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Kolkata Style Chilli Chicken

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

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

Method
 

Prep the chicken:
  1. Cut the chicken in 3-cm cubes and set aside.
  2. Mix together all the ingredients under the For the marinade section.
  3. Pour half of this mixture over the chicken cubes, and reserve the other half for use later.
  4. Coat the chicken well with the marinade, and set it aside to rest for at least 30 minutes.
Make the sauce:
  1. Meanwhile, prep for the sauce.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Keep this mixture ready as well.
  5. Make a cornflour slurry using ½ tsp cornflour and 1 tsp water. Set aside.
  6. Now, once the vegetables, sauce mixture and cornflour slurry are ready, heat up your wok.
  7. Add vegetable oil and allow it to smoke.
  8. Add dried red chillies, followed by onions and capsicum.
  9. Fry on high heat for a minute before adding sugar.
  10. 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.
  11. Next, add ginger and green chillies, and fry for 30 seconds before adding garlic.
  12. Then add the sauce solution.
  13. When it comes to a boil, add the cornflour slurry.
  14. Turn off the heat. We will come back to the sauce later.
Fry the chicken:
  1. 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.
  2. Now add the remaining half of the marinade we reserved right at the start.
  3. Rub it into the flour mixture thoroughly until you it resembles breadcrumbs in texture.
  4. 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.
  5. Drop them in oil on medium heat (at roughly 170°C). Fry until golden brown and crisp.
  6. 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.
  7. Garnish with spring onions and serve immediately, while the chicken is still crisp.