Chinese Chicken Curry (Better than Takeaway)

This Chinese takeaway recipe features tender, well-seasoned chunks of chicken in a yellow curry sauce. Brimming with garlic, onion, and curry flavours. Chinese Chicken Curry is going to be your new weeknight favourite!

Why Every Garlic Lover Needs to Try This

Flavourful seared chicken pieces and hearty chunks of potato coated in a garlicky curry sauce. What’s not to like?

If you liked our Butter Chicken with Garlic Naan recipe, we know you’ll love our Chinese Chicken Curry. More of an East Asian style, with all the classic ingredients like soy sauce and velveted chicken, and lots of garlic, of course.

It’s also faster to make so it’s perfect for weeknights. This curry takes less than 45 minutes from prep to finish. Oh and take a peep at those nutritional facts—33 grams of protein and only 390 calories. It's, dare I say, healthy? This is Chinese takeout you can eat every day.

Ingredient Notes

A few important notes on some of the ingredients used in this Chinese Chicken Curry recipe:

Velveted Chicken Breast: Most Chinese restaurants use velveted deep-fried chicken breast to make their stir fry recipes. It’s how they manage to make cheap chicken taste great. But since we don’t have time to use the deep fryer for a casual weeknight dinner, I developed a method for quicker velveted chicken. Use this velvet marinade to make pan-fried chicken that’s tender, not tough.

(Oooor you can use chicken thighs, which are naturally juicier and more tender, so you can skip the velveting.)

Garlic: Of course this chicken curry uses garlic, just like every other recipe on this blog. Feel free to even throw some garlic powder in there for an extra garlicky flavour.

Ginger: Optional, but recommended. Mince it up very finely because you don’t want to bite into a chunk of ginger, do you?

Potatoes, Carrots, Onions: These are the classic veggies in a Chinese-style curry. Chop them into chunks. They add both a savoury aroma as well as sweetness.

Soy Sauce: Adds a savoury, Asian bite to the curry sauce.

Curry Powder: Any yellow curry powder works here. We usually use Madras curry powder, but S&B curry powder (a Japanese curry powder) is great too.

Cayenne: Optional, if you like it spicy!

Chicken Stock: You can use water too, but we recommend chicken stock for maximum flavour. We used 1 cup water + 1 teaspoon LKK Chicken Bouillon Powder. Add more water for a thinner curry sauce, if you prefer.

Cornstarch: Thickens the curry into a rich sauce. Make sure to whisk it into the chicken stock until there are no lumps. You can also substitute with potato starch or tapioca starch.

See recipe card for quantities.

Directions

Step 1. Slice and marinate the chicken according to our velvet chicken breast recipe. Set this aside while you prepare the other ingredients.

Step 2. Mix together the ingredients for the curry sauce: soy sauce, curry powder, cornstarch, sugar, cayenne, salt, and chicken stock. Set aside.

Step 3. Heat oil in a wok or sauté pan on medium-high heat. Spread the chicken over the wok in a single layer. Sear both sides until lightly golden.

Step 4. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Don’t worry about the centre being undercooked, we’ll be heating it through later.

Step 5. Return the wok to the heat and add the sliced onions. Cook for another minute or so until the edges start to look seared.

Step 6. Stir in the garlic, ginger, potatoes, and carrots. Pour over the curry sauce mixture. Cover and bring to a boil.

Step 7. Turn down the heat and simmer until the potatoes and carrots are softened to your liking.

Step 8. Return chicken to the wok in the last minute of cooking. Sprinkle with scallions and serve.

Substitutions and Variations

• Gluten Free: This recipe is already quite gluten-friendly, just make sure to use a gluten-free soy sauce like Kikkoman Gluten-Free. (Or use coconut aminos, a soy sauce substitute which is almost always bound to be gluten-free.)
• Slow Cooker: Yes, you can make Chinese style chicken curry in the slow cooker! Just follow the recipe steps up to step 6 to get all the meat and vegetables sautéed. Then add everything except the chicken and scallions
• Indo Chinese: Indo Chinese food is a mixture of Chinese and Indian cuisine. It's characterized by Chinese cooking styles like stir fry, mixed with Indian spices. To give this recipe an Indo-Chinese flair,

Equipment

Unlike most of our chicken stir fry recipes, which are best cooked in a wok on a gas stove, this chicken curry is great in a regular skillet or sauté pan and even induction or electric stoves work pretty well.

However, if you cook a lot of Chinese food, and you use a glass or induction stove, consider getting a flat-bottomed wok. The shape of a wok is ideal for most Chinese cooking techniques but traditional woks have a round bottom and don't sit flat. Having a flat bottom makes cooking way easier on electric or induction stovetops.

Storage

Fridge: Keep Chinese chicken curry in the refrigerator for up to four days.

Freezer: Freeze Chinese chicken curry for up to four months.

More Mouthwatering Asian Recipes

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

What to Serve with Chinese Chicken Curry

• Stovetop White Rice
• Yau Mak (Blanched Chinese Lettuce)
• Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Food Safety

• Cook chicken to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C).
• Do not use the same utensils or bowls for cooked food, that previously touched raw meat, without cleaning them first.
• Wash your hands after handling raw chicken.
• Never leave cooking food unattended; even if it's just simmering away on the stove, check on it frequently and don't get distracted.
• Use an oil with high smoking point when doing any kind of stir fry.