Most people don’t realize just how diverse Indian cuisine can be. Not only are there many regional dishes like vindaloo from Goa, tandoori meats from Punjab, and dum biriyani from Hyderabad. But there are also a few notable fusion cuisines thanks to the region’s long history of cultural exchange and trade. And today we are going to focus on one of the most popular fusion cuisines found in India with the Indo-Chinese dish chilli chicken.
What is Indo-Chinese Cuisine?
Indo-Chinese cuisine is believed to have originated when a few Cantonese families settled in the city of Kolkata in the late 1700s. Naturally, these immigrants brought with them their cooking techniques and favorite dishes. But once they started to open up restaurants they slowly began to adapt their food to better suit the local taste. And in India, this unsurprisingly resulted in a lot more spices being incorporated into the cuisine.
This fusion between Chinese cooking and Indian taste can readily be seen in chilli chicken. At its core, it is a classic Cantonese dish consisting of crispy chunks of meat stir-fried in a sweet and savory sauce. But it also includes a few Indian ingredients like black pepper, chili powder, and green chilies. Which together makes an amazingly delicious dish!
Tips, Tricks & Suggestions
- Try double frying the chicken to make them extra crispy. To do this simply fry the chicken pieces a second time, after they have rested for a couple of minutes from their first fry.
- While you can use any chili based sauce for this recipe I have found sambal oelek is the best and will give you the most authentic taste. I’ll provide a link for this below if you can’t find it at your local grocery store.
- Try out some of our other Great Indian recipes like Buttered chicken, Spinach Dal, and Onion Pakora.
Chilli Chicken Recipe
Prep time: 40 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients
½ to ¾ Lb of boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into inch-sized chunks
Neutral flavored oil, for frying
1 Tablespoon of garlic, minced
½ Tablespoon of ginger, minced
1 Green onion, minced, plus more for garnish
1 to 2 Green chilies or Thai chilies, sliced (optional)
½ Small onion, cut into squares
½ Bell pepper, cut into squares
For the marinade:
1 Teaspoon of soy sauce
1 Teaspoon of chili sauce
½ Teaspoon of salt
¼ Teaspoon of black pepper
¼ Teaspoon of chili powder
2 Tablespoons of corn starch
1 Tablespoon of all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons of water
For the sauce:
1 Tablespoon of soy sauce
2 Tablespoons of chili sauce
1½ Tablespoons of ketchup
1 Teaspoon of white vinegar
1 Teaspoon of sugar
½ Teaspoon of chili powder
½ Teaspoon of salt
¼ Teaspoon of black pepper
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken: Get out a medium-sized bowl and add both the chicken and all of the marinade ingredients. You a spoon to mix it all up, until a batter is formed and it coats every piece of chicken.
Set this in your fridge to marinate for 30 minutes to two hours.
- Make the sauce: Get out another medium-sized bowl and add the sauce ingredients to it. Then use either a whisk or a fork to mix the ingredients together.
- Fry the chicken: Pour a ½ inch layer of oil into a walled pan/skillet and place it over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot place the chicken pieces into the oil making sure that it’s not overcrowded and no pieces are touching each other. Shallow fry the chicken pieces in the oil for about 5 to 8 minutes, or until they have become golden brown and crispy.
Take the fried chicken pieces out, place them on some paper towels, and set them aside.
- Stir fry the aromatics and vegetables: Clean the pan/skillet that you were using, pour 1 tablespoon of oil into it, and place it back over medium-high heat. Toss in the garlic, ginger, green chilies, and green onions, sauteeing the ingredients for 1 minute. Then toss in the onion and bell pepper and continue to sautee everything for 2 more minutes.
- Finish the dish: Pour the sauce into your pan/skillet and stir so that it coats the vegetables and aromatics. Let the sauce come to a low boil then toss in the fried chicken. Stir until the sauce coats every piece of chicken.
- Pour the chili chicken onto a plate, garnish with extra green onion, and enjoy immediately.
Chilli Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ to ¾ Lb of boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into inch-sized chunks
- Neutral flavored oil for frying
- 1 Tablespoon of garlic minced
- ½ Tablespoon of ginger minced
- 1 Green onion minced, plus more for garnish
- 1 to 2 Green chilies or Thai chilies sliced (optional)
- ½ Small onion cut into squares
- ½ Bell pepper cut into squares
For the marinade:
- 1 Teaspoon of soy sauce
- 1 Teaspoon of chili sauce
- ½ Teaspoon of salt
- ¼ Teaspoon of black pepper
- ¼ Teaspoon of chili powder
- 2 Tablespoons of corn starch
- 1 Tablespoon of all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons of water
For the sauce:
- 1 Tablespoon of soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons of chili sauce
- 1½ Tablespoons of ketchup
- 1 Teaspoon of white vinegar
- 1 Teaspoon of sugar
- ½ Teaspoon of chili powder
- ½ Teaspoon of salt
- ¼ Teaspoon of black pepper
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken: Get out a medium-sized bowl and add both the chicken and all of the marinade ingredients. You a spoon to mix it all up, until a batter is formed and it coats every piece of chicken. Set this in your fridge to marinate for 30 minutes to two hours.
- Make the sauce: Get out another medium-sized bowl and add the sauce ingredients to it. Then use either a whisk or a fork to mix the ingredients together.
- Fry the chicken: Pour a ½ inch layer of oil into a walled pan/skillet and place it over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot place the chicken pieces into the oil making sure that it’s not overcrowded and no pieces are touching each other. Shallow fry the chicken pieces in the oil for about 5 to 8 minutes, or until they have become golden brown and crispy. Take the fried chicken pieces out, place them on some paper towels, and set them aside.
- Stir fry the aromatics and vegetables: Clean the pan/skillet that you were using, pour 1 tablespoon of oil into it, and place it back over medium-high heat. Toss in the garlic, ginger, green chilies, and green onions, sauteeing the ingredients for 1 minute. Then toss in the onion and bell pepper and continue to sautee everything for 2 more minutes.
- Finish the dish: Pour the sauce into your pan/skillet and stir so that it coats the vegetables and aromatics. Let the sauce come to a low boil then toss in the fried chicken. Stir until the sauce coats every piece of chicken.
- Pour the chili chicken onto a plate, garnish with extra green onion, and enjoy immediately.
