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.

Spicy Chinese Chicken Recipe (1)
Jump to:
  • Chinese Chicken Recipes
  • Chinese Chicken Recipe
  • How to make Hot and Spicy Chicken
  • Spicy Chinese Chicken Recipe Substitutions
  • Asian Chicken Recipes FAQs
  • Asian Chicken Recipe Side Dishes
  • Best Asian Recipes
  • 📋 Recipe
  • 💬 Reviews

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.

  • Asian Peach Chicken is also super easy to prepare and packed with flavor.
  • Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken my housemade teriyaki sauce is such a fun and delicious weeknight meal.
  • Chicken Sausage Rolls with Sweet Thai Sauce
  • Thai Chicken Meatballs
Spicy Chinese Chicken Recipe (2)

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.
Spicy Chinese Chicken Recipe (3)

Asian Chicken Recipes FAQs

What is Dragon Chicken?

Dragon chicken is an Indo-Chinese recipe consisting of chicken marinated in a sweet and sticky sauce, before being shallow fried and finished with a fiery dragon sauce. It’s one of the most delicious Chinese chicken dishes you will ever try.

What is shallow frying?

Shallow frying is a method of frying food without fully immersing it in oil. Instead of covering it completely, the oil instead rises about half-way up whichever food you are frying. Many shallow-fried foods have a batter; however, in the case of my dragon chicken recipe, the chicken is instead coated with a thick, sticky marinade before frying.

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.

Spicy Chinese Chicken Recipe (4)

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

Spicy Chinese Chicken Recipe (5)

Chinese Chicken Recipe

Isabel Laessig

Dragon chicken is a spicy Indo-Chinese recipe of shallow-fried chicken with a fiery Asian marinade! It's a better-than-takeout easy spicy chicken recipe your whole family will be asking for more and more of.

4.80 from 40 votes

Prep Time 40 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine Chinese, Indo-Chinese

Servings 4 people

Calories 504 kcal

Equipment

  • Wok (or large skillet)

Ingredients

For Marinating the Chicken:

  • 2 sliced into bite sized cubes
  • 1
  • 1 Tbsp. Garlic ginger paste*
  • 2 Tbsp.
  • 1 tsp.
  • 2 Tbsp.

For Cooking the Chicken:

  • Walnut oil for shallow frying* about ½ cup

For the Dragon sauce:

  • ½ tablespoon Walnut oil*
  • 1
  • 2 teaspoon Garlic ginger paste
  • 1 Red chilli pepper
  • 1 Green chilli pepper
  • 3 tablespoon Tomato ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon
  • 1 tablespoon Sweet chilli sauce
  • 1 tablespoon
  • Handful of Cashew nuts about ¼ cup
  • 3 Green onions

Cooking Conversions

See our Cooking Conversions Chart for help converting measurements!

Instructions

  • In a medium bowl mix together the egg, garlic ginger paste, chilli powder, cornstarch, and soy sauce to form the chicken marinade

  • Add the raw sliced chicken to the marinade. Stir well so that the marinade fully coats the chicken. Place the marinated chicken in the fridge and chill for at least half an hour to allow the flavors to infuse.

    Spicy Chinese Chicken Recipe (6)

  • Add ½ cup walnut oil to 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. 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.

  • Cooking the chicken until golden brown and crispy then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

  • While the chicken is resting, remove any leftover oil from the pan and place back on the heat ready to make the dragon sauce. Begin the sauce by stir-frying the red onion, garlic ginger paste, and red and green chilli. When the onions become soft add the Tomato Ketchup, honey, sweet chilli sauce, and soy sauce, then stir together well.

    Spicy Chinese Chicken Recipe (7)

  • 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 with cashew nuts and sliced green onions.

