Chilli chicken dry recipe

How to make chilli chicken dry

Learn how to make chilli chicken recipe at home with step by step photo and video instructions.

Chilli chicken is a fusion recipe of Indo Chinese Cuisines which is little bit of spicy and sour.  It is not that much hot or spicy as the name suggest.

Chilli chicken serving with fried rice, Schezwan sauce, spoon and fork in background

Chilli chicken are everyone's favorite. It is especially for all the foodies and cooking enthusiasts.

Chilli chicken is versatile, yummy and extremely easy to make. And the best part is you can easily make it like restaurant style. If you have been looking for such a chilli chicken recipe, you have come to the right place. Here I bring you the step by step guide on how to make chilli chicken recipe at home like restaurant style.

What is chilli chicken?

Chilli chicken is Desi Chinese cuisines most popular stir fried chicken recipe where batter coated chicken pieces are first deep fried and then stir fried with soya chilli based sauces and vegetables. Most chef's favourite dish in restaurant.

Who invented chilli chicken?

Popular theories suggest that during the year of 1975, Nelson Wang invented this famous chilli chicken recipe.

Chilli chicken recipe Indian style is served in most of the restaurants and hotels.  You can easily make this delicious dish at your home without any great efforts.

Ingredients required for chilli chicken
  1. Boneless chicken leg or breast pieces cut into small bite size cubes.
  2. Herbs like ginger, garlic, green chili, green spring onions and red onion.
  3. Cube size vegetables like capsicum, red yellow bell peppers and onion.
  4. Sauce like red chilli sauce, dark soya sauce and green chili sauce (optional)
  5. Pepper powder, sat and cooking oil.
  6. Corn flour, all purpose flour and beaten egg.
Variations

This popular chicken recipe can be made as a dry or gravy preparation. The dry version is the most popular and a favourite to party goers. Whereas the gravy version is served as a side dish with noodles and fried rice.

Serving suggestions

Chilli chicken dry is generally served as an appetizer or snacks. It is served with schezwan sauce or sweet chilly sauce. And other popular side dishes that work nice with it are hakka noodles and fried rice.

Whereas chilli chicken gravy is served as main course side dish along with chicken fried rice and noodles.

Time taken

The total time taken to make the recipe is under thirty minutes which includes fifteen minutes of preparation time and ten minutes of cooking time. You can even keep the chicken to marinate for about another 15 minutes as well. But that is excluded.

Steps to make dry chilli chicken 

1. Marinating and coating

Get all the stuffs ready and keep on the site of cooking. This will not only safe your time but also help to make a dish perfect. Mise en place like a professional kitchen.

First cut chicken into small bite size pieces and apply red chilli sauce, pepper powder and salt.

Then add corn flour, all purpose flour and a beaten egg white. Mix everything nicely so that the chicken pieces are nicely coated. Keep them aside for 15 minutes to absorb the flavours. Otherwise you can fried them. To make it little bit more spicy you can add some green chili paste or sauce in the marination.

Coating batter with chicken for Chilli chicken recipe

 2. Get vegetables and sauces ready

 Cut onion, capsicum and bell peppers into cube size. Similarly  chopped garlic, ginger, onion and spring onions ( green scallions). Keep dark soya sauce, vinegar,  pepper powder and chilly sauce by your side. Onion cutting for chilli chicken are either in cube or dice shape. See the below picture.

Diced capsicum and onions for Chilli chicken recipe

Make a slurry by mixing corn flour with water in a small bowl. Mix one tablespoon corn flour with 1/3 cup water and keep aside to use later.

Corn flour slurry in a bowl for Chilli chicken recipe

3. Frying the Chicken 

Heat oil in a kadai or deep vessel pan on medium flame heat. When the oil become hot, lower the flame to low and carefully add the batter coated chicken pieces one by one into the oil. Fry them on medium heat flame till crisp golden and well cooked. Don't fry them for longer otherwise the resulting chilli chicken become dry.

