Dragon Chicken is a restaurant-style, Indo-Chinese appetizer, with crispy fried chicken strips, crunchy cashews, onions, and capsicum (bell peppers), all tossed in a spicy, flavorful sauce. Here's an easy recipe and a quick video tutorial to make this restaurant-style dragon chicken at home within 30 minutes. Serve it as a starter, appetizer, or side dish with egg fried rice or chilli oil noodles.
I love this Dragon chicken recipe. It hits all the same flavors as Chilli Chicken with that crispy, flavorful chicken in a sweet, savory, and spicy sauce, but the chilies and cashews take it to another level. I just made a batch myself recently, and let me tell you, it tasted like I ordered it straight from my favorite restaurant.
More Indo-Chinese recipes that you might like are Gobi Manchurian, Chicken 65 Gravy, Egg Hakka Noodles, Schezwan Chicken Fried Rice, and Chicken Chow Mein.
What is Dragon Chicken?
Dragon Chicken is a popular Indian-Chinese fusion dish, served as an appetizer, starter, or side dish. It is made with tender, marinated chicken strips which are fried and tossed with colorful bell peppers (also known as capsicum), cashews, and a fiery sauce for a taste explosion.
What's so special about this recipe?
- Ultra-crispy, spicy fried chicken strips with flavor that burst from every bite.
- The sweet, savory, and spicy dragon sauce is irresistible.
- You can adjust the spice level to your preference. If you don't like spicy, skip red chilies and chili sauce.
- No MSG is needed to enhance the flavor – Dragon Chicken tastes amazing.
Here's my recipe for Restaurant-Style Dragon Chicken which tastes even better than the restaurant's. Try this recipe and let me know how it turns out. Many readers have tried this recipe and called it one of the best recipes on this website.
You may also like these other popular chicken recipes from this website:
Should I use chicken breast or thigh for Dragon Chicken?
To make this dragon chicken recipe stick with boneless cuts. Here are a few options:
- Chicken Breasts: These cook quickly and tend to be leaner, making them a healthy choice. However, they can dry out if overcooked. In this recipe, we are using egg whites that prevent the chicken from drying out.
- Boneless, Skinless Thighs: These are more flavorful and naturally juicier than breasts. They take a little longer to cook through but are a good option for preventing dryness.
- Tenders: These are small, thin strips of chicken that cook very quickly. They're a great option if you want a crispy, bite-sized Dragon Chicken.
How to make Restaurant Style Dragon Chicken
Marinate the Chicken
- In a large mixing bowl, combine chicken with pepper, salt, ginger-garlic paste, vinegar, dark soy sauce, and half of 1 egg white. Marinate for 30 minutes.
Making the Dragon Sauce (Stir-fry sauce)
2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk tomato ketchup, dark soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, water, red chili sauce, and cornflour/cornstarch. Stir to combine. The stir-fry sauce is ready.
3. Addition of flour: After 30 minutes of marinating the chicken, add cornflour/cornstarch and all-purpose flour. Stir to combine. If you have kept the marinated chicken in the refrigerator, take them out and keep it on the kitchen counter. Let it come to room temperature before you deep fry them.
Frying the chicken
4. In a deep bottom pan or wok, heat oil over medium heat. Add the marinated chicken strips. Let it cook undisturbed for a minute, then flip and fry until golden and crisp. Remove it to a paper-towel-lined plate.
5. Toasting the cashews: Heat oil over medium heat in a wok or pan. Add cashews and stir-fry until golden. Remove it to a plate (leaving oil in the pan). If you toast the cashews separately and add them towards the end of stir-frying, they remain crunchy.
Stir-frying the vegetables
6. Return the pan or wok to heat. Add oil and heat over medium heat. Add garlic and dried chilies. Stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add white onions. Stir fry until onions are soft. Add capsicum and cook it for 2-3 minutes. Season it with pepper and a pinch of salt.
