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You’re going to love my Spicy Chinese Chicken recipe! This Chinese spicy chicken is shallow-fried in sweet-and-spicy Dragon sauce and is delicious served over rice, noodles, or stir-fry. Ready in less than 30 minutes after marinating!
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Chinese Spicy Chicken
My Dragon Chicken recipe is a restaurant-quality dish with so much flavor. It’s sweet, spicy, tangy, and crispy. Marinate the chicken, then cook it up in less than 30 minutes – it’s the perfect meal prep dinner! Try it with a side of Thai Chicken Meatballs, Chicken Sausage Rolls in my homemade teriyaki sauce, over fluffy white rice, or in chicken-stir fry.
Spicy Asian Chicken
Spicy Chicken Marinade
- Chicken: I use chicken breasts for this recipe. However, you can also use chicken thighs, if you prefer. Keep in mind the cook time for chicken breasts and thighs differs slightly, so use a meat thermometer and my chicken temp chart to track the internal temp of the chicken. For this recipe, both should cook relatively quickly because the pieces are small. Note: You can also use pork, shrimp, prawns, or tofu!
- Egg: As always, I recommend using cage-free or pasture-raised eggs.
- Garlic Ginger Paste: Typically sold in a jar at most grocery stores. If you have trouble finding garlic ginger paste or would rather make your own, you can simply mix together equal parts garlic paste and ginger paste, or make your own paste by mixing chopped garlic and chopped ginger with a little bit of oil in a food processor.
- Soy Sauce: You can also use substitutes such as tamari or coconut aminos.
- Chili Powder: A little bit of extra spice! You can leave it out if you want, but I love that extra kick.
- Cornstarch: For coating the chicken. This will get it nice and crispy.
- Walnut Oil: Perfect for shallow-frying and also great in the dragon sauce. However, you can also use regular or light olive oil or another light, neutral oil of your choice. Do not use extra virgin olive oil, though – it has too low of a smoking point and may burn in this recipe.
- Note: There is no need to add extra salt or pepper. The sauce is seasoned very well and the addition of soy sauce means this dish will already have the necessary salt for flavor.
Dragon Sauce Ingredients
- Walnut Oil: You can also use regular or light olive oil, or another neutral vegetable oil.
- Red Onion: Chopped up finely.
- Garlic Ginger Paste: See above for tips on making your own garlic ginger paste or where to find it in the grocery store.
- Chili Peppers: You will want to get red and green chili peppers. The addition of fresh chopped chili peppers is fantastic in this dragon sauce.
- Ketchup: Regular tomato ketchup is all you need. You could use sugar-free ketchup, but I haven’t tried it myself.
- Honey: For added sweetness and stickiness. Yum!
- Sweet Chili Sauce: Use your favorite bottled sweet chili sauce.
- Soy Sauce: As above, you can use tamari shoyu or coconut aminos if preferred.
- Cashew Nuts: If you have a nut allergy or would prefer to leave them out, feel free to leave out the cashews. But, if you don’t, I definitely recommend trying them. The added crunch is delicious. Note: if cooking for an allergy, be sure to check any bottled ingredients for warnings, too.
- Green Onions: Sliced green onions are a beautiful garnish and flavor addition to dragon sauce. I never leave them out!
Hot and Spicy Chinese Chicken Instructions
- Slice chicken into evenly sized pieces using a sharp knife.
- In a medium bowl mix together the egg, garlic ginger paste, chili powder, cornstarch, and soy sauce to form the chicken marinade.
- Add the raw sliced chicken to the marinade. Stir well so that the marinade fully coats the chicken. Place the marinated chicken in the fridge and chill for at least half an hour to allow the flavors to infuse.
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- Add walnut oil to a hot wok (preferably, but you can use a large skillet) on low heat – you want it to be deep enough to shallow fry the chicken, so about ½ cup oil. Allow the oil to heat up and then carefully add the marinated chicken to the oil, which will begin to sizzle and cook immediately. SAFETY TIP: add the chicken bit by bit to avoid spitting oil.
- Cook the chicken until golden brown and crispy then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
- While the chicken is resting, remove any leftover oil from the pan and place it back on the heat. Add the red onion, garlic ginger paste, and red and green chilis.
