Indo-Chinese Chili Chicken (Kolkata Style)

Chili Chicken We all have iconic nostalgic dishes stashed somewhere in our operating universe, for me many of these are certainly the fish fry made by mother is still high on that list. And then is chili chicken. There are so are many dishes that mom never messed around with, and high on that list is chili chicken. The chili chicken I speak of is an Indo-chinese classic. The stuff dreams, and sniffling noses are made of. Sniffling noses, attributed to the high spice content in this dish. This is an old tested and tried recipe. I am reviving it in the spirit of Christmas. Mostly, because I am missing my Kolkata Christmas.

My Chili Chicken Story

We qualify this genre of cuisine as Indo-Chinese, however growing up we knew no other kind of Chinese food. Dishes like the chili chicken, hakka noodles, cauliflower Manchurian that all form an amazing assortment of dishes.  These dishes with very Chinese sounding names are often really made in India. Yet, this amazing collection of dishes is still food nirvana and still some thing that I must indulge in when I get to India.

Chili Chicken

Recently, chatting with Marc over at Baketard, I was pleasantly surprised to hear his fascination with Indo-Chinese food.  It has been a very long time since I have spent Christmas in the USA. A far cry from the hustle and bustle of Kolkata. So, here is homesick me, cooking my favorite Chili Chicken.

Chili Chicken

Now, I have to confess, as with all fusion dishes there is really no set formula. The key is to balance the umami taste of the soy sauce with fiery hot chilies.

Green Chilies

Hallmarks of a Kolkata Style Chili Chicken

I will go on record for saying that I have seen many weird red versions of this dish featured on various restaurant menus all around here. Not sure what with that, certainly not anything like what you can find around the Kolkata restaurants which is supposedly the epicenter of Indo-Chinese cooking. Also, I cannot quite fathom the sweet tasting saucy variations. This is why I have qualified this dish as Kolkata Chili Chicken.

Chili Chicken_2_650

How to Enjoy this Chili Chicken?

We enjoy this with some kind of fried rice, although simple white rice would not be a problem. Other indo-chinese recipes on this blog worth considering are Broccoli Manchurian, Chilli Tofu and Chili Fish.

 

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Indo-Chinese Chili Chicken (Kolkata Style)

Prep Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Indo-Chinese Chili Chicken (Kolkata Style)

Chili chicken is a classic indo-chinese dish that is great as either an appetizer or main course with a side of rice.

Ingredients

    For the Chicken
  • 11/2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 tablespoon ginger paste
  • 1 tablespoon garlic paste
  • 1 teaspoon red cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg, beaten.
  • 3/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup water(maybe a little more if needed)
  • 1/4 cup oil for frying
    • For the sauce
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 4 pods of garlic, sliced
  • 1/3 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoon vinegar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoons chili sauce (such as sriracha)
  • 25 chilies, sliced lengthwise
  • Extra chilies to garnish
  • cilantro to garnish

Instructions

  1. Cut the chicken into smaller pieces (about 1 inch cubes) and wash and dry thoroughly.
  2. Rub the chicken with the ginger-garlic paste and the red cayenne pepper and salt and coat with the beaten egg. Set aside for 2 hours.
  3. Mix the corn starch and the flour. Add into the chicken, creating a uniform coating. Add in the water if needed. The objective here is to have an uniform coating.
  4. Heat the oil, the best tool for this is a wide bottomed non-stick wok. Place all the chicken in a single layer, you may need two batches for this purpose. Cook for about 4 minutes on each side. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels.
  5. To prepare the sauce, heat the tablespoon of oil and add in the sliced garlic and cook for about a minute until pale golden. Add in the soy sauce, vinegar, water and the cornstarch and bring to simmer. It should be reasonably thick. Add in the chicken and the sliced chilies and toss for about 2 minutes.
  6. Garnish with additional chilies and cilantro and serve hot.
https://spicechronicles.com/indo-chinese-chili-chicken-kolkata-style/

 

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