Spicy Chinese Chicken Recipe (2024)

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My Dragon Chicken recipe is a spicy Chinese chicken recipe that’s shallow-fried in a fiery marinade! This easy spicy chicken recipe is simple to make and tastes incredible by itself, or over rice, noodles, or a vegetable stir fry.

Chinese Chicken Recipes

My family loves it when I order Chinese food for dinner, but one of my favorite things to do is to recreate our favorites at home. This spicy Chinese chicken, called Dragon Chicken, is one of our favorites.

My easy Dragon Chicken recipe is spicy, sweet, and stick-to-your-ribs delicious. Crispy, shallow-fried chicken with thick, tangy, spicy dragon sauce makes for an unbelievably tasty dish your family will ask you for again.

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Chinese Chicken Recipe

Dragon Chicken Marinade

• Chicken breastssliced into bite-sized cubes
• Egg
• Garlic ginger paste*
• Soy sauce
• Chilli powder
• Cornstarch
• Walnut oil or Olive Oil for shallow frying

Dragon sauce Ingredients

• Walnut oil or Olive Oil
• Red onion
• Garlic ginger paste
• Chili pepper
• Green chili pepper
• Tomato ketchup
• Honey
• Sweet chili sauce
• Soy sauce
• Cashew nuts
• Green onions

How to make Hot and Spicy Chicken

1. In a medium bowl mix together theegg,garlic ginger paste,chili powder,cornstarch, andsoy sauceto form the chicken marinade
2. Add the raw slicedchickento the marinade. Stir well so that the marinade fully coats the chicken. Place the marinated chicken in the fridge andchill for at least half an hourto allow the flavors to infuse.
3. Add walnut oilto a hot wok (preferably, but you can use a large skillet) on low heat – you want it to be deep enough to shallow fry the chicken, so about ½ cup oil. Allow the oil to heat up and then carefully add the marinated chicken to the oil, which will begin to sizzle and cook immediately.TIP:add the chicken bit by bit to avoid violently spitting oil.
4. Cooking the chicken until golden brown and crispy then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
5. While the chicken is resting, remove any leftover oil from the pan and place it back on the heat ready to make the dragon sauce. Begin the sauce by stir-frying thered onion,garlic ginger paste,andredandgreen chili. When the onions become soft add theTomato Ketchup,honey,sweet chili sauce, andsoy sauce, then stir together well.
6. Allow the dragon sauce to come to a simmer before stirring in the crispy chicken. Cook for another minute until thick and sticky, then top withcashew nutsandsliced green onions.

Spicy Chinese Chicken Recipe Substitutions

• Garlic ginger paste: You can find garlic ginger paste sold in a jar at most grocery stores. If you have trouble finding it, mix equal parts garlic paste and ginger paste. You can also make your own garlic ginger paste by mixing equal parts chopped garlic and chopped ginger with a little bit of oil in a food processor until it reaches a paste-like consistency.
• Walnut oil: I use walnut oil for shallow frying and for making dragon sauce. However, you can fry this recipe in regular or light olive oil or another frying oil of your choice. Do not use extra virgin olive oil as this is a high-heat frying recipe, and it has a low smoking point.
• Soy sauce: Feel free to use a soy sauce substitute such as tamari or coconut aminos.
• Chicken: You can substitute the chicken for pork, shrimp, or prawns instead! You could make this dish using tofu.

Asian Chicken Recipes FAQs

For more tips on cooking the best chicken recipes, check out my Chicken Temperature Chart complete with a cooking guide!

This recipe is a favorite at our house for a quick and easy weeknight meal. My family also loves my easy chicken chili recipe.

Asian Chicken Recipe Side Dishes

• Instant Pot White Rice
• Instant Pot Green Beans
• White Rice
• Substitute pork for Dragon Chicken in our Easy Pork Fried Rice

Best Asian Recipes

• Shrimp Shumai
• Chinese shrimp stir Fry
• Asian Beef Stir Fry
• Easy Mongolian Beef
• Korean Braised Short Ribs
• Beef Bulgogi

Recipe

Photography by Debbie Jones.

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