- When the onions become soft, add the ketchup, honey, sweet chili sauce, and soy sauce, then stir together well.
- Allow the dragon sauce to come to a simmer before stirring in the crispy chicken.
- Cook for another minute until thick and sticky, then top with cashew nuts and sliced green onions.
Chinese Chicken Recipes FAQ
What is Dragon Chicken?
Dragon chicken is an Indo-Chinese recipe consisting of chicken marinated in a sweet and sticky sauce, before being shallow fried and finished with a fiery dragon sauce. It’s one of the most delicious Chinese chicken dishes you will ever try.
What is shallow frying?
Shallow frying is a method of frying food without fully immersing it in oil. Instead of covering it completely, the oil instead rises about half-way up whichever food you are frying. Many shallow-fried foods have a batter; however, in the case of my dragon chicken recipe, the chicken is instead coated with a thick, sticky marinade before frying.
Dragon Chicken Recipe
Just like my recipe for Chinese prawns, this dragon chicken recipe is one of my favorite dinners! It’s perfect over rice or in stir-fry. My family loves it with stir-fried veggies and a side of stovetop rice. Because all you have to do for prep is marinate the chicken, I love to marinate spicy Chinese chicken ahead of time and have it ready for meal-prep during the week!
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Spicy Chinese Chicken
You're going to love my recipe for dragon chicken! This spicy Chinese chicken recipe is easy to make and absolutely delicious.
Equipment
- Wok (or large skillet)
Ingredients
Spicy Chinese Chicken Marinade
- 2 Chicken breasts sliced into bite sized cubes
- 1 Egg
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic ginger paste*
- 2 Tablespoons Soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Chilli powder
- 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
Cooking Oil
- Walnut oil for shallow frying* about ½ cup
Dragon Sauce
- ½ Tablespoon Walnut oil*
- 1 small red onion
- 2 teaspoons Garlic ginger paste
- 1 Red chilli pepper
- 1 Green chilli pepper
- 3 Tablespoons Tomato ketchup
- 1 teaspoon Honey
- 1 Tablespoon Sweet chilli sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Soy sauce
- Handful of Cashew nuts about ¼ cup
- 3 Green onions
Instructions
- In a medium bowl mix together the egg, garlic ginger paste, chilli powder, cornstarch, and soy sauce to form the chicken marinade1 Egg, 1 Tablespoon Garlic ginger paste*, 2 Tablespoons Soy sauce, 1 teaspoon Chilli powder, 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
- Add the raw sliced chicken to the marinade. Stir well so that the marinade fully coats the chicken. Place the marinated chicken in the fridge and chill for at least half an hour to allow the flavors to infuse.2 Chicken breasts
- Add ½ cup walnut oil to a hot wok (preferably, but you can use a large skillet) on low heat – you want it to be deep enough to shallow fry the chicken. Allow the oil to heat up and then carefully add the marinated chicken to the oil, which will begin to sizzle and cook immediately. TIP: add the chicken bit by bit to avoid violently spitting oil.Walnut oil for shallow frying*
- Cook the chicken until golden brown and crispy then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
- While the chicken is resting, remove any leftover oil from the pan and place back on the heat ready to make the dragon sauce. Begin the sauce by stir-frying the red onion, garlic ginger paste, and red and green chilli in walnut oil. When the onions become soft add the Tomato Ketchup, honey, sweet chilli sauce, and soy sauce, then stir together well.½ Tablespoon Walnut oil*, 1 small red onion, 2 teaspoons Garlic ginger paste, 1 Red chilli pepper, 1 Green chilli pepper, 3 Tablespoons Tomato ketchup, 1 teaspoon Honey, 1 Tablespoon Sweet chilli sauce, 1 Tablespoon Soy sauce
- Allow the dragon sauce to come to a simmer before stirring in the crispy chicken. Cook for another minute until thick and sticky, then top with cashew nuts and sliced green onions.Handful of Cashew nuts, 3 Green onions
Final StepPlease leave a rating and comment below to tell me what you think of the recipe! This helps me know which recipes you’re looking for, so I can continue to provide you with high-quality recipes at no cost.
