This easy Chinese Chicken Curry is packed with flavour, easy to make and ready in 30 minutes! I guarantee it will become one of your favourite weekday recipes.
Why not try… my Slimming Chicken Stroganoff
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Picture this… It is late. You are hungry. You are THIS CLOSE to ordering takeout but trying to stay healthy. Put the phone down, this fakeaway recipe is miles tastier and on your table faster than any delivery!
Chinese Chicken Curry is a popular takeaway choice and with good reason. It is a mild curry usually made with chicken, pork, beef and vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, peppers and peas.
Unlike Indian curries, this chicken curry recipe only needs a handful of spices and is very easy and quick to recreate at home. Just take a look at the recipe video and step by step tutorial.
CHINESE CURRY SAUCE
A lot of Chinese curry recipes contain the ever popular Mayflower Curry sauce mix which is available in Medium or Extra Hot. This is mixed with water to create the sauce and actually tastes pretty authentic.
Making your own curry sauce is super easy and healthier too so I prefer homemade to store-bought!
All you need is mild curry powder (or hot if you are that way inclined), Chinese Five Spice, garlic granules and ground Ginger. I always have these in my spice drawer as they are part of so many recipes I love!
HOW TO TENDERISE CHICKEN
Ever wonder how chicken always tastes so tender at Chinese restaurants or your fave takeout? There’s a little trick that Chinese cooks use to create velvety chicken and the method is actually called ‘velveting’, appropriately enough. This step is not essential when making this recipe but it does make a big difference!
All you have to do is mix your chicken strips with baking soda (bicardbonate of soda)! Yup it really is that simple. Add one tablespoon of soda to every 250g (8oz) of chicken, mix and leave to stand while you prepare the other ingredients.
Rinse the chicken in cold water and you can use it in your favourite stir fries and other Chinese recipes. You can also use this tenderising method on pork or beef, especially useful as some cuts can become tough when cooked quickly.
CHICKEN CURRY INGREDIENTS
Here’s what you will need to make this easy curry recipe. Feel free to play around with the veggies just make sure to add them in the sauce depending on how long the need to cook for. The vegetables are supposed to stay quite crunchy in this type of curry.
My recipe makes a mild and slightly sweet curry so if you like it hot, feel free to add some hot curry powder such as Madras.
Some curries use cornflour (cornstarch) slurry to thicken the sauce. I find that the potatoes break up and thicken the sauce quite well on their own.
If you want a silkier sauce feel free to add a tablespoon of cornflour diluted in cold water towards the end of the cooking time. One tablespoon of cornflour is only an additional one Syn so you will only be adding a negligible amount of Syns if you decide to use.
- Onions and garlic
- Mild curry powder, Chinese Five Spice Mix, garlic granules and ground ginger
- A little sweetener – I used Sukrin Gold (this is optional)
- Skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips plus bicarbonate of soda if you are tenderising the chicken (this is rinsed off before cooking)
- Soy sauce or use Tamari for a gluten free version
- Chicken stock (from a cube – check it is gluten free) If you would like a lot of sauce then increase the amount of chicken stock!
- Potatoes, such as Maris Piper, peeled and cubed
- Carrots, sliced thinly
- Sliced bell peppers – I prefer to use red, yellow or orange
- Green beans, sugar snap peas or frozen peas for a bit of colour and crunch
- Water chestnuts – optional but yummy
HOW TO MAKE CHINESE CHICKEN CURRY
Take a look at this step by step tutorial – please note you will find the full recipe, including ingredients in the recipe card at the end of this post.
You don’t need a wok to make this recipe but it certainly helps! I swear by my Scanpan Wok but this budget friendly wok is also great. If you don’t have a wok, simply use any large non-stick frying pan.
STEP 1. Cut the chicken breasts into strips and put in a bowl. Add the bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and toss together to coat. Set aside while you prepare all the vegetables and assemble the spices – about 15 minutes. Rinse thoroughly twice in cold water before using.
STEP 2. Spray a wok or large deep frying pan with low calorie cooking spray. Add the onions and stir fry for 5 minutes, until slightly softened.
STEP 3. Stir in the curry powder, Chinese Five Spice, ground ginger, garlic powder, sweetener and star anise.
STEP 4. Add the chicken and stir to coat in the spices. Add the soy sauce.
STEP 5. Pour in the chicken stock and add the carrots and potatoes.
STEP 6. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, until the potatoes have softened and sauce has thickened. Add the peppers and cook for 3 minutes. Add the cornflour slurry you wish to thicken the sauce further.
STEP 7. Now throw in the green beans and sugar snap peas, stirring to combine. Cook for 2-3 minutes until just cooked – they will continue to cook in residual heat but are supposed to stay quite crunchy. If you prefer these to be cooked through then continue to simmer until softened, a couple more minutes.
STEP 9. Remove and discard the star anise if used. Check the seasoning and add a bit more soy sauce if preferred. Garnish with sliced red chillies and shredded Thai basil leaves and serve with rice.
SW Chicken Curry calorie info
This curry is about 275 calories and only 6 Weight Watchers SmartPoints per serving without any sides. This recipe is Free on Slimming World unless you make it using a store-bought Curry Sauce. I suggest serving this curry over rice but you can also eat it on its own.
Have you made my Chinese Chicken Curry Recipe? I would love to see it! Snap a photo, add hashtag #supergoldenbakes and tag @supergolden88 on INSTAGRAM
Chinese Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- Low calorie cooking spray such as Fry Light
- 2 large skinless chicken breasts (450g | 1 pound), sliced into strips
- 1 ½ tbsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 2 large onions , sliced thinly
- 4 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 tbsp mild curry powder (or more to taste)
- 1 tbsp sweetener such as Sukrin Gold (optional)
- 2 tsp Chinese Five Spice Mix
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp garlic gowder
- 2 star anise (optional)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce (or gluten free tamari)
- 2 cups (500 ml) chicken stock use more if you want a lot of sauce
- 2 large carrots , peeled and sliced
- 2 potatoes , peeled and cubed
- 1 red bell pepper , sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper , sliced
- Large handful fine green beans , halved
- Large handful sugar snap peas , sliced (or use frozen peas)
- 1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch) diluted in 1 tbsp water to thicken optional
- 1 red chilli, seeded and sliced thinly to garnish (optional)
- Thai Basil, sliced thinly to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Cut the chicken breasts into thin strips and put in a bowl. Add the bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and toss together to coat. Set aside while you prepare all the vegetables and assemble the spices. DON'T FORGET! Rinse thoroughly twice in cold water before using.
- Spray a wok or large deep frying pan with low calorie cooking spray. Add the onions and stir fry for 5 minutes over fairly high heat, until slightly softened.
- Stir in the curry powder, Chinese Five Spice, ground ginger, garlic powder, sweetener and star anise.
- Add the chicken and stir to coat in the spices. Add the soy sauce.
- Pour in the chicken stock and add the carrots and potatoes. Do you like your curry with loads of sauce? Increase the stock to 2 1/2 cups (620ml).
- Bring to a rolling simmer and cook for 15 minutes, until the potatoes have softened and sauce has thickened.
- Add the peppers and cook for 3 minutes. Add the cornflour slurry you wish to thicken the sauce further.
- Now throw in the green beans and sugar snap peas, stirring to combine. Cook for 2-3 minutes until just cooked – they will continue to cook in residual heat but are supposed to stay quite crunchy. If you prefer these to be cooked through then continue to simmer until softened, a couple more minutes.
- Remove and discard the star anise if used. Check the seasoning and add a bit more soy sauce if preferred. Garnish with sliced red chillies and shredded Thai basil leaves.
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