Dragon Chicken with step by step photos and a video recipe. Dragon chicken is a popular restaurant-style starter from Indo-Chinese cuisine, made with crispy chicken strips stir-fried in a spicy sauce, and comes together in 30 minutes. Serve it as a starter, appetizer or side dish with fried rice or noodles.
Prep Time5 minutesmins
Cook Time25 minutesmins
Total Time30 minutesmins
Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Starter
Cuisine: Indo-Chinese
Servings: 4people
Calories: 360kcal
Author: Preeti
Equipment
1 Heavy bottom pan or a Chinese Wok
1 Mixing bowl
Ingredients
To marinate the chicken
2boneless skinless chicken breasts350 grams, cut into thin long strips
½teaspoonground black pepper
salt to taste
1tablespoonginger-garlic paste
1teaspoonvinegar
1teaspoondark soy sauce
Half of 1 egg white
For the coating
1tablespooncornflour/cornstarch
2tablespoonall purpose flour(optional)
For stir-fry sauce
¼cuptomato ketchup
1teaspoondark soy sauce(substitute regular or light soy sauce)
½teaspoonsugar
1teaspoonvinegar
3tablespoonwater
1tablespoonred chili sauceadd chili sauce as per taste
½teaspooncornflour/cornstarch
For the stir fry
4teaspoonoil
15cashews
1tablespoonfinely chopped garlic
3-4dried red chiliesdeseed to reduce spiciness or use red chili flakes
½cupwhite onionsthinly sliced
½red bell pepper (capsicum), cut into thin strips
½green bell pepper (capsicum), cut into thin strips
½teaspoonground 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 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 ingredients mentioned above. Cover & keep it in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes or longer. The longer it marinates, the tastier it gets!
Room temperature chicken: Marinated chicken taken out of the fridge won't fry nice. 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 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.