Chilli Chicken

• portioner: 3 people
• aktiv tid: 20 minutes
• total tid: 50 minutes

Ingredienser

250 grams (9 ounces or ½ lb) sliced boneless chicken cut to 1 by ½ inch

1 ½ teaspoon soya sauce

1 ½ teaspoon chili sauce (sweet and spicy)

¼ tsp ground black pepper (powder)

⅛ teaspoon salt (or as needed)

2 to 3 tablespoons cornstarch (organic white corn flour)

1½ to 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (preferably organic)

1 egg white (use only as needed) or 2 tbsps water (refer pro tips section below to use water)

1 tablespoon soya sauce (naturally brewed)

2 tablespoons red chili sauce (adjust to taste) (sweet & spicy)

2 tablespoons tomato ketchup (adjust to taste, can vary depending on brand)

½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder (optional for color) or paprika or red chili paste

¾ to 1 teaspoon vinegar (rice or apple cider)

½ to 1 teaspoon sugar

2 to 3 tablespoons water

1 medium onion thinly sliced or cubed

1 tablespoon garlic fine chopped

1 to 2 green chilies slit and deseeded (Thai or Indian chili peppers, optional)

¼ to ½ cup bell pepper (capsicum) – cubed

1 sprig spring onion or scallions chopped (optional)

1 to 3 tablespoon Spring onion greens to garnish

To Fry the Chicken

250 grams (½ lb.) grams boneless chicken (preferably breast)

1½ teaspoon red chilli sauce (sweet & spicy, less spicy kind)

1½ teaspoon soya sauce (naturally brewed)

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper (pepper powder)

¼ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (optional) or paprika or red chilli paste

⅛ teaspoon Salt or as needed

2 to 3 tablespoons cornstarch (organic white corn flour)

1½ to 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (preferably organic, optional)

1 egg white (use only as needed) or 2 tbsps water (refer notes)

¼ cup Oil or more for deep frying

For the Chilli Sauce:

1 tablespoon soya sauce (naturally brewed)

2 tablespoons red chilli sauce (adjust to taste) (sweet & spicy)

2 tablespoons tomato ketchup (adjust to taste, can vary depending on brand)

½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder (optional) or paprika or red chili paste

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper (pepper powder)

¾ to 1 teaspoon vinegar (rice or apple cider)

½ to 1 teaspoon sugar

2 to 3 tablespoons water

Other ingredients (veggies)

1½ tbsp oil

1 medium onion thinly sliced or cubed

1 tablespoon garlic fine chopped

¼ to ½ cup bell pepper (capsicum) – cubed

1 to 2 green chilies slit and deseeded (optional)

1 sprig spring onion or scallions chopped (optional)

1 to 3 tablespoon Spring onion greens to garnish

Vejledning

1. To a mixing bowl, add the following ingredients:

Mix all the ingredients to coat the chicken well. If it is too dry, add a splash of water or egg white.

4. This is how the chicken looks. Avoid adding too much egg or water. Cover and keep this aside until you prepare the ingredients for the sauce. You can also refrigerate overnight.

5. Mix together the following ingredients in a small mixing bowl :

Taste test and adjust the sauces.

6. You will also require the following to make the sauce:

Fry Chicken

Instead of frying, you can also air fry or bake the chicken in oven but the results won’t be the same. I have the instructions below to air fry and bake.

7. On a medium flame, heat oil about 1 inch in a deep pan. The oil is hot and ready to fry, when a small portion of batter dropped, sizzles and rises to the surface steadily without browning or burning. Add the chicken pieces one by one without crowding the pan.

8. Fry on a medium high heat stirring often (only after 2 mins) until crisp, golden and evenly cooked from inside. Do not overcook as it can dry out the chicken. When the chicken is cooked completely, bubbles in the oil will begin to reduce. Remove to a kitchen tissue or a wired rack. For extra crisp chicken, once done frying the entire chicken refry them in hot oil.

Bake in the oven, preheat the oven to 200 C or 390 F for at least 15 mins. Place the chicken pieces on a tray lined with parchment paper. Bake for 25 to 30 mins until crisp and cooked through. Turn them to the other side after 12 to 13 mins. Adjust the baking time as every oven is different.

To air fry, place the chicken on a perforated parchment paper. Air fry at 375 F or 180 C for 7 minutes, shake the basket and air fry for another 1 to 2 mins depending on the size of your pieces. Adjust the timings a bit as every air fryer is different.

