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 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 Stepsย
- Chicken Batterย
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. Itโs 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.
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.
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.
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.
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
- Prep:ย 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.ย You will not have time to chop or look for ingredients once you start cooking
- Wok:ย 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.
- 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
- 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
- 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.
- Chilli Chicken with Gravy:ย To make this with gravy, double the ingredients for the sauce and use 1 cup water along with 1 ยฝ teaspoon cornflour to make this more saucy.
Check out More Indo-Chinese recipes:
You must use the category slug, not a URL, in the category field.- 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 Girlโs Schezwan Chicken Bowl
- Chinese Hot and Sour Soup with Ramen
- Drums of Heaven โ Spicy and Saucy!
We love fried 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
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Batter:
- 500 grams Chicken thighs / chicken breasts boneless cut into ยพ inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons All purpose flour maida
- 3 tablespoons Cornflour cornstarch
- ยฝ teaspoon Ginger garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon dark Soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Chilli sauce
- ยฝ teaspoon Kashmiri Chilli powder paprika
- ยฝ 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
- ยฝ teaspoon Chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon Synthetic Vinegar
- ยผ cup Water
For the Stir Fry:
- 1 ยฝ 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 ยพ 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 ยผ 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
- Prep:ย 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.ย You will not have time to chop or look for ingredients once you start cooking
- Wok:ย 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.
- 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
- 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
- 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.
- Chilli Chicken with Gravy: To make this with gravy, double the ingredients for the sauce and use 1 cup water along with 1 ยฝ teaspoon cornflour to make this more saucy
Neha says
Hey there! Should we add a little salt according to our taste
Richa says
Sure thing!
Ash says
How can I make chilli chicken with gravy?
Richa says
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
bithika halder says
hii
can i make the chicken with milk?
Richa says
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
Gordafreed Gardin says
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?
Richa says
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.
Anshul Gupta says
Came out really yummy, gave a good surprise to wife.. thanks a lot.
Richa says
Awesome! Love a husband who cooks for his wife!
Divyaraj says
no salt
Richa says
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.
Ann says
Hi Richa, just a quick question. Can I marinade the chicken overnight and keep it in the fridge?
Richa says
Absolutely Ann! That will work beautifully
Ann says
Thanks Richa ๐
Iniya says
Wow... awesome i tried its too good thank u
Richa says
Thank you so much!
LISA MAY says
What is pepper powder? What kind of chili powder?
Richa says
Pepper powder is basically ground pepper. You can use paprika instead of chili powder. Chili powder is usually made with ground red chillies.
Kieran says
Hi Richa,
Thank you for the recipe and would like to give it a try, can you go a little further with the type of ground pepper to be used, is it white pepper, black pepper ?. Some type of red hot pepper, and the type of vinegar .. white vinegar, black vinegar, Rice wine vinegar, sorry for the hassle, living in Australia so it would be of great help,
Thanks in advance
Richa says
Hey Kieran, no problem. I'm referring to ground black pepper and regular white vinegar for this recipe
Theresa P. says
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.
Richa says
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.
Shalini says
Is there any substitute to egg used in the marinade for chicken?
Richa says
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.
Pearl says
I tried it today & came out really well... thanks.๐ป
Richa says
Glad you liked it!
Ishwariya says
Is there a way I can make it without frying???
richagupta says
Not really, you can try baking it but it wouldn't get as crisp and the cornflour will remain mushy.
Partho Mitra says
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! ๐
richagupta says
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 ๐
Anindya Sundar Basu says
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
richagupta says
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 ๐ It's one of my favourites!
Manisha says
The one with hell lotsa green chillies right?
richagupta says
Yea, the gravy is actually green in colour and tastes like it was made with green chilli paste - probably was ๐
Ram says
Which brand soya sauce to use please
Richa says
Ching's soy sauce