Indo Chinese Chilli Chicken Dry (Hot & Crispy)

Published: Feb 11, 2025 by Tanvi Srivastava Leave a Comment

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Chilli Chicken is an irresistible Indo-Chinese dish of crispy chicken tossed in a bold, spicy, and tangy sauce made with chilies, ginger, garlic, and soy sauce. Packed with umami flavors, it’s perfect as an appetizer or main dish with fried rice or noodles. If you love desi chinese flavors, this restaurant-style recipe is a must-try!

Chilli chicken is one of my husband’s all-time favorite restaurant dishes, so you can imagine the pressure I felt while perfecting this recipe!  Over the past decade, we’ve sampled countless versions in US restaurants, and we have high expectations for the ideal bite.

It needs to be crispy yet slightly chewy—never too hard—with a thin, glossy sauce that clings to the chicken without making it soggy.The heat from the chilies should hit right away—something many places miss by relying too much on ketchup or sweetness.

My favorite version is from Berco’s in Delhi, the fiery kick in their version is unforgettable. Inspired by that, my homemade version isn’t overwhelmingly hot but still delivers a satisfying punch!

What is Chilli Chicken

Chilli Chicken is a popular Indo-Chinese appetizer made with deep-fried boneless chicken pieces tossed in a hot & spicy, chili-infused sauce. While it shares several ingredients with Chicken Manchurian, the two dishes have distinct flavors due to variations in ingredient proportions.

Back in india, we used to order chilli chicken along side hakka noodles or vegetable fried rice as a combination meal. But it is so good served on its own as a starter. You can make it for parties or potlucks, it is always a hit!

My Recipe

1. One of my main goals while developing this spicy chicken recipe was to avoid making it overly tomato-heavy. Many versions rely too much on ketchup, but I prefer to hold back on the tomato and let the heat shine! Chilli chicken, and most Indo-Chinese dishes, are meant to be savory, with garlic, dark soy sauce, and a kick of chilies as the dominant flavors.
2. I experimented with air-frying the chicken to see if it could replicate the deep-fried texture. Unfortunately, the coating turned out dry and slightly gummy (a common issue with cornstarch-heavy marinades) and lacked the crispiness and richness that deep frying provides.
3. To achieve the perfect balance of heat, I incorporate chilies at every stage. I layered the heat—from adding red chili sauce to the marinade to tossing in fresh and dried chilies while stir-frying, and finally, infusing the sauce with two different types of chili sauces. Don’t worry the heat won’t overwhelm you. Of course, you can always dial back the heat to your preference!

My Tips for Making The Best Chilli Chicken

• Cut Chicken into Bite Size (about 1 inch) Pieces – We want them super crispy on the outside and tender & moist on the inside. The right texture of chicken is based on how you prep them. If you cut them into large chunks, the balance of crispy outside versus juicy inside would be missing. Too small chicken will turn chewy and dry.
• Use Indo Chinese Condiments -I’ve always emphasized this in my posts. Visiting Indian grocery stores to source condiments specifically designed for Indo-Chinese recipes is absolutely worth it. Ching’s is the go-to Indian brand for sauces(can be found online too)
• That said, keep in mind that many of these condiments contain MSG. If that’s a concern for you, feel free to substitute (check my suggestions in next sections) as needed to suit your preferences.
• Don’t Make it Sweet (My recommendation)- Unlike your favorite chinese takeout dishes, Indo-Chinese dishes are not meant to be sweet, rather spicy. While a small amount of sugar is often added to balance the savory condiments, Indian chili chicken is distinct from dishes like hot garlic chicken or sweet & spicy chili chicken that you might order from American-Chinese restaurants. It has a bold, spicy, and umami-rich flavor profile, with a focus on heat rather than sweetness.
• Mise en Place – Prepare everything before you start stir-frying so that you can finish the process without having to pause. Once you start, use a carbon steel wok, cook over high heat, and toss the ingredients quickly for that authentic smoky taste.
• Use a Seasoned Wok – It makes a ton of difference in the taste. The thin walls of a seasoned wok allow for rapid heat transfer to create that signature wok hei, & hence the coveted smoky aroma & charred flavor of chili chicken. 