Assembling and Serving Dragon Chicken
7. Give the sauce a quick mix. Cook until sauce bubbles and thickens. Add fried chicken and fried cashews. Toss them with the sauce. Garnish with spring onion (scallion) greens. For the crispiest chicken, enjoy your stir-fry right away. Serve as a starter or side dish with fried rice or noodles.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Prep in advance: Before you even turn on the heat, gather all your ingredients to make dragon chicken and have them within your reach on the kitchen counter. Stir-frying is super fast, so you don't want to search for specific ingredients while your food cooks.
- Room temperature chicken: Marinated chicken taken out of the fridge won't fry nicely. The chicken is cold and takes longer to cook through, and the exterior will start to brown quickly before the inside is fully cooked. Take your marinated chicken out a few minutes before cooking to let it come to room temperature. It helps the chicken to cook evenly, resulting in juicier and more tender meat.
- Oil temperature matters: Make sure the temperature of the oil is medium-hot. For crispy dragon chicken bites cooked through, maintain the oil at 350-375°F. Too hot, and your chicken gets a golden color outside while it will be raw inside.
- Spice control: Deseed the red chilies to reduce their spiciness. Add as per your taste.
- Serve Immediately - The longer it sits on the plate the less crispy the chicken will become. Enjoy your Dragon Chicken straight away for the best texture and flavor experience.
What to serve with Dragon Chicken?
You can serve this spicy dragon chicken dish with any of the following accompaniments
- Fried Rice or Steamed Rice
- Noodles - Chicken Hakka Noodles, Egg Hakka Noodles, or Chicken Chow Mein
- Soups - Chicken Manchow Soup or Minestrone Soup
- Stir-fried Vegetables
- Salad - Greek Yogurt Coleslaw, or Cucumber Tomato Salad
More Indo-Chinese Recipes You Might Like
Recipe Card
Dragon Chicken | Restaurant Style Dragon Chicken Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Heavy bottom pan or a Chinese Wok
- 1 Mixing bowl
Ingredients
To marinate the chicken
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts 350 grams, cut into thin long strips
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- Half of 1 egg white
For the coating
- 1 tablespoon cornflour/cornstarch
- 2 tablespoon all purpose flour (optional)
For stir-fry sauce
- ¼ cup tomato ketchup
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce (substitute regular or light soy sauce)
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 3 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon red chili sauce add chili sauce as per taste
- ½ teaspoon cornflour/cornstarch
For the stir fry
- 4 teaspoon oil
- 15 cashews
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
- 3-4 dried red chilies deseed to reduce spiciness or use red chili flakes
- ½ cup white onions thinly sliced
- ½ red bell pepper (capsicum), cut into thin strips
- ½ green bell pepper (capsicum), cut into thin strips
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- a pinch of salt
- spring onion greens
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken: In a mixing bowl, combine chicken strips with ground black pepper, salt, ginger-garlic paste, vinegar, dark soy sauce, and half of 1 egg white. Marinate for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, add cornflour/cornstarch and all-purpose flour to the marinated chicken. Stir to combine.
- Making the stir-fry sauce: In a bowl, combine tomato ketchup, dark soy sauce, sugar, vinegar,water, red chili sauce, and cornflour/cornstarch. Stir to combine. The stir-fry sauce is ready.
- Fry the chicken: In a deep bottom pan or wok, heat oil over medium heat. Add the chicken and fry. Do not stir immediately; let it fry for a few seconds. Flip and fry until golden and crispy. Remove it to a plate.
- Toast the cashews: Heat 2 teaspoon oil on medium heat. Add cashews and stir-fry until golden. Remove it to a plate (leaving oil in the pan).
- Stir-fry: Return the pan or wok to heat. Add 2 teaspoon oil and heat over medium heat. Add garlic and dried chilies. Stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add white onions. Stir fry until onions are soft. Add bell peppers/capsicum and cook it for 2-3 minutes. Season it with ground pepper and a pinch of salt.
- Add sauce & combine: Give the stir-fry sauce a quick mix before adding it to the pan. Cook until sauce bubbles and thickens. Add fried chicken and fried cashews. Toss them with the sauce. Garnish with spring onion (scallion) greens. For the crispiest chicken, enjoy your stir-fry right away. It will become soggy after some time. Serve as a starter or side dish with fried rice or noodles.
