The Best Chilli Chicken with Gravy | Chinese Recipes with Chicken

The Best Chilli Chicken with Gravy | Chinese Recipes with Chicken

Author: Rumki Paul
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Chinese
Preparation Time: 10 minutes (Excluding the time to marinate Chicken)
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Servings: 3-4 Persons

Chilli Chicken with Gravy is an iconic Indo-Chinese dish which is crazily popular in the different subcontinents of Asia. This salivating dish is mostly accompanied with Fried Rice or Chow Mein. It is the amalgamation of crispy Chicken nuggets with Onions, Garlic, spring Onions, crunchy Bell Peppers in soya sauce gravy.

Chilli Chicken with Gravy is one of my favourite dishes and I always had the desire to prepare this dish at home which will exactly taste like takeaway. I have experimented a lot with this dish to come up with perfect restaurant style taste. Finally, I got the perfect recipe to prepare a perfect Chilli Chicken with Gravy.

When I perfectly prepared the Chinese recipes with Chicken, my family didn’t believe that I had prepared this dish. But after a long explanation, they got convinced and praised my cooking thoroughly. Now it has become our monthly dish as a special Saturday dinner.

This Chilli Chicken with Gravy recipe is very simple and easy to make. It gets prepared very quickly unlike other Chicken recipes. To prepare any Chinese or Indo-Chinese preparation, very common and easily available ingredients are required, and soya sauce is one of them. I have used minimal spices for the gravy preparation.

Chilli Chicken with Gravy recipe with step by step photos and instructions have been provided in the ‘Instructions’ section of the recipe. Before directly jumping into the recipe, let me share few interesting facts about the recipe.

Popularity of Chilli Chicken

Chilli Chicken with Gravy can be eaten as a comfort side with either Chow Mein, Noodles or fried Rice. It is a great option for any party or family get together.

It is one of the most delectable Indo-Chinese Chicken dishes. In India, almost any party is incomplete without Chilli Chicken. In fact, in India, Chinese food means Chilli Chicken and Chicken Fried Rice. There is not a single restaurant in India which does not have Chilli Chicken in their Menu card.

The reason behind its popularity is none other than its supreme taste which keeps pulling our string towards it again and again.

Misconception about Chilli Chicken

Many people think Chilli Chicken means full of Chillies and they are spicy hot. But that’s not true. In Chilli Chicken, very less or almost no spices are added other than ground black Pepper which is not responsible to make the dish chilli hot.

Chilli chicken is in fact a recipe of multiple flavours where spicy shallow fried Chicken pieces are cooked with Garlic, Onions, spring Onions and Bell Peppers in Soya sauce, Chilli sauce, Tomato ketchup and black Pepper.

How to make Chilli Chicken?

To prepare a perfect Chilli Chicken with Gravy Recipe, few things need to be taken care off. I have tried to cover all the steps as mentioned below so that you can get the best result of the dish.

Which portion of chicken to be used in Chilli Chicken?

Normally, boneless and skinless pieces are used for Chilli Chicken. They taste better than Chicken pieces on the bone. Though many people also use Chicken pieces on the bones for this preparation, but I have used boneless pieces. Many restaurants add both boneless Chilli Chicken and Chilli Chicken on the bone in their menu.

In restaurants, they use chicken breast filets for the preparation of the dish. I have done the same for this recipe.

How to marinate the Chicken?

To get the perfectly flavoured crispy Chicken, it is very important to marinate them before cooking. It helps the Chicken to absorb the flavours of spices. But the marination process of Chilli Chicken Dry and Chilli Chicken with Gravy is slightly different from each other. For Chilli Chicken with Gravy, the coating is thinner than Chilli Chicken Dry.

How to crispy fry the Chicken?

In many places, Chicken is deep fried for the dish. But by this process, the Chicken pieces absorb too much Oil which makes the dish unhealthy.

I always prefer to shallow fry them. But during the time of shallow frying, two things need to be taken care of.

How to get the crunchy Onions & Bell Peppers in Chilli Chicken?

Always fry the Onions in medium high flame. Don’t go for slow cooking process for this preparation or else the Onions will lose its crunch.

Same thing applies for Bell Peppers too. Don’t cover the pan or cook them in low flame. Always cook Bell Peppers in medium high flame and toss them properly. This would help you to maintain the crunch of the Bell Peppers and get it cooked properly.

How to flavour up the Chilli Chicken Gravy?

To get the best flavour, always use freshly chopped Garlic and put them first in the pan for frying. Then add Onions and other ingredients. Garlic is one of the most key ingredients of Chilli Chicken for flavouring.

Second most important ingredient for flavouring the dish is Soya sauce. You will get the authentic flavour of Indo-Chinese dish only after adding Soya sauce.

