| Chicken | 700 GMS- Cut into bite sized pieces |
| Salt | 2 TSP |
| Black Pepper Powder | 2 TSP |
| Onion | 1 Big- Cut into quarters |
| Garlic | 8 Cloves- Chopped |
| Ginger | 1 Inch- Chopped |
| Capsicum | 1- Cut into quarters |
| Green Chillies | 8- Chopped diagonally |
| Corn Flour | 3 TBSP |
| Lime Juice | 1 TSP |
| Dark Soya Sauce | 4 TBSP |
| Red Chilli Sauce | 1 TBSP |
| White Vinegar | 2 TBSP |
| Green Chilli Sauce | 1 TBSP |
| Oyster Sauce | 1 TBSP |
| Ketchup or Tomato sauce | 1/2 TSP |
| Honey | 1 TSP |
| Refined Oil | 250 ML |
| Water | 100 ML |
Chilli Chicken! I know I said that you don’t need a side with the pan fried noodles but, if you really want a side, there is nothing better than chilli chicken. Chilli Chicken was invented by Nelson Wang, the founder of China Garden restaurant in Mumbai. Mr. Wang described his invention process as starting from the basic ingredients of an Indian dish, namely garlic, ginger and green chillies, but next instead of adding garam masala he put in soya sauce, followed by cornstarch and the chicken. This Indo-Chinese cuisine originated from the Chinese of Kolkata. Most of the Chinese people who stay in Kolkata are of Hakka origin. Over the years people of Kolkata have come up with their version of chilly chicken. The street style chilli chicken in Kolkata is more reddish in colour, whereas the home-style chilli chicken is made without frying the chicken and sometimes with-bone chicken is also used. Well my version completely depends on my mood. This recipe in particular is as close as it can get to the original dish.
Preparation:
STEP 1- First marinade the chicken with 1 TSP of salt, 1 TSP of black pepper powder, 1 TBSP dark soya sauce and 1 TSP lime juice. Keep it aside.
STEP 2- In a bowl mix 1TBSP of corn flour with 1 TBSP of water to make a corn flour slurry. Keep it aside.
STEP 3- In another bowl, pour 3 TBSP of dark soya sauce, 1 TBSP of oyster sauce, 1 TBSP of red chilli sauce, ½ TSP of ketchup, 1 TBSP of white vinegar, and 1 TBSP of green chilli sauce. Keep this sauce mixture aside.
STEP 4- Add 2 TBSP of corn flour in the chicken and mix it well. In a frying pan add 200 ML of refined oil. In about 3 mins on medium high flame the oil should be hot enough to fry the chicken. Add the chicken and fry them for 2 mins. Add them in batches and try not to overcrowd the frying pan. Take them out on a paper towel.
STEP 5- In a saucepan add 2 TBSP of refined oil. After 40 secs. Add ½ the quantities of chopped garlic, ginger and green chillies. Add all the onions and sauté everything on medium flame it nicely for about a min.
STEP 6- Add the capsicum and saute it for another min.
STEP 7- After a min, add the remaining garlic and ginger.
STEP 8- After 10 secs, pour the sauce mixture and keep sautéing.
STEP 9- After a min, add 1 TSP of green chillies and the fried chicken. Mix everything and let it cook on low flame for about a min.
STEP 10- After 1 min add 1 TSP of black pepper powder, remaining green chillies and 100 ML of water. Increase the flame to high. Let it come to a boil.
STEP 11- After a min- add 1 TSP of salt, 1 TBSP of vinegar and 1 TBSP of corn flour slurry.
If you want to make gravy chilli chicken, then add additional 100 ML of water and 2 TBSP of corn flour slurry.
STEP 12- After 20 secs your chilli chicken should be ready. Serve it as a starter or a side with Fried Rice, Noodle, Chapati or Bread.