Indo Chinese crispy chicken made vegan has amazing textures and flavors! Soy curls with a crisp coating are tossed in a sticky-spicy-garlicky sauce. Serve this as an appetizer or as an entree over rice with your favorite veggies.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 20 minutes
  • Cook time: 25 minutes
  • Total time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: dinner, Main, Main Course
  • Cuisine: Indo Chinese

Ingredients

For the Soy Curls

  • 4 ounces dry soy curls (soaked in 2 cups hot broth or water for at least 15 minutes)

For the Coating

  • 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce (or use tamari)
  • 1/2 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder (or use paprika)
  • 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (or use more cornstarch)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons oil (or more, if needed)

For the Sauce

  • 2 teaspoons oil
  • 4 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 hot green chili (minced, such as Serrano or Thai chili. For less heat, you can also use a tablespoon of chopped green bell pepper instead)
  • 2 tablespoons green onion (white parts, use the green parts for garnish)
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce (or use tamari for gluten-free)
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar (or rice vinegar)
  • 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
  • 2 teaspoons Kashmiri chili powder (or use paprika)
  • 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
  • 1/2 a green bell pepper (chopped small)
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch (mixed with 1/2 cup of water)

For Garnish

  • green parts of the chopped green onion, sesame seeds

Method

  1. If you’re baking the soy curls, preheat the oven to 400° F (205° C)

Make the crispy soy curl chicken.

  1. Soak your soy curls in hot water or broth for 15 minutes, if you haven't already, then drain completely and lightly squeeze out any excess moisture. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, add the ginger garlic paste, soy sauce, Kashmiri chili powder, white pepper, and salt and mix really well to combine. Add the soy curls and toss well to coat.
  3. In another small bowl, mix the cornstarch, flour, and baking powder until well combined, then sprinkle this all over the soy curls, tossing well to coat. The mixture will be dry initially, but then it will pick up the moisture from the marinade and the soy curls and coat the soy curls like a thick batter. If it stays too dry, you can sprinkle in some water to help it coat the soy curls as a batter.
  4. To bake: Drizzle 1 to 2 teaspoons of oil over the battered soy curls, and then spread them onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until crisp.
  5. To pan fry: Add 2 teaspoons of the oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, drop the soy curls into the skillet and cook until they're golden on one side. Then, flip and cook the other side, as well. Stir occasionally in between, so that the soy curls don't stick to each other. Continue to cook until they're golden and crispy on most of the edges. This can take anywhere from 8 to 10 minutes. (You can also add another teaspoon of oil towards the end of cooking to help them crisp up even more.) Remove these from the skillet and set aside..

Make the sauce.

  1. Heat the oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and green chili, and mix and cook until the garlic is starting to turn translucent.
  2. Mix in the white parts of the green onion, and cook for half a minute, then add in all of the sauces and spices and the ginger garlic paste. Mix well and bring to a boil.
  3. Mix in the green bell pepper and the cornstarch slurry, and bring to a boil again.
  4. Toss the crisped up soy curls into the sauce, coating it really well, and switch off the heat immediately. Garnish with the green onions and sesame seeds. Let the soy curls sit for another minute or 2 to absorb some of the sauce and the flavors and then serve as-is or over rice.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.