Published: · Updated: by Naomi Willis · This post may contain affiliate links
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You can cook this Chinese Chilli Chicken recipe quicker (and cheaper) than getting takeout. You get crispy chicken in a sweet and sour, spicy chilli gravy.
I love a take out, and a Chinese is one of my favourites.
But, the costs add up soon and what is a meant to be a treat can cost you a small fortune.
When you're on a tight budget or trying to save money instead of spending it all on food, cooking a fakeaway is an easy win.
Chilli Chicken recipe
Chilli Chicken has a perfect balance of crispy chicken and a delicious sticky chilli gravy (don't worry, it's not overly hot).
Cooking this recipe at home allows you to make it healthier than if you got it as a takeaway.
Usually, they would coat the chicken and deep fry it. However, with our recipe, you just need to fry it, which is better for you.
Now I'm not saying this is authentic as all, but it tastes pretty good!
MSG is added to a lot of Chinese foods, but we don't use it.
There is a lot of talk about whether MSG (monosodium glutamate) is healthy for you, but we're not getting into that. From our point of view, we don't add it in as it's another ingredient that we don't feel it needed.
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However, if you're after a real authentic chilli chicken gravy flavour, then try adding a little MSG as its cooking.
It will enhance the flavour of the dish.
Check these other recipes you'll love
- Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup Chinese Style Recipe
- Thai Satay Chicken Curry in a Peanut Sauce
How to cook chilli chicken
First up, you need to get your chicken ready.
Cut the chicken into smaller chunks and then you need to coat it.
First, dip it in beaten egg. Then, cover in flour.
When you lightly fry the chicken, this is what'll give it the lovely crispiness.
Chilli chicken gravy
You can now start to prepare your sauce.
Start by gently cooking the onion and peppers.
You can then start to add in the ginger, garlic, chilli - at this point your kitchen will smell divine!!
But just wait...
After cooking that for a few minutes, mix in the honey, tomatoes, garam masala, soy sauce, paprika, rice vinegar, cumin and coriander.
You want to cook this sauce until it's bubbling.
The gravy will be aromatic, sweet but sour with a tangy spice.
Add your chicken back in to finish cooking and then serve with piping hot rice.
Enjoy!
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Chinese Chilli Chicken Recipe
You can cook this Chinese Chilli Chicken recipe quicker (and cheaper) than getting a takeout. You get crispy chicken in a sweet and sour, spicy chill gravy.
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: Chicken, Chilli
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 399kcal
Author: Skint Chef
Ingredients
- 650 g chicken diced £3.80
- 1 egg 13p
- 100 g flour 3p
- 1 tablespoon oil 1p
Chilli sauce
- 1 onion chopped 10p
- 2 peppers chopped 34p
- 1 inch fresh ginger chopped 2p
- 3 garlic cloves chopped roughly 2p
- 1 red chilli sliced 20p
- 2 tablespoon honey 9p
- 400 g tin tomatoes 29p
- 1 tablespoon Garam Masala 13p
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce 6p
- 1 tablespoon paprika 8p
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar 6p
- 1 tablespoon cumin 10p
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander 12p
Instructions
Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and dip into the beaten egg, then into the flour to coat.
In a non-stick pan heat the oil and cook the chicken on a high heat until golden brown. Remove and set to one side.
Chilli sauce
Now heat the sesame seed oil and cook the onion for 2 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, chilli and cook for 4 minutes.
Add the honey, tomatoes, garam masala, soy sauce, paprika, rice vinegar, cumin, coriander and cook until bubbling.
Add the chicken to the sauce and cook for a further 5-10 minutes until the chicken is thoroughly heated through.
Notes
Garnish with fresh coriander and serve with rice.
Total cost £5.58, £1.40 per serving
Figures are correct at the time of calculation. Prices are based on a generic, mid-price range supermarket, choosing their own value brand.
Nutrition data provided is provided as an estimate only. It is the reader's responsibility to calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you use in your recipe if you need to follow a particular diet or for medical purposes.
Calories: 399kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 121mg | Sodium: 564mg | Potassium: 1110mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 3165IU | Vitamin C: 108mg | Calcium: 89mg | Iron: 5mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @skintchef or tag #skintchef!
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