Make the Chilli Chicken Sauce

9. Heat 1½ tablepsoon oil in the wok or a pan on a high flame. Add garlic and fry for a minute.

10. Add onions, green chilies, spring onions whites and bell pepper. Fry until they turn slightly tender. They must still keep the crunch.

11. Pour the sauces we prepared. Let it bubble and turn thick. Taste test the sauce & the chicken as well at this stage and adjust salt or spice to taste.

12. Add the chicken and toss. Fry on high for 1 minute and sprinkle ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper.

Garnish Chilli Chicken with green onions and serve hot as an appetizer. Hakka noodles or this Vegetable Fried rice & Corn soup are the perfect choices for an Indo-Chinese meal.

Pro Tips

Egg White is an essential ingredient and helps to keep the chicken juicy and tender from inside, without drying out. However if you don’t prefer to use it, you may brine the chicken in buttermilk (3 tbsps yogurt + 2 cups water + ¼ tsp salt) for a minimum of 1 to 4 hours in the refrigerator.

Later drain and pat dry the chicken before mixing in other ingredients.

Food color is also used to bring a deep red color. To avoid that I prefer to use Kashmiri chilli powder for a vibrant color. You can also use paprika.

No fry option: The restaurant versions often makes us grease sick and tend to dehydrate a lot due to plenty of oil and msg used in the sauce. A lot of times the oil used to fry the chicken is reused while making the sauce.

For a fresher flavor, use fresh oil that has a high smoke point. Also using a carbon steel wok imparts those restaurant smoky flavors to a little extent. For a healthier option you can shallow fry, air fry or bake the chicken, details mentioned in the instructions below.

Slice chicken to bite sized pieces, about 1 by ½ inch slices or cubes and add to a mixing bowl.

Add soya sauce, red chilli sauce, black pepper, red chili powder (optional), salt, corn starch and all-purpose flour. (Quantities as mentioned under the section “To Fry the Chicken”).

Add the egg white or water only as needed to bind the flour with the chicken. If the mixture is dry add more egg white or sprinkle some water.

Keep this aside until you prepare the ingredients & the sauce. You can also refrigerate overnight.

Cube the onions & bell pepper. Separate the layers and slit green chilies.

Prepare the sauce in a bowl. Add soya sauce, chili sauce, tomato ketchup, red chili powder, vinegar, sugar and water to a bowl. (Quantities as mentioned under the section "for the chilli sauce"). Mix well. Keep this aside.

Fry Chicken

On a medium flame, heat oil (about 1 inch) in a pan to deep or shallow fry. The oil is hot enough to fry, when a small portion of batter dropped, sizzles and rises to the surface steadily without browning.

Add the chicken pieces one by one without crowding the pan.

Fry on a medium high heat stirring often until crisp, golden and evenly cooked from inside. Do not overcook as it can dry out the chicken.

When the chicken is cooked completely, bubbles in the oil will begin to reduce. Remove to a kitchen tissue or a wired rack.

For extra crisp chicken, refry them in hot oil again on a medium heat.

Make Chilli Chicken Sauce

Heat oil in a wok or pan on a high flame. Add garlic & fry for about a min.

Add onions, bell peppers, spring onion whites and green chilies.

Fry till they turn slightly soft for about a minute or so. The veggies must still be crunchy.

Pour the sauces. Let the sauces bubble up well & slightly thicken. Taste the sauce and chicken as well. Add more salt, spice or sauce as needed.

Add the fried chicken & toss well until it is coated with the sauce. Sauté chili chicken on a high flame for 1 minute and sprinkle black pepper.

Garnish with spring onion greens. Serve chilli chicken immediately hot as appetizer or with fried rice or noodles.

Notater

Egg helps to keep the chicken juicy without drying out. If you wish to leave out the egg, brine the chicken following my pro tips section.

To make chilli chicken gravy: Mix 2 tsps cornstarch with 1 cup water and pour it to the pan. Plus add 1 tbsp more soya sauce, 2 tbsps more chilli sauce and 2 tbsps more tomato ketchup. Taste test and adjust the sauces as needed. When the mixture thickens turn off. Cool the sauce a bit and then add the fried chicken.

You can double the above quantities to triple the gravy. But note that you will have to add a lot of sauces and the entire dish turns out to be so high in carbs due to starch and sauces added. It will also be high in sodium, so you may look for low sodium products.