Deep fried chicken pieces for chilli chicken recipe

Remove them in a absorbent paper or kitchen towel to absorb any excess oil.

Fried chicken on a absorbent paper for chilli chicken recipe

4. Stir frying

 Heat oil in a wok or a non stick pan in high heat flame. Add chopped ginger and garlic. Fry them till light brown. Then add the chopped onions and fry till translucent. Don't fry the onions to become brown.

Chopped onions with ginger and garlic in a pan for chilli chicken recipe

Next add the cubes of capsicum, onion and slits green chili, red and yellow bell peppers if using. Fry them for one minute under high heat.
Stir frying bell peppers, capsicum onion for chilli chicken recipe

Thereafter lower the flame to low and add red chilli sauce, soya sauce and vinegar.  If available then add some red chilly paste as well to make the sauce become more glossy.
Pouring soya sauce with red chilli sauce, vinegar and vegetables for chilli chicken

Mix everything nicely and then pour around 1/3 cup of water. Simmer them for a while.

Simmering vegetables like bell peppers capsicum onion

Next add pepper powder and salt as per taste. You can add some seasoning powder like Maggi or knor to enhance the flavor little bit more. Now add the fried chicken pieces and mix nicely with everything. 
Fried chicken with vegetables and sauces in a pan for chilli chicken recipe

Stir the corn flour slurry and pour over the chicken slowly. Don't pour all the slurry at once.  Use around 2 tablespoon slurry.

Pouring corn flour slurry into chicken pieces for chilli chicken

Start to stir everything again over medium heat flame. The sauce now start to become thick.  Stir fry them nicely so that the chicken pieces are get well coated with the sauces.

Taste the seasoning and if required add some more salt and pepper. And to adjust the appearance and color of the dish, you can add some more soya sauce.

Sprinkle some chopped green spring onions over the chicken and remove to serve hot çhilli chicken dry.

Chilli chicken topped with chopped spring onions

Tips to make juicy and tender chilli chicken
  • Marinate the chicken pieces for 1 - 2 hours.
  • Make a good batter for frying the chicken. Use beaten egg in batter to help to keep the chicken moist from inside.
  • Don't over cook them while frying in oil otherwise they will become dry.
  • You can brine the chicken pieces for few hours to make it more tender and juicy.
Chilli chicken in a serving plate, fried rice, Schezwan sauce, fork and spoon in background

Chilli chicken recipe without coating

You can make chilli chicken without coating with corn flour and maida. After marinating the chicken with red chilly sauce, red chilly paste and salt, shallow fry in a non stick pan with 1/2 tablespoon oil till crisp golden and tender from all sides. Remove and follow the remaining instructions as described above  to make chilli chicken recipe without frying and coating. 

Chilli chicken with bone

Generally Chilli chicken is made with boneless chicken leg pieces or breast pieces but you can make it with bone in chicken pieces as well. 
Chilli chicken with bone are more taste. For this the chicken pieces should be cut into small bite size pieces with bone in. Follow all the given instructions as below just replacing the boneless chicken with bone in chicken.

If you love Chilli chicken recipe then I am sure you will love the 

Chilli chicken recipe

Serving chilli chicken with Schezwan sauce, fried rice. Spoon and fork in background

Chicken chilli is a popular Indo Chinese recipe which is served both as dry and gravy. You can make restaurant style chilli chicken at home and serve with noodles and fried rice.
Prep time     cooking time      serving
15 min.          10 min                       2
Author :- Mobasir hassan