Video
Notes
- Prep in advance: Before you even turn on the heat, gather all your ingredients and have them within your reach on the kitchen counter. Stir-frying is super fast, so you don't want to be searching for specific ingredients while your food cooks.
- For crispy chicken: Make sure to cut the chicken breasts into thin long strips. This helps them cook evenly and get nice and crispy when fried.
- Marinate the chicken: To enhance the flavor marinate the chicken with the ingredients mentioned above. Cover & keep it in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes or longer. The longer it marinates, the better it tastes.
- Room temperature chicken: Marinated chicken taken out of the fridge won't fry nicely. The chicken is cold and takes longer to cook through, and the exterior will start to brown quickly before the inside is fully cooked. Take your marinated chicken out a few minutes before cooking to let it come to room temperature. It helps the chicken to cook evenly, resulting in juicier and more tender meat.
- Egg whites to keep chicken moist: Add egg white a little at a time and mix it in until the chicken looks coated but not too wet. Too much moisture from egg white will make it soggy, not crispy.
- Oil temperature matters: Make sure the temperature of the oil is medium-hot. For crispy dragon chicken bites cooked through, maintain the oil at 350-375°F. Too hot, and your chicken gets a golden color outside while it will be raw inside.
- Don't crowd the pan: Fry the chicken in small batches so each piece has plenty of space to cook evenly.
- Cashew crunch: Fry cashews separately and add them to the dish at the end to retain their crispiness. This step makes the real difference.
- Spice control: Deseed the red chilies to reduce their spiciness. Add as per your taste.
- Leftovers: Dragon Chicken can be used in wraps, sandwiches, or salads for a quick and flavorful meal.
- Go easy on the salt: All the sauces have salt in them so add salt accordingly.
- Serve it hot. It will become soggy after some time. Dragon Chicken is best enjoyed fresh and crispy.
- Storage & Reheating:
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- Leftover Dragon chicken should be stored within 2 hours of cooking. Let it come to room temperature, and transfer it to an airtight container. Label it with the date of preparation and refrigerate. It stays good for 2 days. Reheat until piping hot and serve. However, the chicken won't remain crispy.
- To reheat the dish, sprinkle some water if it looks dry. Cook, stirring on low heat until the dish is piping hot. You can reheat it in the microwave for short intervals in microwave-safe bowls. Take it out mix and reheat.
- You can store the fried chicken and sauce separately. Reheating the chicken alone helps it retain crispness, while the sauce can be easily reheated alongside.
- Not a freezer-friendly recipe. After freezing and reheating, the coating on the chicken can become soggy or lose its crispiness.
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How to customize Dragon Chicken?
- Make it less spicy: Skip the dried red chilies from the recipe and substitute regular red chili sauce with a sweet chili sauce or add honey.
- Make it spicier: Add red chili flakes or finely chopped fresh chilies (seeds removed for less heat) to the marinade or stir-fry sauce. Drizzle your favorite hot sauce on the top and serve.
- Toss with Yogurt sauce: Dragon chicken is a dry dish. You can make a sauce and add these crispy chicken strips to the sauce like this Chicken 65 gravy, which adds a creamy element.
- Swap Chicken: Substitute chicken with shrimp or for a vegetarian version Tofu or Paneer.
- Feel Free to use any other vegetables: like carrots, mushrooms, snow peas, or broccoli.
Sanya
I made this recipe
Sauce- tomato ketchup, bit soya, red chilli sauce, oysters sauce, vinegar.
And with water added a bit of cornflour slurry to coat the gravy with chicken a little.
White till and scallion to garnish.
Preeti
Thanks for the feedback and star rating.
DTO
I've made this recipe 3 times and my son, who is quite picky loves it. The hardest part is cutting all the veggies and also since we prefer the taste of chicken thighs, trimming all of the excess fat off. I've also had to triple the sauce ingredients as we eat it over white rice. I continue to play with a variety of veggies - carrots, broccoli florets, celery, zucchini and I add a bit of cornstarch slurry to make it a bit more saucy. Phenomenal! Thanks for the recipe.
Preeti
Love it! Thanks for sharing that with us.
Ajay
Tasty
Preeti Nayak
Thanks 🙂