Chilli chicken with veg fried rice
Indo-Chinese chilli chicken from Kolkata's Chinese community: crisp fried chicken tossed with green chillies, onion and capsicum in a glossy soy and chilli sauce, with a quick veg fried rice. Cook the rice ahead or use leftover rice. With less sauce it becomes the dry starter, and it is just as good with hakka noodles.
- 1 hTime
- 50 minHands-on
- 4Portions
- 34 gprotein per portion
- 790kcal per portion
Ingredients for 4 portions
- 500 gChicken thigh fillet, in 3 cm cubes
- 1Egg
- 3 tbspCornflour, for the chicken
- 1 tbspMaida
- 1 tspGinger-garlic paste
- 1 tspKashmiri chilli powder
- to tasteSalt
- to tasteBlack pepper
- 4 tbspRefined oil, for deep-frying
- 2 tbspRefined oil, for the sauce
- 6 clovesGarlic, finely chopped
- 10 gGinger, finely chopped
- 3Green chillies, slit
- 1Onion, in 2 cm squares
- 1Capsicum, in 2 cm squares
- 1 ½ tbspSoy sauce
- 1 tbspChili sauce
- 1 tbspVinegar
- 1 tbspCornflour, for the sauce
- ≈ 200 mlWater
- 2Spring onions, sliced
On the side
- 250 gRice, basmati
- 2 tbspRefined oil, for the rice
- 3 clovesGarlic, finely chopped
- 1Carrot, finely chopped
- 50 gGreen beans, finely chopped
- 100 gWhite cabbage, finely shredded
- 2Spring onions, sliced
- 1 tbspSoy sauce, for the rice
- 1 tspVinegar, for the rice
- to tasteSalt
- to tasteBlack pepper
Method
- Wash the rice and add it to a large pot of boiling water.
- Boil for 8–10 minutes, until just cooked but still with a slight bite. Drain and spread it out on a large plate to cool and dry, so the grains stay separate.
- Mix the chicken with the egg, the cornflour for the chicken, maida, ginger-garlic paste, Kashmiri chilli powder, salt and pepper until every piece is coated.
- Leave the chicken to marinate for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables: finely chop the garlic and ginger, slit the green chillies, cut the onion and capsicum into 2 cm squares, and finely chop the carrot, beans and the garlic for the rice. Shred the cabbage and slice the spring onions.
- Heat oil for deep-frying in a kadai. Fry the chicken in batches on medium-high heat until crisp and golden, 5–6 minutes a batch. Drain on kitchen paper.
- Make the fried rice: heat the oil for the rice in a wok on high heat. Stir-fry the garlic for a few seconds, then the carrot, beans and cabbage for 2–3 minutes. Add the rice, the soy sauce and vinegar for the rice, salt and pepper and toss on high heat for 2–3 minutes. Mix in the spring onions for the rice.
- Heat the oil for the sauce in the wok or a kadai on high heat. Stir-fry the garlic, ginger and green chillies for 30 seconds, then add the onion and capsicum and toss for 2 minutes; they should stay crunchy.
- Add the soy sauce, chilli sauce and vinegar, then the cornflour for the sauce stirred into the water. Stir until the sauce thickens and turns glossy, 1–2 minutes.
- Toss in the fried chicken and the spring onions so everything is coated in the sauce, and turn off the heat.
- Serve the chilli chicken straight away with the fried rice.