Ingredients 
  • 250 g boneless chicken pieces
  • 1 teaspoon red chilly paste
  • 1 tablespoon red chilly sauce
  • 1 tablespoon  soya sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon vinegar 
  • 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon chopped ginger
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 medium onion cut into dice
  • 1 green capsicum cut into dice
  • 2 green chili ( Slits)
  • 1 teaspoon  pepper powder
  • 3 tablespoon corn flour
  • 1 tablespoon all purpose flour ( Maida)
  • 1 beaten egg white
  • 1/2 cup chopped spring onion green
  • Salt as per taste
  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil
  • Oil for deep frying
Instructions
  1. First cut the chicken pieces into bite size pieces and mix with half tablespoon red chilli sauce, half of the pepper powder and little salt.  Then add two tablespoon corn flour, one tablespoon maida and the beaten egg white. Mix everything nicely so that the chicken pieces are well coated with the batter. Keep them aside for 10 to 15 minutes to marinate and absorb all the flavours.
  2. Cut onion,  capsicum and bell peppers into diced shaped size.  Chopped the green spring onions and slits green chili as well.
  3. Heat oil in a deep vessel pan or kadai over medium heat flame. When the oil become hot lower the flame to low. Add the batter coated chicken pieces carefully one by one.  Fry them till crisp golden and well cooked. Remove them in a absorbent paper to absorb any excess oil.
  4. Make a slurry by mixing 1 tablespoon corn flour with 1/3 cup of water.

Making chicken chilli

  1.  Now heat 1 tablespoon oil in a chinese wok or pan and fry the chopped garlic and ginger till light brown in high flame. Then add the chopped onions and fry till translucent.
  2. Next add the diced onion, capsicum, red and yellow bell peppers and slits green chili. Stir fry them in high flame for 1 minute.
  3. Lower the flame to low and add one tablespoon red chilli sauce, one tablespoon soya sauce and half tablespoon vinegar. Mix and cook for a while.
  4. Pour around 1/3 cup of water and simmer then add the pepper powder and salt as per taste.
  5. Next add the fried chicken pieces, mix and stir fry over high heat flame for 30 seconds.
  6. Pour 2 tablespoon prepared corn flour slurry into the pan and mix well with the chicken and vegetables.
  7. The sauce now start to thicken and get coated with the chicken pieces. Keep the gas flame heat to medium and continue to stir fry till the sauce become thick and nicely coated.
  8. Lower the flame to low and taste the seasoning and if required add some more salt and pepper powder.
  9. Now sprinkle some chopped green spring onions over the chicken and remove to serve hot.

Making chicken chilli gravy 

  1. Add one full cup of water instead of 1/3 cup water in above step and continue the rest of the steps same as above.
  2.  After tasting the seasoning if required add some more salt, pepper powder and chilli sauce.
  3. When the gravy become thick and attain the required consistency sprinkle some chopped green spring onions and remove to serve immediately with noodles and fried rice.
                          Video

        chicken chill recipe video


                         Nutritional value
                         (Serving size 1 serving) 
  • Calories : 284
  • Fats : 15 g
  • Protein : 27.6 g
  • Carbohydrate : 7.8 g
                                Serving tips
  • Chilli chicken dry is served as an appetizer or snacks. And whereas chilli chicken gravy is served as main dish
  • Fried rice like egg fried rice, chicken fried rice are good options to serve along with chilli chicken
  • Noodles is another good side dish for chili chicken.
                        Recipe note
  •  You can add schezwan sauce in the recipe to make it schezwan chilli chicken.
  • Use of green chili paste is optional. It is used to increase the hotness of the dish.
  • You can mix all the sauces in a cup and pour into the mixture at a time and stir fry with the chicken pieces.
  • Take a cup and mix red chilli sauce , red chilly paste, vinegar , tomato sauce and dark soya sauce and mix well .  Add little water into it.After sauteeing the chicken pieces , add this sauces mixture with chicken pieces and coat well stir frying.
  • Red Chilly Paste is used to give it the desired colour . You can use paprika or Kashmiri chilly powder as well in place of chilly paste.
  •  You can make chilli chicken using with bone chicken also. Trust me it really taste well with with bone chicken.
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1 Comments
  • bhavesh
    bhavesh October 26, 2020 at 5:33 PM

    I have tried this amazing chilli chickenn recipe and i found this recipe really an amazing recipe. Thanks for sharing this recipe with all of us.

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