Chilli Chicken (Dry)
Chilli chicken, dry, fries battered chicken and tosses it with peppers in a hot Indo-Chinese sauce.
Jump to recipe ↓
1 hrtotal
30 min hands-on30 min hands-off
Prep 10 min · Cook 20 min
- Serves
- 2
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- High
Ingredients
Quantities are for 2 servings.
You'll need: Stovetop.
Includes marination time.
Method
Marinate the chicken: in a bowl, combine the cubed chicken with some of the soy sauce, the ginger-garlic paste, a little of the black pepper, salt and the beaten egg. Coat it thoroughly and leave it to rest for 20 minutes.
20 min
Add the first portion of cornflour and the all-purpose flour straight into the marinated chicken. Toss by hand until a thick, sticky coating covers every piece. Do not add any water.
Heat frying oil to medium-high in a heavy wok or kadhai. Add the chicken pieces one at a time so they do not stick together. Fry for 5-6 minutes until the outside is crisp and golden brown. Lift onto kitchen paper.
5–6 min
Synthesize the slurry: In a dedicated vessel, dissolve the remaining cornflour into water. Hold in reserve.
Make the sauce: heat a measured amount of oil in a wide wok over high heat. Flash-fry the minced garlic, ginger and slit green chillies, tossing quickly for about 15 seconds to bring out the aroma.
15 sec
Introduce the geometric onion and capsicum petals. Perform an aggressive high-heat stir-fry for exactly 1 minute, intentionally blistering the edges while fiercely guarding their internal crunch.
1 min
Throttle back the thermal input. Swiftly incorporate the remaining soy sauce, red chilli sauce, ketchup, vinegar, residual black pepper, and a micro-pinch of salt.
Stir the rested cornflour slurry and pour it into the wok. Keep stirring until the sauce thickens to a glossy glaze, about 30 seconds.
30 sec
Turn off the heat at once. Toss the crisp fried chicken and fresh spring onions into the sauce. Fold quickly so everything is evenly coated before the crust softens.
Deliver to the table with absolute thermal urgency.
How to tell it's done
A crisp, shattering coating around juicy chicken, all of it coated in a sticky, sweet-sour, fiery chilli-garlic sauce.
Getting it right
Tip
Chef's Tip: The defining Indo-Chinese flavor profile hinges entirely on the 'wok-hei' (breath of the wok). This is achieved by subjecting the garlic to blistering high heat until it verges on the precipice of burning, thereby injecting a profound smokiness into the final glaze.
What to serve it with
The apex predator of restaurant starters. Must be presented immediately, pierced with wooden picks, serving as the quintessential companion to Hakka Noodles or robust Fried Rice.
More Indian recipes to cook
Tandoori Prawns
Tandoori prawns marinate prawns in spiced yoghurt and cook them fast so they do not toughen.
Tandoori Soya Chaap
Tandoori soya chaap marinates soy chaap and chars it, the vegetarian answer to a tandoori kebab.
Veg Crispy
Veg crispy batters mixed vegetables and fries them, tossed in a light Indo-Chinese seasoning.
Veg Manchurian (Dry)
Veg manchurian fries vegetable balls and tosses them in a dry Indo-Chinese sauce.
Veg Seekh Kabab
Veg seekh kabab shapes spiced vegetables around skewers and grills them until the outside sets.
Veg Seekh Kebab (Oven/Air Fryer)
Veg seekh kebab, oven-baked, shapes the same spiced mix onto skewers without deep-frying.