Recipe: Chicken chilli dry with fried rice

What do you do when all Chinese takeout joints have closed down for the day? You make your own at home and marvel at the fact that it turned out even better than takeout.

Ingredients

For gravy

Chicken -- 250 grams, cubed

Egg -- 1, beaten

Cornstarch -- 3 teaspoons

Salt -- ½ teaspoon

Black pepper -- ½ teaspoon

Soy sauce -- 1 tablespoon

Green bell pepper -- 1, julienned

Red onion -- ½, cubed

Green chillies -- 4, deseeded and julienned

Green onion -- 3 stalks, chopped

Ketchup -- 3 tablespoons

Hot sauce -- 2 teaspoons

Soy sauce -- 1 tablespoon

Chicken powder/chicken cube -- ½ teaspoon or ½ cube

Sugar -- 2 teaspoons

Garlic -- 3 cloves, minced

For rice

Boiled rice -- 1 ½ cups

Mixed veggies (cabbage and carrot) -- 1 ½ cups

Eggs -- 2, beaten

Salt -- 1 teaspoon

Black pepper -- 1 teaspoon

Chinese salt -- ½ teaspoon

Soy sauce -- 2 teaspoons

Vinegar -- 2 teaspoons

Green onions -- 4 stalks, chopped

Method

In a mixing bowl, mix together chicken, salt, pepper, cornstarch and egg. Deep fry coated chicken until golden brown and take it out on a paper towel to soak up excess oil.

Now, in a bowl, mix together ketchup, hot sauce, soy sauce, chicken powder and sugar until combined. Then, in a pan, heat some oil and fry minced garlic until brown. Then throw in green bell peppers and onion and stir fry. Then add the ketchup mix and chicken and stir until combined. Add the green chillies and stir fry for a while. Lastly, add chopped green onions.

Next, make the rice. In a pan or wok, heat some oil and add mixed vegetables and stir fry. Spoon them to the side and add two beaten eggs and scramble them. Mix eggs with the vegetables. Now add salt, pepper, Chinese salt, vinegar and soy sauce. Stir and cook for a while then add the cooked rice. Toss it well so the rice and vegetables are combined well. Then go in with salt, pepper, vinegar and soy sauce again. Then add chopped green onions. Rice is done.

Serve rice alongside chicken chilli dry and enjoy.

Mommy in the Kitchen is run by Sidra Moiz Khan, who juggles her pan and baby by the day and curates a food blog by the night. Follow her Facebook page for more recipes.