Fusion Chinese is a constant if you live in Lahore. The number of restaurants that dedicate themselves to the cuisine are actually outnumbered by the sheer amount of restaurants that add a Chinese inspired dish here or there on their menu, because they know that’s what people want. And I say, give the people what they want! So here is a super simple, insanely flavorful recipe for chicken chilli dry, but here’s the twist. Your mom won’t get high blood pressure after eating this one. Isn’t that amazing?

The ginger lends a hand in adding so much flavor in this dish, that you won’t need to douse your chicken in a salty sauce to achieve depth of flavor. Im a garlic lover through and through, but I’ve always known deep down that ginger is a true flavor hero, for savory and sweet. So here it is, my super simple (that’s always given here) flavor packed recipe for chicken chilli dry, and I’m breaking from the norm here and posting the recipe in a larger quantity, because this flies fast. It’ll be gone before you go for seconds, and we can’t have that.

Here’s what you’ll need:

2 pounds chicken fillets, very thinly sliced into strips

1 Tblspn crushed ginger + 1 Tsp crushed ginger for later

2 Tblspns vinegar

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp white pepper

1/2 tsp salt (you can add more to taste)

3-4 Tblspns cornflour

5-6 green chillies, cut in half

1 tsp sesame seeds

2 Tblspns soy sauce

6-8 dried whole red chillies

green onions to serve

oil for cooking

Start off by marinating the chicken in the ingredients listed in bold font. The extra teaspoon of ginger is for later. Let the chicken sit and marinate for at least 20-30 minutes.

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In a large non stick wok(I must insist on a non stick wok) heat about 3-4 Tblspns oil (you can sue more if you feel the chicken will stick) and add the green chillies and 1 tsp ginger and sauté for a couple minutes, till you can smell all the ginger goodness.

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Then add the chicken. Don’t dump it in, add it in small batches so the chicken pieces can get a good caramelization on them. If you don’t have a large wok, do this in batches. once you’re done cooking all the chicken in batches add it back to the wok for the remaining cooking steps. Don’t over mix the chicken, let it cook for 3-4 minutes on each side so it gets some color in it. Then add the sesame seeds. Sauté for a minute or so, till the chicken is cooked through, then add in the soy sauce and whole dried chillies, saute on high for a minute, then top with green onions and serve.

This goes great with Chow mein, Spicy Chowmein, and Egg Fried Rice. I usually make this with a gravy as well, my spicy Chicken Manchurian, for variety.

I hope you enjoy this super simple recipe. Besides the marinating item, it really comes together pretty quickly. And I can’t stress enough the insane flavor this chicken carries. Happy Cooking!