Mongolian Chicken

Despite its name, Mongolian Chicken is not a traditional Mongolian dish but rather a Chinese-American restaurant favorite. It uses bite-sized pieces of chicken, usually battered and deep fried until crispy, then coated in a rich sweet and savory sauce. Inspired by the ever-popular Mongolian Beef, this chicken variation offers a lighter yet equally delicious experience that pairs perfectly with rice or noodles.

Why this recipe

This recipe is my interpretation of the takeout-style Mongolian chicken, and I love this version much more! 

• The chicken is coated with a thin layer of cornstarch and pan fried until crispy. It doesn’t require deep-frying yet yields a very satisfying texture.
• The recipe uses a lot of aromatics and a balanced sauce, so it uses much less sugar and sodium than the takeout version while maintaining the great taste.
• The recipe is quick to put together, making it perfect for a weeknight dinner.
• You can replace or add in vegetables for extra texture and nutrition, making it a complete, balanced meal.

Ingredients

What cut of chicken to use

I highly recommend using chicken thigh for this recipe. The dark meat is juicier and more flavorful, and works perfectly with the rich sauce. When pan frying the chicken thigh, it can withstand a longer cooking time without getting tough and dry, so you can crisp up the surface. 

That being said, you can totally use chicken breast in this recipe as well. If using chicken breast, I highly recommend adding 1/4 teaspoon baking soda to tenderize the meat and prevent it from turning tough during cooking. 

Sauce and aromatics

Mongolian chicken usually uses a very simple soy sauce and sugar based sauce. And it might use chili flakes, ginger and garlic to add aroma.

In my recipe I use whole dried chili pepper to infuse a nice flavor to the oil without adding too much heat. I also use a little Sichuan peppercorn as a hidden flavor, further adding aroma. A generous amount of scallion, ginger and garlic are used for depth of flavor.

For the sauce, I only used enough of the ingredients to just coat the chicken. This way, the chicken won’t be smothered in a lot of liquid, thus preserving the crispy texture. 

Vegetables and options

Mongolian chicken doesn’t usually contain any vegetables. But I found it’s nice to add a small amount of pepper for some color and texture. You can replace it with other vegetables such as blanched broccoli, onion, or bok choy.

Mise en place

When you’re ready to cook, your table should have:

• Marinated chicken
• Cornstarch
• Mixed sauce
• Aromatics (sliced scallion, ginger and garlic)
• Spices (dried chili pepper, Sichuan peppercorn, if using)
• Sliced pepper

How to cook Mongolian chicken

When you’re ready to cook, coat the chicken pieces with cornstarch. When adding cornstarch, sprinkle a little at a time and mix it into the chicken, to ensure all the pieces are coated.

Then proceed to pan fry the chicken pieces until golden brown on both sides. Once this step is done, it’s important to move the chicken to a large plate to cool slightly. It prevents the chicken from overcooking. Plus, the cornstarch coating firms up further during cooling. 

Once the chicken has cooled a bit, stir fry the aromatics, spices and pepper.

Then add the sauce, stir to thicken, then add back the chicken to coat. 

Now you can serve the Mongolian chicken over steamed rice. The chicken is juicy and tender, with a thin layer of crispy coating and a fragrant glossy sauce. 

Other popular takeout to serve together

Here are some other quick and easy takeout dishes that you can pair with Mongolian chicken:

• Egg Drop Soup
• Shrimp Fried Rice
• Soy Sauce Pan Fried Noodles
• Peanut Noodles
• Baby Bok Choy Stir Fry

Afterthoughts

You might find my Mongolian chicken slightly different from the takeout version, since I only used enough sauce to coat the ingredients.

Keep in mind that restaurant Mongolian chicken usually requires a thick batter and a double fry, so the crispy coating can stand up to a lot of sauce without losing its crispiness too fast.

In the homemade version, I chose to use a very thin coating and pan fry to add texture. The thin coating gives the chicken a good mouthfeel, but it doesn’t stay super crispy for a prolonged time once you add the sauce. That’s why I used a small amount of rich and concentrated sauce to create a bold flavor, and the sauce won’t make the chicken lose its texture too fast.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

Mongolian Chicken

By Maggie Zhu

5 from 1 vote

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

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A Mongolian chicken recipe that does not require deep frying, yet it yields juicy chicken with a crispy texture, coated with a sweet, savory sauce that is very fragrant.

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

• 1 lb boneless chicken thigh or breast , sliced into 1/4” (5-mm) thick pieces

Marinade:

• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger

Sauce:

• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce (*Footnote 1)
• 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce (*Footnote 1)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Stir Fry:

• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
• 4 green onions , cut into 2” (5 cm) pieces
• 6 dried chili pepper
• 3 cloves garlic , minced
• 2 teaspoons ginger , grated
• 1/4 teaspoons ground sichuan peppercorn (optional)
• 1 red pepper , diced

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Instructions

• Add the chicken and all the marinade ingredients into a medium bowl. Mix until the marinade coats the chicken evenly. Marinate the chicken while preparing the other ingredients.
• Mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl until the cornstarch is dissolved.
• When you’re ready to cook, slowly add the 1/4 cup cornstarch to the marinated chicken while mixing, until the pieces are coated.
• Heat the oil in a large pan over high heat until shimmering. Spread the chicken in an even layer. Fry without touching for 2 minutes so that the bottom of the chicken turns golden. Flip to cook the other side until golden and the chicken has cooked through, 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and transfer the chicken to a plate. Give the chicken 2 to 3 minutes to cool off.
• Your pan should still have about 1 tablespoon of the oil in it. Add more oil if needed. Add the scallion, dried chili pepper, garlic, ginger, and Sichuan peppercorns. Turn to medium-high heat. Toss until fragrant, 30 seconds or so.
• Add the red pepper. Stir and cook for 1 minute, or until just starting to turn tender.
• Mix the sauce again so the cornstarch is fully dissolved, then pour it into the pan. Stir a few times until the sauce thickens. Add back the chicken. Stir to coat the chicken evenly. Transfer everything to a plate and serve hot with steamed rice as a main dish.

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Notes

1. In traditional Chinese cooking, it’s common to use light soy sauce for flavor and dark soy sauce to add the dark brown color to a dish. You can replace both with regular soy sauce. Your dish will come out a little lighter in color but still tasty.
2. To make the dish gluten-free: use tamari to replace the light soy sauce and dark soy sauce, and use dry sherry to replace Shaoxing wine.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 377kcal, Carbohydrates: 20.8g, Protein: 32g, Fat: 18.2g, Saturated Fat: 3.9g, Cholesterol: 93mg, Sodium: 841mg, Potassium: 407mg, Fiber: 1.2g, Sugar: 9.1g, Calcium: 38mg, Iron: 2mg

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