    Spicy Chinese Chicken Recipe (8)

Notes

  • While we recommend using walnut oil for shallow frying and for making the dragon sauce, you can fry this recipe in regular or light olive oil or another frying oil of your choice. We don’t recommend using extra virgin olive oil as this is a high-heat frying recipe, and it has a low smoking point. We recommend the same for the dragon sauce.
  • Ginger garlic paste is typically sold in a jar and can be found at most grocery stores. You can also make your own by mixing garlic and ginger in a food processor. An alternative is to use equal parts garlic paste and ginger paste, which can be bought separately.

Nutrition

Calories: 504kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 55gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 226mgSodium: 2066mgPotassium: 1248mgFiber: 3gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 1442IUVitamin C: 46mgCalcium: 57mgIron: 3mg

Keyword asian chicken recipes, chinese chicken recipe, chinese chicken recipes, dragon chicken

Did you try this recipe?Tag on social and leave a comment below!

Photography by Debbie Jones.

Spicy Chinese Chicken Recipe (9)

About Isabel Laessig

Hi! I’m Isabel Laessig, also known as Family Foodie, creator of Sunday Supper Movement and author of the Boujee Steak Cookbook. Sunday Supper is my mission to bring family back around the dinner table. Join me in making family meal-time a tradition to celebrate!

» About Me

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Katie says

    Would this reheat well? I’m thinking maybe for meal prep?

    Reply

    • Em Beitel says

      Absolutely! Reheat on low heat on the stove. Thank you for your question!

      Reply

  2. Diane Barber says

    Are the chilling peppers supposed to be chopped, sliced, whole?

    Reply

    • Em Beitel says

      Hi Diane! They should be chopped. Thank you for your question!

      Reply

  3. Brenda D says

    what kind of chile peppers

    Reply

    • Em Beitel says

      Hi Brenda! We use both red and green chili peppers. You can use any variety you’d like depending on availability. Thai red chili peppers would be great with this dish.

      Reply

  4. Rob says

    Spicy Chinese Chicken Recipe (10)
    This was really good – Thank you. Nice spice level and the recipe was well written and easy to follow.

    Reply

    • Em Beitel says

      Thanks so much, Rob! We’re so glad to hear you enjoyed it – and thank you for letting us know about your experience with the recipe!

      Reply

  5. Michelle Vega says

    Spicy Chinese Chicken Recipe (11)
    I made a few adjustments to the recipe. Like I added bell peppers, made my own ginger and garlic paste. Following the basic recipe and it was so delicious. My hubby loved it. So thank you for sharing

    Sincerely Mrs. Michelle Vega
    From Cali!

    Reply

    • Isabel Laessig says

      That is awesome to hear, Michelle! So glad you and your husband enjoyed it! Your additions sound fantastic.

      Reply

  6. Andrew says

    Do you have the quantities of the ingredients used in your marinade?

    Reply

    • Isabel Laessig says

      Hi Andrew! You can find all quantities at the bottom of the page in the recipe card. Thank you and enjoy!

      Reply

Let us know what you think or ask a question about the recipe!

Spicy Chinese Chicken Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What to add to make Chinese food spicy? ›

Although these cuisines are all different, I love the strong flavor of spices used when cooking them. Some of the great ingredients used for seasoning in these recipes are Sichuan peppercorns, garlic, wasabi (horseradish), ginger, dried green & red chilies, red Chile oil and cumin.

How did the Chinese make their chicken so tender? ›

In Chinese cooking, proteins like beef, pork or chicken are velveted first before stir-frying them. There are several ways to velvet, but at its most basic level, it involves marinating meat with at least one ingredient that will make it alkaline. This is what tenderizes the meat, especially cheaper, tougher cuts.

What is the spiciest Chinese chicken? ›

La Zi Ji is a signature Sichuan dish that is extremely popular in China. The chicken is coated with spices and flash fried until golden brown and crispy. It's then stir fried with tons of dried chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, ginger and garlic to create a spicy numbing sensation.