Notes
- While I recommend using walnut oil for shallow frying and for making the dragon sauce, you can fry this recipe in regular or light olive oil or another frying oil of your choice. I don’t recommend using extra virgin olive oil as this is a high-heat frying recipe, and it has a low smoking point. I recommend the same for the dragon sauce.
- Ginger garlic paste is typically sold in a jar and can be found at most grocery stores. You can also make your own by mixing garlic and ginger in a food processor. An alternative is to use equal parts garlic paste and ginger paste, which can be bought separately.
Nutrition
Calories: 504kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 55gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 226mgSodium: 2066mgPotassium: 1248mgFiber: 3gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 1442IUVitamin C: 46mgCalcium: 57mgIron: 3mg
Photography by Debbie Jones.
Katie says
Would this reheat well? I’m thinking maybe for meal prep?
Em Beitel says
Absolutely! Reheat on low heat on the stove. Thank you for your question!
Diane Barber says
Are the chilling peppers supposed to be chopped, sliced, whole?
Em Beitel says
Hi Diane! They should be chopped. Thank you for your question!
Brenda D says
what kind of chile peppers
Em Beitel says
Hi Brenda! We use both red and green chili peppers. You can use any variety you’d like depending on availability. Thai red chili peppers would be great with this dish.
Rob says
This was really good – Thank you. Nice spice level and the recipe was well written and easy to follow.
Em Beitel says
Thanks so much, Rob! We’re so glad to hear you enjoyed it – and thank you for letting us know about your experience with the recipe!
Michelle Vega says
I made a few adjustments to the recipe. Like I added bell peppers, made my own ginger and garlic paste. Following the basic recipe and it was so delicious. My hubby loved it. So thank you for sharing
Sincerely Mrs. Michelle Vega
From Cali!
Isabel Laessig says
That is awesome to hear, Michelle! So glad you and your husband enjoyed it! Your additions sound fantastic.
Andrew says
Do you have the quantities of the ingredients used in your marinade?
Isabel Laessig says
Hi Andrew! You can find all quantities at the bottom of the page in the recipe card. Thank you and enjoy!
Gina says
The guy at the Asian market didn’t sell walnut oil, so he told me to use peanut oil instead, saying “will work just fine” as he handed a bottle of it to me.
You said that if you don’t have a wok, to use a skillet on low, however, my pan or oil wouldn’t heat up at all, so it that was you meant? I put it on med high instead. I thought the oil was hot enough because it sizzled when I put a piece of the chicken into oil, so I added all the chicken, and it didn’t sizzle. It took some time for the oil to heat up and sizzle. I saw as I took the chicken out to drain that it was suppose to be crunchy…it was not, it was more like a paste. I don’t know if it was because the chicken sat in the oil before it was hot, or because of the peanut oil. However, in the end it was actually good with the “paste” on the chicken, it reminded me of peanut sauce.
The good thing about all of it was that my 14 yr old son finished his plate, which he never does when I cook!
Isabel Laessig says
Hi Gina! I’m so glad you and your son enjoyed the flavor of it! We’ll take another look at the heat levels in the recipe. I think you were right to turn up the heat in this case. As for testing if the oil is ready, see if a wooden spoon handle has bubbles form around it when you dip it into the oil. That means it’s hot enough. It can be a bit tricky to tell otherwise. The texture sounds like it was just a result of the oil not being hot enough when the chicken was added to the pan, but it sounds like it turned out very good regardless! Thank you for letting me know about how this went for you!
Gina says
My son actually requested this for dinner. This time I made sure the oil was hot ( I had to put the heat on Med again to get it hot, but we’re no issues doing it that way ) The chicken didn’t get crispy, and I’m wondering if the pan I use might be too small, although it’s big pan, but maybe it’s just small enough that the oil is deeper than it would be in a wok, and thats why it doesn’t get crispy.
It turned out EXCELLANT like the first time, and once again, my son asked for more once he was done with his first plate of it!! There were no leftovers at all!!
I think I’ll keep doing it the way I am now since he eats it, likes it, and asks for more!! Very rare for a 14 yr old….at least with mine!! 😁
Thanks!!
Isabel Laessig says
Gina, I am so happy to hear your son enjoys it so much. This made my day. I’m sorry it’s not crisping up for you, but if it works, it works, right? Happy cooking, and thank you!