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Kolkata Style Chilli Chicken

Print Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Chinese

Ingredients
  

Ingredients

  • 250 gm Boneless Chicken

For the marinate

  • 1 Egg
  • 1 tbsp Dark soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp White chilli vinegar
  • 1 tsp Ginger paste
  • 1 tsp Garlic paste
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • half tsp Black Pepper
  • 1 pinch Baking Soda
  • 1.5 tbsp Cornflour

For breading the chicken

  • 1 cup Cornflour
  • 1 cup All-purpose flour (maida)
  • 0.25 tsp Baking powder
  • 1 tsp Salt

For the sauce

  • 3 - 4 tbsp Vegetable oil
  • 2 Dried red chillies
  • 1 medium sized Onion cut in cubes
  • half Capsicum (3-cm squares)
  • 1 tsp Ginger (finely chopped)
  • 1 tsp Garlic (finely chopped)
  • 10 to 12 Green chillies (2-mm thick, cut on the bias)
  • 1 tsp Dark soya sauce
  • 1 tsp Vinegar
  • 2 tbsp Tomato ketchup
  • 1 tbsp Red chilli sauce
  • 1 tbsp Wreen chilly sauce
  • 1 cup Water
  • 1 pinch MSG (optional)
  • 1 tsp Ground Black pepper
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp Sugar
  • 200 g Oil for frying

Instructions
 

Prep the chicken:

  • Cut the chicken in 3-cm cubes and set aside.
  • Mix together all the ingredients under the For the marinade section.
  • Pour half of this mixture over the chicken cubes, and reserve the other half for use later.
  • Coat the chicken well with the marinade, and set it aside to rest for at least 30 minutes.

Make the sauce:

  • Meanwhile, prep for the sauce.
  • Cut onions and capsicum in 3-cm squares, chop ginger and garlic finely, and cut green chillies and spring onions on the bias. Keep everything chopped and ready.
  • Make a sauce solution by mixing together dark soy, Green chilli sauce, vinegar, ketchup, red chilli sauce, salt, pepper, MSG and water in the proportions given in the 'For the sauce' section.
  • Keep this mixture ready as well.
  • Make a cornflour slurry using ½ tsp cornflour and 1 tsp water. Set aside.
  • Now, once the vegetables, sauce mixture and cornflour slurry are ready, heat up your wok.
  • Add vegetable oil and allow it to smoke.
  • Add dried red chillies, followed by onions and capsicum.
  • Fry on high heat for a minute before adding sugar.
  • Cook the sugar until slightly caramelised (1 minute).This will allow for the creation of the sticky sauce we've come to associate with chilli chicken.
  • Next, add ginger and green chillies, and fry for 30 seconds before adding garlic.
  • Then add the sauce solution.
  • When it comes to a boil, add the cornflour slurry.
  • Turn off the heat. We will come back to the sauce later.

Fry the chicken:

  • To bread the chicken prepare a mixture of corn flour, flour, salt and baking powder in the proportions given in the 'For breading the chicken' section.
  • Now add the remaining half of the marinade we reserved right at the start.
  • Rub it into the flour mixture thoroughly until you it resembles breadcrumbs in texture.
  • Now, taking chicken pieces 2 or 3 at a time, coat them in the breading, pressing it down so that it sticks to the chicken.
  • Drop them in oil on medium heat (at roughly 170°C). Fry until golden brown and crisp.
  • On an adjoining burner, heat up the sauce again. Drain the chicken from the oil and immediately transfer it to the sauce. Toss to coat.
  • Garnish with spring onions and serve immediately, while the chicken is still crisp.