Indian Chinese Chili Chicken Recipe

This is definitely a recipe on the more spicy side but it’ll keep you warm on a cold winter day (for all the Canadians out there, including myself!) It takes about 30 minutes to prepare and 30-40 minutes to cook, but I promise you, it’s worth it! Enjoy! 🌶

Course: Main

Cuisine: Indian Chinese

What you’ll need:

Chicken Marinade & Batter:

4-5 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces 1 tbsp cooking oil (canola or vegetable) 1 tsp salt 1 tsp ground black pepper ½ tsp of chili powder 1 tbsp soy sauce (preferably dark) 3 tbsp cornstarch 6 tbsp all-purpose flour ½ cup of water Canola or vegetable oil for frying 

Chili Gravy:

½ cup of red bell pepper cut into strips or squares ½ cup of green bell pepper cut into strips or squares 1 cup of sweet onion cut into strips or squares ¾ cup of chopped green/spring onion 1 tbsp of minced garlic 1 tbsp of minced ginger 2-3 thai green chilis, finely chopped 2 tbsp cooking oil (canola or vegetable) 2 tbsp soy sauce (preferably dark) 1 tbsp chili sauce ½ tsp of ground white pepper 1 cup of water 1 tbsp cornstarch salt and sugar to taste 

What to do:

Prepare the chicken

1. In a medium-sized bowl, combine oil, salt, black pepper and chili powder. Add the small pieces of chicken to the bowl and mix thoroughly to ensure all of the chicken is covered in marinade.

2. Add soy sauce, cornstarch, all-purpose flour and water to the mixing bowl with chicken. Mix until a thick batter forms around the chicken (you may need to adjust the amount of cornstarch, flour or water depending on the consistency of your mixture). Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.

3. While the chicken is refrigerating, set up your deep fryer or a cooking pan filled halfway with canola or vegetable oil and place it on the stove on medium heat. Set up a baking sheet lined with paper towel nearby.

4. Once the oil is heated (you can test this by dropping some of the batter from the chicken into the oil to see if it begins to fry), place individual pieces of chicken in the oil and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side until the chicken is cooked through and the batter has browned. Be careful not to overcrowd the chicken in the pan/fryer as this can prevent them from becoming crispy!

5. Once cooked, remove the chicken from the oil using a straining spoon and place on the baking tray lined with paper towel to absorb excess oil.

6. Repeat until all of the chicken is cooked. Set the chicken aside.

Prepare the chili gravy

1. In a small bowl, combine ¼ cup of water and 1 tbsp of cornstarch and mix. Set aside for later use.

2. Place a large skillet on medium heat and add 2 tbsp of cooking oil. When the oil is heated, add the minced garlic, minced ginger, thai green chilis, green bell pepper, red bell pepper and sweet onion and cook for approximately 5 minutes.

3. Add soy sauce, chili sauce and ground white pepper to the skillet and mix. Add the fried chicken pieces to the mixture and stir thoroughly so that all of the chicken has been covered in the sauce.

4. Stir in 3/4 cup of water and 3-4 tablespoons of the cornstarch and water mixture into the skillet to create a gravy for the chicken. The cornstarch will allow the sauce to thicken.

5. Taste test! Try a piece of the chicken and add salt and sugar to taste.

6. Once flavoured to your liking, remove from heat, mix in green onions and serve.☺

bon appetit