Garlic Chilli Chicken with Turmeric
Make restaurant quality garlic chilli chicken at home with this easy and healthy recipe full of big, bold flavours. Tender chicken thighs are lightly tossed in a flavour packed chilli and turmeric sauce and flavoured with aromatic ginger and garlic for a quick and easy dinner that everyone will love. And you can adjust the spice to suit your taste!
Prep Time10 minutes mins
Cook Time20 minutes mins
Marinating time20 minutes mins
Total Time50 minutes mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Australian
Servings: 4
Calories: 438kcal
- 1 kg chicken thighs (approx. 5-6 large fillets), skin on or off depending on preference
- 5 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 6 garlic cloves peeled and finely chopped
- 6 cm ginger 28 grams, peeled and finely chopped (quantities/weight of garlic and ginger should be the same)
- 3 shallots peeled and finely diced
- 3 red chillies
- 3 green chillies
- 1 tbsp turmeric ground
- ½ tsp chilli powder or more (or less!) to taste
- pinch Sichuan pepper ground
- ¼ cup canola oil or ghee
- ⅔ cup water
To serve
- Steamed basmati rice, white rice or fried rice.
Place the chicken thighs in a bowl and cover with lemon juice and salt. Stir, cover and set aside for 20 minutes.
While the chicken is resting, place the ginger, garlic, shallots, chillies, turmeric, chilli powder and a little black pepper into a food processor. Use 1-2 tbs of the water and blend until you have a smooth, but slightly chunky, paste.
In a frying pan, heat the oil/ghee and cook the chicken until brown on both sides. Remove the chicken from the heat and rest on a plate. There will be a little liquid from the lemon juice and chicken. Leave this in the pan.
Add the chilli paste to the pan and cook, stirring, until fragrant.
Add the chicken to the chilli paste and carefully pour the water over the top. Cover and cook for around 20 minutes on low heat, lightly simmering. Turn the chicken halfway through. You may need to add a little more water, but you want the paste to stick slightly to the pan at the end and become a little crispy.
Remove from the heat and serve immediately with basmati or fried rice.
The chicken can be marinated in the lemon and refrigerated overnight, to make it even more tender and to reduce the prep time on a busy night.
The chilli paste can also be made ahead and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.
You can control the heat in this dish by the type of chilli you use. If you prefer a more mild dish, use a milder chilli like cayenne. If you love a bit of heat, use a habanero, bird’s eye or jalapeno.
I recommend using chicken thigh fillets with skin on or off, depending on preference. Chicken thighs will remain tender and juicy while being cooked in the pan, while breast fillets can dry out. Save the breasts for another meal!
Serve this dish with some steamed or fried rice, or even cauliflower rice for a low carb option. You can also add a little plain natural or Greek yoghurt, which adds a lovely flavour!
The chicken can be made ahead and stored for 2-3 days in the fridge, or frozen for up to 3 months for an easy dinner. Calories: 438kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 49g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 266mg | Sodium: 928mg | Potassium: 757mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 160IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 3mg