Ingredients

Chicken Marinade

• Boneless Chicken Thighs – Like most of my chicken dishes, use cut up, skinned boneless chicken thighs. Thighs stay moist, can stand up to high heat deep frying & stir frying without drying out and are super flavorful! I don’t recommend chicken breast- it tends to get stringy after deep frying.
• Red Chili Sauce – The hero ingredient! I use Chings Red Chilli Sauce but sriracha or any asian style mildly sweet – spicy sauce can be subbed in a pinch. A good subsititue is Huy Fong Chilli garlic sauce.
• All purpose Flour & Cornstarch – Use a little more corn starch than flour to help chicken stay crispy.
• Red Chili Powder – I use degi mirch whic is a combination of kashmiri red chili powder & (hot) red chilli powder. It has medium heat. You can use jusr kashmiri red chili powder
• Egg – Egg adds fluffiness to the marinade. Some people use only egg whites but I use whole egg. Without it, the cornstarch heavy batter would taste dense.
• Soy Sauce – Usually dark soy sauce is common in indo chinese dishes.
• Salt & Black Pepper

To Make Chilli Sauce

• Ketchup – Just a tablespoon or so to add an acidic sweetness to the saue. Too much will make your chili sauce sweet and gooey.
• Vinegar – I use rice vinegar in my indo chinese recipes and it tastes great. If you indian store carries Ching’s chilli vinegar- that’s good to use!
• Green Chili Sauce – Again, I use Chings brand. This has a great green chilli flavor and kick. You can sub green sriracha if you can find or use extra green chilies.
• Toasted Seasme Oil – For that toasty restaurant style aroma! We just need ¼ teaspoon. It can be skipped if you do not have.
• Onions – Cut into petals so that they soften slightly and their surfaces acquire sweet caramalized flavor.
• Fresh Green Chilies – or thai bird chillies. To add fresh grassy heat. I slit the chilies lengthwise into halves. The more the better!
• Dried Kashmiri Red Chilli – Throw it into the oil at the beginning of stir frying so that the seeds crackle and infuse the oil with flavor and aroma. Sub with red chili flakes.
• Ginger & Garlic – Finely chopped.
• Scallions – White parts and green parts chopped seperately. White parts will be used during stir frying while green parts are a lovely fresh garnish!
• Brown Sugar – to balance the flavors out. Remember that ketchup has sweetness too so use with caution.

How To Make Desi Chilli Chicken

Preparation

1. In a large mixing bowl, add all the marinade ingredients—flour, corn starch, ginger-garlic paste, soy sauce, red chili sauce, kashmiri chili powder, black pepper powder, salt and egg. Start whisking. At first it will feel that you need a splash of water but resist. Slowly the marinade will come together into a smooth pasty consistency.

2. Add the chicken pieces and using hands (best tool!) mix very well to coat. Let marinate for atleast 30 minutes to an hour (maximum).

3. While the chicken is marinating, you can do rest of prep work. Finely chop the ginger and garlic. Cut the scallions and keep the green and white parts seperare. Cut and seperate onions into petals(cubed onion). Slit the green chilies lengthwise into halves.
4. In a medium bowl, mix the stir fry sauce by whisking together soy sauce, red chili sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, green chili sauce, vinegar, salt, black pepper powder, sesame oil and water(or chicken stock). Taste and if you want it sweeter, increase the amount of sugar. My recipe is not sweet, but you can adjust! Set aside.

Deep Fry The Chicken (Chicken Pakora)

5. For frying, I use a 10 inch cast iron pot. Since the marinade has high moisture (egg+ soy sauce+ chicken juices), there might be foaming while deep frying. So choose a high walled cooking pot for frying. Also, you won’t be able to reuse the oil so use a small size pot and fry in 2-3 batches.
6. Fill oil to about 1 inch deep and let heat up on medium high flame. Once the oil reaches approximately 350°F, with the help of spoon, carefully add the marinated chicken pieces in batches. This is a tedious part of the recipe. Will take you about 15-20 minutes to fry about 500g chicken in batches.
7. Deep fry for 5-6 minutes, turning occasionally using a slotted spoon, until golden brown on all sides. Transfer the fried chicken to a tray lined with paper towels to drain excess oil and set aside.

Stir Fry The Chilli Chicken

8. In a separate wok or kadhai, heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil (you may use the oil from deep frying) on high.
9. Add green chilies, ginger, and garlic and scallion white parts. Sauté for about a minute.
10. Stir in the bell pepper & onion petals.Stir-fry over high heat for 1-2 minutes to char them a little but they should remain crunchy.

11. Next, add the fried chicken to the wok.
12. Pour the prepared sauce over the chicken and toss very well to ensure even coating. Stir-fry for another minute or two, then turn off the heat.

Garnish with chopped scallion green parts and plate immediately. Chilli chicken is best served immediately!