This Dragon Chicken is my favorite restaurant-style, Indo-Chinese appetizer, made with crispy fried chicken strips, crunchy cashews, onions, and capsicum (bell peppers), all tossed in a spicy, tangy, umami-rich sauce that everyone enjoys.
This dragon chicken recipe looks bright red and fiery, but it is not too spicy or overpowering. The name dragon comes from the long, thin chicken strips that look like the shape of a dragon. Serve it as a starter, appetizer, or side dish with egg fried rice or chilli oil noodles.
This chicken appetizer is made with tender chicken breasts cut into thin, long strips, marinated and then fried, and tossed with colorful bell peppers, cashews, and a spicy, tangy, umami-flavored dragon sauce. This sweet, savory, and spicy dragon sauce is irresistible. You can serve it as an appetizer, starter, or side dish.
This Dragon chicken recipe combines all the same flavors as chilli chicken, with crispy, flavorful chicken in a sweet, savory, and spicy Indo-Chinese sauce. It is quick and easy to make at home. However, the addition of red chillies and cashews takes this restaurant-style dish to another level.
I recently made a batch myself, and let me tell you, it tasted similar to the one I ordered straight from my favorite restaurant. More Indo-Chinese recipes that you might like are Gobi Manchurian, Chicken 65 Gravy, and Schezwan Chicken Fried Rice.
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Should I use chicken breast or thigh for Dragon Chicken?
To make this dragon 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: 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 crispy, bite-sized pieces for this recipe.
How to make Dragon Chicken (Stepwise Photos)
I kept this recipe simple, using basic pantry ingredients that are easy to find. Please refer to the recipe card for ingredient measurements. Instead of sambal oelek, I used spicy red chili sauce in this recipe, adding it only to the dragon sauce to keep it mild and kid-friendly.
For the Chicken Marinade
In a large mixing bowl, combine the 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin, long strips, with
- ½ teaspoon of pepper,
- salt to taste,
- 1 tablespoon of ginger-garlic paste,
- 1 teaspoon of white wine vinegar (any cooking vinegar works here)
- 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce (for best flavor)
- ½ egg white (It keeps the chicken strips from drying out after frying.)
- Marinate for 30 minutes. The longer you marinate, the better it tastes.
Prepping the Dragon Sauce
2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk
- ¼ cup of tomato ketchup,
- 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce,
- ½ teaspoon of sugar,
- 1 teaspoon of white wine vinegar (any cooking vinegar works here)
- 3 tablespoons of water,
- 1 tablespoon of spicy red chili sauce (To substitute Sambal Oelek.)
- ½ teaspoon of cornflour/cornstarch.
- Stir to combine. Taste the sauce and add more vinegar or sauce to taste. The stir-fry dragon sauce is ready.
3. Addition of flour: After 30 minutes of marinating the chicken, add 1 tablespoon of cornflour/cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of 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 it.
Frying Chicken Strips
4. In a deep-bottom pan or wok, heat oil over medium heat. Add the marinated chicken strips. Do not overcrowd the pan. Fry in batches if needed. Do not stir immediately. Let it fry for a few seconds, then flip and fry until golden and crisp. Remove it to a paper-towel-lined plate.
Tip: Make sure the temperature of the oil is medium-hot. For crispy 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.
Making Dragon Chicken
Prep in advance: Before you even turn on the heat, gather all your ingredients to make this dragon recipe 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.
5. Toasting the cashews: Heat oil over medium heat in a wok or pan. Add 15 cashews and stir-fry until golden. Remove it to a plate (leaving oil in the pan). If we toast the cashews separately and add them towards the end of stir-frying, they remain crunchy.
6. Return the pan or wok to heat. Add 1 teaspoon of oil and heat over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic and 3-4 deseeded dried chilies (they are not spicy red chilies). Stir-fry for 30 seconds.
7. Add ½ cup of white onions. Stir fry until onions are soft. Add capsicum (½ red and ½ green capsicum) and cook it for 2-3 minutes. Keep them slightly crunchy, do not overcook. Season it with ½ teaspoon of pepper and a pinch of salt.
8. Give the prepared dragon sauce a quick mix (to combine the cornstarch settled in the bottom). Add this sauce to the pan. Cook until the sauce bubbles and thickens. (Cook until glossy and coats the back of a spoon).
9. Add the fried chicken strips and fried cashews. Toss them with the sauce. Garnish with spring onion (scallion) greens.
Tip: For the crispiest chicken, enjoy this appetizer right away. The longer it sits on the plate, the less crispy the chicken strips will become. Serve as a starter or side dish with fried rice or noodles.
What to serve with Dragon Chicken?
You can serve this spicy dragon dish with any of the following accompaniments
- Indo-Chinese Egg Fried Rice or Steamed Rice
- Noodles - Chicken Hakka Noodles, Egg Hakka Noodles, or Chicken Chow Mein
- Soups - Chicken Manchow Soup or Minestrone Soup
- Oven-Roasted Vegetables
- Salad - Greek Yogurt Coleslaw, or Cucumber Tomato Salad
Recipe Card
Dragon Chicken (Indo Chinese Restaurant Style Recipe)
Video
Equipment
- 1 Heavy bottom pan or a Chinese Wok
- 1 Mixing bowl
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
- 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
- ½ egg white (just enough to lightly coat the chicken)
For the Crispy Coating
- 1 tablespoon cornflour/cornstarch
- 2 tablespoon all purpose flour (optional)
To make Dragon 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 spicy red chili sauce (Substitute: red chili paste + vinegar or store-bought Sambal Oelek)
- ½ teaspoon cornflour/cornstarch
For the Stir Fry
- 4 teaspoon oil
- 15 cashews (raw unflavored)
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
- 3-4 deseeded dried red chilies (Substitute: 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.
Prepping the sauce
- In a bowl, combine tomato ketchup, dark soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, water, red chili sauce (or use store-bought Sambal Oelek), 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 strips and fry. Do not overcrowd the pan. Fry in batches if needed. 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).
Combine Dragon Chicken
- Return the pan or wok to heat. Add 2 teaspoon of 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 them for 2-3 minutes. Keep them slightly crunchy, do not overcook. Season it with ground pepper and a pinch of salt.
- Give the dragon sauce a quick mix before adding it to the pan. Cook until the sauce bubbles and thickens. (Cook until glossy and coats the back of a spoon). Add fried chicken and fried cashews. Toss them with the dragon sauce. Garnish with spring onion (scallion) greens. For the crispiest chicken, enjoy it right away. It will become soggy after some time. Serve as a starter or side dish with fried rice or noodles.
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 them 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 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.
- Don't have Sambal Oelek, no problem, substitute it with red chili paste and vinegar or simple spicy red chili sauce.
- Spice control: Deseed the red chilies to reduce their spiciness. Add as per your taste.
- Leftovers: This chicken appetizer 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.
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 paste or finely chopped fresh chilies (seeds removed for less heat) to the marinade or stir-fry dragon sauce. Drizzle your favorite hot sauce on top and serve.
- Toss with Yogurt sauce: This chicken appetizer 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.
You may also like these other popular chicken recipes from this website:
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 🙂