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.

Course Snacks & Appetizers

Cuisine Chinese

Diet Halal

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings Portions

Calories 341kcal

Author Richa

Equipment

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

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
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.
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 ½ teaspoon cornflour to make this more saucy

Nutrition