Dragon Chicken is a popular Indian Chinese starter with roasted cashew nuts for texture. Deep fried strips of chicken are tossed with aromatics, onions and capsicum in a spicy, addictive sauce.
450GramsChicken Thighboneless, cut into ½ inch thickness strips
1TeaspoonSoy Sauce
½ - ¾TeaspoonSalt
½TeaspoonPepper
1TeaspoonKashmiri Red Chilli Powderor cayenne
1 ½TablespoonsRice Flour
1 ½TablespoonsAll Purpose Flourmaida
1Egg White
Stir Fry
1 ½Tablespoonsfinely chopped Garlic
1 ½Tablespoonsfinely chopped Garlic
1TablespoonRed Chilli Pastecan reduce to 2 teaspoon if you want less spicy
1mediumOnioncut into chunks
1mediumGreen Capsicumcut into chunks
¼CupCashew Nuts
1TeaspoonSoy Sauce
1TeaspoonVinegar
1TablespoonKetchup
½TeaspoonSalt
½TeaspoonPepperfreshly ground
1TeaspoonCorn Flour
¼CupWater
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.
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.
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.
Add onion and bell pepper and saute on high heat for 2-3 minutes. Add cashew nuts and fry for 1-2 minutes.
Add soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, salt and black pepper. Combine corn flour and ¼ 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. Serve hot!
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
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
Get everything in place or your mise en plac 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!
You can deep fry or shallow fry the chicken. It only needs 2-3 minutes total because the chicken is cut into ½ 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!