Mamma's Chilli Chicken

Chilli Chicken can be called the non-veg cousin of my previous Gobi Manchurian recipe. It is a staple when we have good friends over for a beer and also during some weekends, when all we need is a break and kick back without getting out of the house. Increase the final steaming time and add a quarter cup of water, mixed with 1 tbsp of cornstarch and you have a perfect partner to go with rice. But at home, I and my better half prefer this recipe dry as it is, with some Yellow Tail Chardonnay or some good cold, lager.
Enjoy it your way! ;-)

 Ingredients:-

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts---cut into bite sized cubes.

2 tbsp each of ginger and garlic, minced

3 stalks of green onion--the tops and bottoms separately chopped
1 med red onion---cut into thin strips

1 green and 1 red bell pepper---cut into strips

cilantro---1/4 cup finely chopped

green chilies (Thai or Indian. If using Serranos, use half the number mentioned here)--- 7-8, chopped

Oil--- to shallow fry the chicken + 2 tsp

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp sugar
salt and pepper

Batter:-

3/4 cup cornstarch + 1 tbsp all purpose flour

1 large egg (Vegetarians can skip the eggs and add a tbsp of All purpose flour and a little water)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp hot sauce (Sriracha preferred)

Preparation:-

Mix the batter ingredients in a large bowl, with a whisk.Check the salt and add more if needed.

Now throw in the chicken cubes into the batter and mix gently to coat. Let marinate for 30 mins, in the fridge.

Heat a little oil in a pan and shallow fry the chicken until brown evenly.  Drain them in a paper towel and set aside. 

Now in a saute pan, heat 2 tsp of oil and saute the minced ginger and garlic. When they are tender and aromatic, add the red onion, green and red bell peppers. Cook the bell peppers until tender-crisp, then add the green onion bottoms and green chilies. Reserve the tops for garnish. Cook for a minute and add the soy sauce. Finally add the chicken, and mix well. Lower the fire and drizzle the vinegar on top. Stir once again and cover with a lid. Cook until chicken is cooked all the way through. Add some fresh ground pepper and stir to mix. 

When the lid begins to steam up, turn the heat off. Sprinkle sugar on top and stir well.
Garnish it with chopped cilantro and reserved chopped onion tops. Serve hot .
This dish can be an accompaniment to rice, rotis or even stands alone as a great appetizer with drinks.