How to make gravy for Chilli Chicken?

For the Chilli Chicken with Gravy recipe, first I have fried garlic in oil and then added Onion chunks into it. I have cooked them in high flame to sustain the perfect crunch. Then I have added ginger-garlic paste into it and cooked it until the raw smell goes away. For Chilli Chicken preparation, I always go a bit heavier with garlic as compared to ginger.

For Chilli Chicken with Gravy recipe, I have added spring onion whites too. It is a very important component of a chilli preparation. It gives a nice flavour and taste to the dish. Then I have thrown the bell peppers into the pan and cooked them in high flame. I have added the Spring Onion greens before adding the sauces into the pan. But don’t overcook them, otherwise they will lose their crunch and you will not get the perfect texture of the dish.

Recipe for chilli chicken gravy is known for its delectable flavoured gravy. For the gravy, I have added concentrated tomato puree, tomato sauce and chilli sauce. Other than these, I have mixed water, salt sugar, soya sauce, corn-starch into a large bowl and poured it into the pan. After letting then get cooked for some time, the gravy gets thick for corn-starch. I have cooked the fried chicken in the soya sauce gravy for 2-3 minutes. Over cooking may spoil the texture of the chicken. I have used only crushed black pepper corns to flavour up the dish.

Ingredients:

• 350 Grams Chicken breast, boneless, skin off & cut into pieces
• 1 Egg
• 1 teaspoon Soya sauce
• ½ teaspoon ground black Pepper
• ½ teaspoon Chilli powder (Optional)
• 1 teaspoon Ginger-Garlic paste
• Salt to taste
• 1 tablespoon Corn starch

• 1 large Onion, diced and separated
• 5 sticks of Spring Onion whites, sliced
• 5 sticks of Spring Onion greens, sliced
• ½ green Bell Pepper, medium diced
• ½ yellow Bell Pepper, medium diced
• 5-6 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon Ginger-Garlic paste
• ½ tablespoon concentrated Tomato puree
• 1 tablespoon Soya sauce
• ½ tablespoon Chilli sauce
• 1 tablespoon Tomato ketchup
• ½ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
• 1 and ½ teaspoons Sugar
• Salt to taste
• 1 tablespoon Corn starch as thickener
• 1 cup Water, for Gravy
• Oil for cooking
• Some greens of Spring onions for garnishing

To Marinate the Chicken
1. First wash and clean the Chicken breast filets and cut them into medium pieces.
2. Transfer the Chicken pieces into a mixing bowl.
   

3. Add Salt, black Pepper, Soya sauce, Ginger-Garlic paste, Chilli powder, corn starch and an Egg into the bowl.
   

4. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly and cover the bowl.
   

5. Allow the Chicken to get marinated for half an hour.To fry the Chicken
   
6. Take a large non-stick pan and put some Oil on it.
7. Once the oil is hot, add the marinated chicken pieces into the pan.
   

8. Shallow fry the Chicken pieces evenly in medium flame from both sides and keep them aside on kitchen tissue.
   

   Tip: Don’t overcook the Chicken as it may become dry.

   To prepare the gravy
   

9. Add a cup of water into a bowl.
   

10. Add salt and sugar into it.
    
    

11. Add corn-starch and give a quick mix.
    

12. Mix soya sauce into the mixture. Keep the bowl aside.
    

13. On the other hand, in the same pan, add some more Oil if required.
14. Once the Oil is hot, add Garlic and fry them till they turn golden in colour.
    

15. Add Onions and fry them in high flame for 2 minutes.
    

16. Add Ginger-Garlic paste and mix them thoroughly.
    

17. Cook them in high flame until the raw smell goes away. Stir occasionally.
18. Add spring onion whites and give a nice toss.
    

19. Add green and red Bell Peppers and stir them properly.
    

20. Cook them in high flame for a minute. Stir in between.
21. Add the concentrated tomato puree and mix it nicely.
    

22. Cook them in high flame for another minute.
23. Add spring onion greens and give a nice mix.
    

24. Add chilli sauce, tomato sauce into the pan and mix it well.
    

25. Add soya sauce mixture into the pan and give a nice stir.
    

    Tip: Stir the soya sauce mixture quickly before adding into the pan. The Corn starch may settle down to the bottom of the mixture.
    

26. Add crushed black pepper corns into the pan and mix it well.
    

27. Cook the gravy in high flame.
28. The gravy will get thicker after some time for corn-starch.
    

29. Let the gravy simmer and then put the flame in low.
30. Add fried chicken pieces (Step 8) into the pan.
    

31. Cook it in low flame for couple of minutes.
    

32. Switch off the flame and put the pan down.