Chinese Chicken Chili Dry is a popular Pakistani-Chinese (Indo-Chinese) dish made with stir-fried boneless chicken, green chilies, and ginger. The chicken is lightly pan-fried until glossy, then tossed in a bold, spicy sauce that's very addictive.
Chicken Chili Dry has always been my go-to order at Pakistani-Chinese restaurants, and I've tested this recipe until it delivers that same familiar, restaurant-style flavor at home. If you enjoy spicy food, this one hits all the right notes - fiery with gingery heat and not overly saucy.
Love Chinese stir-fries? Try my Chicken in Garlic Sauce, Honey Sriracha Chicken or Kung Pao Chicken.
Table of Content
Key Ingredients
- Chicken - You can also use beef, just slice it thinly so it cooks quickly on high heat.
- Green Chili - I use long green chilies, the kind commonly found in Pakistani or Turkish grocery stores. They're moderately spicy, not as hot as bird's eye chilies. Make sure to deseed otherwise they will be extremely hot. You can use serrano pepper too.
- Ginger - A key ingredient for this chicken chili dry.
- Bell Pepper - This is optional, and many local Chinese restaurants don't add it. I like the extra crunch and bit of color it brings. You can use any color, or skip it entirely.
Step By Step With Photos
Here's how to make this Chicken Chili Dry recipe with a simple visual guide.
- Marinate the chicken with black pepper, salt, and cornflour, then set aside.
- Fry the ginger slices in hot oil until lightly crispy, then toast the minced garlic.
- Cook the chicken on high heat, until just cooked and lightly browned in places.
- Toss in the seasonings: oyster sauce, soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, and brown sugar.
- Stir in the bell pepper and green chilies and cook briefly to keep them crisp.
- Transfer to a serving plate and serve hot with rice or noodles.
Tips For The Best Chinese Chili Chicken
- Fry the ginger on high heat until lightly crispy and golden, but watch closely so it doesn't burn.
- Avoid overcooking the chicken, as it can turn tough. Thinly sliced chicken needs only a couple of minutes on high heat to cook through.
- Once the chicken goes into the pan, always cook on high heat to prevent steaming and to get proper browning.
- Keep the pan uncovered throughout to maintain a dry, stir-fried finish.
- For extra heat, you can add the green chilies with seeds intact . But I recommend deseeding the chilies or the spice will overpower the dish and be quite numbing.
What To Serve With Chicken Chili Dry
Chicken Chili Dry pairs best with simple sides that balance its bold, spicy flavors. Chinese Fried Rice and Hakka-Style Noodles are classic choices, while Garlic Butter Fried Rice is a quicker alternative that works just as well.
Wanna turn this into a full Chinese spread? Start with Hot and Sour Soup or Salt and Pepper Wings as an appetizer, then serve chilli chicken dry as the main alongside Mongolian Beef and Kung Pao Noodles for a complete meal.
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📖 Recipe
Chinese Chicken Chili Dry
Ingredients
- 1.3 lb (600 g) boneless chicken cut into bite-sized strips
- 1 ¼ teaspoons black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 ½ tablespoons cornstarch (cornflour) cornstarch
- 3 tablespoon cooking oil for stir-frying
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh ginger sliced into thin matchsticks
- 3 cloves garlic finely minced
- ½ bell pepper preferably green
- 1 ½ tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 ½ tablespoons regular soy sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons chili garlic sauce see note
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 10-14 green chilies sliced lengthwise & deseeded
Instructions
- In a bowl, add the chicken along with the black pepper, salt, and cornflour. Mix well until the chicken is evenly coated, then set aside while you prepare the vegetables and aromatics.
- Heat a wide pan or wok over medium heat and add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the sliced ginger and fry for about 2 minutes, stirring often, until lightly golden and slightly crisp at the edges.
- Add the minced garlic and sauté briefly until golden and fragrant. Keep the heat controlled here so the garlic doesn't burn.
- Increase the heat to high and add the marinated chicken to the pan in a single layer.
- Stir-fry for 5-6 minutes, tossing constantly. The chicken should turn opaque and lightly brown in some spots.
- Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce, chili garlic ketchup, and brown sugar. Stir well so the sauce coats every piece of chicken evenly.
- Add the sliced bell pepper. Stir-fry on high heat for about 2 minutes, keeping the vegetables slightly crisp.
- Add the sliced green chilies and stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes. Taste and adjust salt or heat if needed.
- Transfer to a serving plate immediately and serve hot.
Video
Notes
- If you don't have the Pakistani Chili Garlic Sauce, use 2 teaspoons tomato ketchup and 2 teaspoons Asian chili garlic sauce.
- Use long green chilies from Pakistani or Turkish grocery stores. If unavailable, serrano peppers are the closest substitute. Bird's eye chilies can be used sparingly, as they are very hot.
- For 'Beef Chili Dry' use the same recipe, just replace the chicken with thin slices of beef.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on Aug 26, 2019 and has been updated with new photos and clearer instructions on Jan 21, 2026.
PIN IT FOR LATER
Ramsha Basheer says
I made chicken chilli dry and it was so good. Cravings satisfied 100% 🫶 plus it’s very easy to make, so I loved it even more 😭💕
Qashang says
Aww thank you for taking the time to leave this comment, it truly means a lot!🥹
Habiba Ali says
Such a wonderful, warming recipe! Didn't take long to make and most importantly my kids loved it!
Qashang says
That makes me so happy to hear 🙂
Chris says
This was delicious! I used two bells instead of 1/2 (1 red and 1 green). Used regular ketchup instead of garlic ketchup. Slightly charred peppers on super hot wok outdoors (the fumes made me cough!) This is my first time making chili chicken and I am thrilled with how good it was!
Thanks for the recipe!
Maryam says
Tried this recipe today and it was alright. This tasted more like teriyaki chicken than chili chicken dry to be honest.
Qashang says
Sorry to hear that the recipe didn't work out for you! ❤
jeffery carlin says
What kind of green chili are you using jalapeno
Qashang says
It's the bird's eye chili/Thai chili. You can also use serrano or cayenne pepper. Jalapeno will be very mild for this dish in my opinion.
M says
what is the difference between chili garlic ketchup and chili garlic sauce? i have never seen the former. can u please tell which brand it is or which store we can buy it from? thanks
Chili to Choc says
Chili Garlic Ketchup is a South Asian sauce which is essentially a spicy tomato ketchup. You can find it in different Pakistani brands like National, Shezan, Knorr, Mitchell's etc. Some of these brands have Chili Garlic Sauce written on the packet so these two sauces are more or less the same. If you can't get a Pakistani brand, you may use the Asian Chili Garlic Sauce or any other hot sauce.
Manizheh says
Any substitute for oyster sauce?
Chili to Choc says
Combine 1:1 ratio of soy sauce (preferably dark) and hoisin sauce.
Mobasir hassan says
This Chilli chicken is my favorite and thank you for sharing it in details. Looking forward for more stir fry recipes.
Chili to Choc says
Thank you so much!