Spicy Chinese Chicken

Dragon chicken recipe in a wok, an overhead shot

You're going to love my recipe for dragon chicken! This spicy Chinese chicken recipe is easy to make and absolutely delicious.

Course Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine Chinese, Indo-Chinese

Keyword asian chicken recipes, chinese chicken recipe, chinese chicken recipes, dragon chicken

Prep Time 40

Cook Time 20

Total Time 1

Servings people

Calories 504kcal

Author Isabel Laessig

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 marinade
1 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

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