Chinese Pepper Chicken Recipe: Tender and Delicious Chicken Thighs!

What is your go-to item for pairing with white rice? My favorite item is pepper chicken in takeout style. The juicy chicken pieces and a thick gravy with a peppery kick are so delicious that you will end up eating a lot more than you would eat otherwise.

So, do you want to make pepper chicken? I have the Chinese pepper chicken recipe that turns out better than the takeout pepper chicken. Though you need to go through multiple steps to make this chicken recipe, the final dish will be something you love. Let’s make it.

Recipe At A Glance

The overview chart has the key information about the recipe, such as the serving size, preparation time, cooking time, and more. Check it out.

Course: Main	Cuisine: Chinese		Difficulty: Medium
Total Time: 15 minutes
Serving		Preparation Time	Cooking Time	Calories
2 persons		5 minutes	10 minutes	421.6 kcal

Tools and Utensils for the Recipe

You will need the following utensils for this recipe.

1. A medium bowl
2. A kitchen knife
3. A pair of tongs
4. A measuring jug
5. Measuring spoons
6. A frying pan
7. A spatula

Ingredients Needed for the Recipe

I have separated the ingredients into different steps so that organizing them becomes easier.

• Chicken: 500g of chicken thigh, diced
• Cooking Oil: 2 tbsp
• Ginger: 2 tsp, minced
• Garlic: 3 cloves, minced
• Onion: ½ of a brown onion, chopped
• Bell Pepper: 2 pcs, chopped
• Sesame Seed: 1 tsp

For Marinade

• Light Soy Sauce: 1 tbsp
• Shaoxing Wine: 1 tbsp
• Cornstarch: 1 tbsp
• Cooking Oil: ½ tbsp
• Salt: ¼ tsp
• Pepper: ¼ tsp

For the Sauce

• Chicken Broth: ½ cup
• Light Soy Sauce: 2 tbsp
• Dark Soy Sauce: 2 tsp
• Shaoxing Wine: 1 tbsp
• Cornstarch: 1 tbsp
• Sugar: 1 tbsp
• Pepper: 2 tsp of freshly ground black pepper
• Salt: ¼ tsp

Chinese Pepper Chicken Recipe: Step-By-Step Instructions

When you divide the workflow into steps, making this pepper chicken will be easier.

Step 1: Prepare the Sauce

I have listed the ingredients for the sauce above. Take all of these ingredients in a glass jar and mix well. Set the sauce aside for later use.

Step 2: Cut and Marinate the Chicken

Cut chicken thighs into medium pieces and clean them thoroughly. Then, add light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, cornstarch, cooking oil, salt, and pepper to the chicken. Combine the ingredients well and marinate the chicken for a few minutes.

Step 3: Fry the Chicken

Pour some oil into a pan and heat it. Add the marinated chicken to the hot oil and fry them for two minutes over high heat. Then, take the chicken pieces out.

Step 4: Cook the Vegetables and Aromatics

Add a splash of oil to the pan. Put minced ginger and garlic into the pan and fry them for about one minute. Then, add the diced onion and bell peppers to the pan. Stir-fry them over medium heat for a few minutes.

Step 5: Add the Fried Chicken and Sauce

Put the fried chicken pieces back into the pan and pour the sauce you prepared earlier. Cook everything for a few more minutes until the sauce is thickened. Finally, sprinkle some sesame seeds on top and serve!

Nutrition Facts of the Recipe

Chinese pepper chicken is a high-protein recipe that also has other essential nutrients. I compiled the nutrients below and will give you a brief overview of their nutritional value.

• Total Carbohydrates: 31.8g
• Protein: 33.8g
• Total Fat: 18.6g
• Saturated Fat: 3.7g
• Polyunsaturated Fat: 3.9g
• Monounsaturated Fat: 10.5g
• Trans Fat: 0.1g
• Total Dietary Fiber: 3.4g
• Total Sugar: 5g
• Cholesterol: 153.6mg
• Sodium: 1131.3mg
• Potassium: 546.4mg
• Calcium: 53.9mg
• Iron: 2.3mg
• Vitamin A: 22IU
• Vitamin C: 65mg
• Vitamin D: 0.4mcg

As this dish is high in cholesterol and sodium, you should be careful about eating it too often. However, it has a lot of unsaturated fat compared to the saturated fat. Besides, you get a lot of minerals and vitamins from this dish.

Do’s and Don’ts of the Recipe

Even the simplest recipe can turn into a mess if you don’t know the right tips. Here are some tips from my experience.

Do’s

• Cut onions and bell peppers into large pieces so that they are similar to the chicken pieces. It gives the dish a balanced look.
• Add generous amounts of black pepper to the dish if you want it to be spicy.

Don’ts

• Don’t add too much salt to the dish. It is because you already used a lot of soy sauce for the marinade and the gravy. 
• Don’t cook the onions and bell peppers for too long. Otherwise, they will be mushy. These items should have a slight crunch to them when you eat the dish.

Do I Need to Use Boneless Chicken Thigh for This Recipe?

Using boneless chicken thighs for this recipe is a better option because boneless chicken thighs get cooked faster. Bone-in pieces take longer to cook and you face the hassle of separating the bones while eating the chicken.

Boneless chicken thighs are easier to eat for people of all ages. However, bone-in chicken thighs may be juicier than boneless thighs. So, select the type of chicken thigh you want to use in this recipe according to your preference.

Can I Make Beef or Pork Using This Recipe?

Of course. If you want to skip the chicken and use beef or pork instead, there are no issues. You just need to cut the beef or pork into thin slices for this recipe. 

As the meat is cooked for a short time, thin slices will be cooked faster. Remember, you might need to adjust the amount of sauces and seasonings if you use beef or pork for this recipe.

How Long Do I Need to Marinate the Meat?

If you are using boneless chicken thighs, marinating the chicken for about 10 minutes is enough. But if you use beef or pork, I recommend marinating the meat for about 30-60 minutes.

The more you marinate the meat, the more flavorful this dish will be. Also, a longer marination ensures the meat gets cooked faster.

Do I Need to Deep-Fry or Shallow-Fry the Chicken?

Regardless of whatever meat you use for this recipe, you need to shallow-fry the meat. Deep-frying the meat will require a lot of oil and make the outside crunchy. You don’t want that for this dish.

Instead, you need to shallow-fry the meat so that it gets cooked but the surface isn’t too hard. Otherwise, the meat won’t absorb the flavors from the sauce.

Discussion Recap

Chinese pepper chicken is a popular item on the takeout menu not only because of the tender chicken but also the flavorful sauce. What if you could make this delicious chicken dish at home? This is why I brought the Chinese pepper chicken recipe with a bit of personal touch.

I customized the marinade a bit so that the chicken thighs become more flavorful. If you want to customize the recipe more, you can do it by adjusting the amount of sugar, black pepper, etc.