How do Chinese restaurants get their chicken tender? ›

How do Chinese Restaurants tenderise chicken? There are actually a few different ways to tenderise chicken the Chinese restaurant way: marinating in a cornstarch/cornflour sludge then deep frying or blanching in water before proceeding to cook in the stir fry.

What makes Chinese food spicy? ›

Chilli powder: Chilli powder is used to spice up the food and provide heat. Chinese chilli powder is manufactured from ground-dried chilli peppers. It is frequently used in Sichuan food, including spicy stir-fries and noodle soups. Cumin: Cumin is a spice frequently used in Muslim Cumin Chinese cooking.

What do Chinese soak their chicken in? ›

To marinate chicken for stir fries, we use a simple mixture of water, oil, cornstarch, and a flavor agent like soy sauce or oyster sauce. Other ingredients, like Shaoxing wine or sesame oil, may also be layered in.

How do Chinese keep chicken moist? ›

Chinese stir-fried chicken is extra tender due to the velveting technique. Chicken is sliced into thin, even-sized pieces and then marinated briefly in a mix of baking soda, cornstarch, wine, and seasoning. This seals in moisture and tenderizes the chicken.

What is spicy chicken made of? ›

Mix the buttermilk, hot sauce, salt, black pepper, cayenne, and garlic powder in a large bowl. Put the chicken pieces in the buttermilk mixture and coat completely. Marinate at least 8 hours and up to 24 in the refrigerator.

Which Chinese sauce is spicy? ›

Hoisin Sauce

This is a molasses-thick, unique sauce which is spicy and sweet at once. Particularly popular in southern Chinese cuisine, hoisin sauce.

What does spicy chicken mean in Chinese? ›

Laziji (simplified Chinese: 辣子鸡; traditional Chinese: 辣子雞; pinyin: làzijī; lit. 'spicy chicken'), also known as dry chili chicken, firecracker chicken, Chongqing chicken, and mala chicken, is a dish of chicken cubes stir-fried in chilis, Szechuan pepper, spicy fermented bean paste, garlic, and ginger. Laziji. Laziji.

What does baking soda do to chicken? ›

Velveting is a simple process of using baking soda or a mixture of egg whites, cornstarch and oil to marinate and tenderize economical cuts of steak, chicken and other meats before cooking. Velveting meat softens fibers to reduce toughness and enhance juiciness for maximum flavor and tenderness.

Why does Chinese fried chicken taste so good? ›

They're super flavorful from a simple marination process that includes spices, soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, and Shaoxing wine.

How long to marinate chicken? ›

You can marinate chicken anywhere from 2 hours up to 24 hours, though marinating chicken for even 15 to 30 minutes can impart flavor and moisture into smaller pieces of meat. Generally, bone-in cuts of chicken, such as wings, drumsticks and breasts, will require a longer marinade time than their boneless counterparts.

How do you order extra spicy in Chinese? ›

For something incredibly spicy, you can use the phrase 辣到着火 là dào zháo huǒ, which literally translates to "so spicy that it feels like your mouth is on fire."

How to spice up bland Chinese food? ›

Sauté garlic and ginger in oil before adding the sauce ingredients. This will infuse the oil with aromatic flavors, which will in turn enhance the overall taste of the dish. Add more sauce ingredients: Increase the quantities of the sauce ingredients, such as soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, or sesame oil.

What makes Chinese 5 spice? ›

But what exactly IS Chinese 5 spice? 5 spice is a combination of cinnamon, star anise, fennel seeds and cloves – the 5th ingredient can vary across recipes, we use sichuan peppercorns. But ginger and white pepper are also commonly used as the fifth component.

What is spicy from the Chinese takeaway? ›

Spicy dishes include Wenchang chicken, which has juicy chicken seasoned with chili and other spices. Another dish is Hainanese chili crab, where fresh crab is cooked in a hot chili sauce. These dishes show Hainan's ability to make spicy food that also uses the delicious seafood from the coast.

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