chopped and ready to go before starting the cooking process. As with most Indo-Chinese dishes, the stir-frying bit has to happen quickly and on a high flame. You will not have time to chop or look for ingredients once you start cooking
    2. Wok: A well-seasoned wok adds an intense smoky flavour to the dish - this is what restaurants use for all Chinese cooking and what gives the food that distinct smoky flavour. I would suggest using a wok for Asian dishes in general. If you do not have one you can use a pan or a kadai.
    3. Red Colour: Most restaurants use red food colour which gives chilli chicken its distinct colour, but at home, Kashmiri chilli powder does the same work. The colour is more orange than red but that's the only difference
    4. MSG: I don't have strong opinions about MSG. Most restaurants use them in Chinese cooking and it definitely boosts the flavour of food. I generally don't use it at home
    5. Cut of Chicken: I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe but you can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. The key is to fry them on high heat for only a few minutes so the chicken doesn't dry out.
    6. Chilli Chicken with Gravy: To make this with gravy, double the ingredients for the sauce and use 1 cup water along with 1 ½ teaspoon cornflour to make this more saucy

    Nutrition

    Calories: 341kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 160mg | Sodium: 1154mg | Potassium: 563mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 648IU | Vitamin C: 36mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 2mg
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Shivangi Taunk says

      June 29, 2022 at 7:31 am

      5 stars
      I’ve never ever eaten and definitely not cooked tasted a better chilly chicken than this !

      Reply
    2. Chilly says

      June 07, 2022 at 12:35 pm

      Can we keep the marination/batter overnight??

      Reply
      • Richa says

        June 27, 2022 at 5:26 pm

        Sure you can

        Reply
    3. Grace V says

      April 16, 2022 at 7:10 pm

      Made this recipe and it’s definitely 5/5. Just delicious. Appreciate this creation; also the difference defined between “dry” vs “gravy”. Thanks Richa!

      Reply
    4. GraceV says

      April 16, 2022 at 7:09 pm

      5 stars
      Made this recipe and it’s definitely 5/5. Just deliciou!. Appreciate this creation; also the difference defined between “dry” vs “gravy”. Thanks Richa!

      Reply
    5. mamtapandy says

      December 22, 2021 at 5:03 am

      5 stars
      I have seen that every person wants to express his feelings in his mind but he is not able to express his feelings properly in words but the content you have written in your post is very beautiful, it seems that you have expressed their feelings. Hi, you are a very beautiful post writer, similarly keep writing new posts in your life, our best wishes are with you.

      Reply
    6. Niti says

      October 22, 2021 at 12:19 pm

      5 stars
      It was just so tasty! Easy to make and just the perfect amount of chilli!!

      Reply
    7. Lata says

      June 04, 2021 at 8:03 pm

      I wish I could get the print version of your recipe’s

      Reply
      • Richa says

        June 10, 2021 at 6:11 pm

        They are available in the recipe card or right on top of the post. You just have to click the print button and it'll give you the option

        Reply
    8. Gautam says

      May 30, 2021 at 9:35 pm

      Any alternative of corn flour?

      Reply
      • Richa says

        June 10, 2021 at 6:19 pm

        You can use potato or tapioca starch

        Reply
        • mahi patel says

          November 18, 2021 at 3:47 am

          5 stars
          I go to many corners of the world in search of delicious food but i loved that food until i saw your post i saw your post and i tasted the food you made i want to say that my best experience hai now i can taste better your post now i don't need to go around for taste.

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    Hi I'm Richa! the cook, writer and photographer behind this little blog. I’ve grown up in the kitchen along side my mum and grandmothers and conversations in my family are always about the next meal. I’ve picked up their love for food along the way, and with this blog, I share my food story with you.

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