An easy black pepper chicken with juicy tender chicken, crisp vegetables and a rich savory black pepper sauce. It takes no time to put together and tastes better than your usual Chinese restaurant takeout! {Gluten-Free Adaptable}
Black pepper chicken should be one of the meals on your dinner menu rotation. Not only because it’s so easy to put together and delicious, but also because it is loaded with healthy lean protein and colorful veggies that make it perfect as a one-pot meal.
Making restaurant stir fry might look challenging at first glance, but once you’ve followed a solid recipe once, you’ll understand the workflow and the whole process will become way less intimidating. Plus, once you’ve tasted how great a homemade stir fry is, you’ll prefer it over takeout. The homemade version also contains less oil, sugar, and sodium, which is better for your body.
Black pepper chicken ingredients
For black pepper chicken, you probably already have most of the ingredients in your pantry.
Make sure you cut the ingredients, prepare the sauce, and marinate the chicken before you start cooking. When the stir fry starts, you will need to move fast so the ingredients won’t overcook.
When you’re ready to cook, your table should have:
- Minced ginger and garlic in a plate
- Mixed sauce (it’s nice to have a small spoon on the side because you’ll need to stir the sauce again before adding it to the pan)
- Marinated chicken
I like to prepare by grouping my ingredients together so it makes the cooking easier, plus you will have fewer bowls to clean up later.
Cooking notes
1. The key for tender juicy chicken
No matter whether you use chicken breasts or thighs, if you follow this procedure you will get super tender chicken just like you’d get at a Chinese restaurant:
- Always cut the meat against the grain. Try to maintain the same thickness and size for each slice.
- Always marinate the chicken. The whole process will help soften the chicken and create a rich flavor.
- Let the chicken sear for 30 seconds before stirring it. If you try to stir the chicken immediately, you’ll find it stuck to the pan due to the cornstarch in the recipe. If you let the chicken cook for a bit before moving it, the meat will come out well-seared without being torn apart.
2. Why you need to remove the chicken once
Transferring the half-cooked chicken to a plate before adding the rest of the ingredients is crucial for two reasons.
- When you add the sauce and veggies, the pan temperature will drop significantly. If you don’t take the chicken out beforehand, the veggies won’t be seared properly, and the sauce will reduce very slowly. Both result in a soupy dish with steamed ingredients.
- The chicken is slightly underdone when you remove it, and is just cooked through once added back. If you leave the chicken in the skillet the whole time, by the time that the veggies are cooked, the chicken will be way overdone – dry and chewy.
3. Get used to the pace of stir frying
I found that Chinese stir frying has a much faster pace than most Western cooking. When I start cooking a dish, it takes me about 5 minutes (or maybe less) to finish. This means you have less than a minute between adding ingredients. So do read through the recipe before cooking, and move quickly once you start.
How to make black pepper chicken
- Spread out the chicken in a heated large skillet
- Once the surface of the chicken is lightly charred but the inside is still pink, remove from the pan
- Add the aromatics and saute gently
- Stir fry the vegetables
- Pour in the black pepper sauce and cook until it thickens
- Add back the chicken and stir everything together
That’s it! The chicken is tender and juicy and the vegetables crisp with vibrant colors. You can serve it by itself or over steamed rice. For a healthier meal, try to use steamed brown rice. If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days, or in the freezer for a month or two. I hope you enjoy!
More Chinese takeout recipes
- Chinese Curry Chicken
- Chinese Beef and Broccoli (牛肉炒西兰花)
- Sweet and Sour Tofu (糖醋豆腐)
- Easy Shrimp and Broccoli
- Easy Mongolian Meatballs
Black Pepper Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb (454 g) chicken breasts (or thighs) , sliced against the grain into 1/4” (5-mm) thick pieces
Marinade
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce (or soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Sauce
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce (or soy sauce)
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce (or soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Stir fry
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/2 white onion , chopped
- 2 bell peppers , chopped (I used mixed colors)
Instructions
- Combine chicken, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and cornstarch in a medium-sized bowl. Gently mix by hand until the chicken is coated with a thin layer of the mixture. Marinate for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the chicken. Immediately spread the chicken into a single layer using a spatula, with as little overlap as possible. Sear for 30 seconds or so, until the bottom is lightly browned. Flip the chicken. Cook for 15 to 20 seconds. Stir occasionally, until both sides are browned but still a bit pink inside. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the skillet. Add the ginger and garlic. Give it a quick stir until fragrant. Add the white onion and peppers. Stir and cook for 20 seconds.
- Stir the sauce mixture until the cornstarch is dissolved completely, and pour it into the skillet. Stir with a spatula immediately and cook until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, a few seconds. Add back the cooked chicken. Quickly stir a few times to coat everything with the sauce. Turn off heat and remove the skillet from the stove. Immediately transfer everything to a big plate so the ingredients won’t keep cooking in the hot skillet.
- Serve hot as a main dish.
Video
Nutrition
The post was published on July 11, 2018 and updated by Jun 9, 2022.
Personally, this is a perfect recipe for black pepper chicken. This can easily become black pepper steak or shrimp too. If you make this, trust the process: sear the chicken until half cooked. It really makes the chicken juicy and succulent. My first run of this recipe was as written but next time I may top with green onions or chopped chili peppers for the heat lovers in my life.
This is my first online recipe review in the several years I have used online recipes (I am 31). My satisfaction with the product is really what drove me to leave this comment.
This was fantastic!! Definitely better than takeout! I didn’t have the wine out called for but I substituted with more broth and some rice wine vinegar.
Will absolutely make again!
AMAZING!!
What vegetable cleaver do you use in your latest video?
It is Togiharu Hammered Texture Damascus Nakiri 6.5″ (vegetable knife) by Korin, my favorite knife shop.
So delicious and easy to make. My husband loved the sauce so much, he asked me to triple it next time!
I have been preparing Chinese food for 35 years in several countries. I came upon this recipe and tried it out. Simply outstanding! I used Basmati rice, organic chicken breasts and Chinese ingredients from Taiwan. I have leftovers that I will enjoy this evening. Well done young lady!
My family and I really enjoyed this dinner
Omnivores cookbook has changed my life thank you so much!
This dish was excellent! The flavor of the ginger and garlic really stood out nicely. I used extra firm tofu instead of chicken which really soaked in the flavor! Will definitely make it again, even hubby said he really enjoyed it!
This was definitely a hit with my kids. My sauce was very dark though, I think maybe a bit less dark soy next time. Overall delicious!
Glad to hear you enjoyed the dish! The sauce could be quite dark depending on the type of dark soy sauce you use. Some adds more color than the others. You can definitely reduce the amount next time.
This was a great recipe! Love pepper chicken. I struggle to find dark soy sauce, any suggestions?
You can get it on Amazon or The Mala Market:
https://amzn.to/2rZZeea
https://themalamarket.com/collections/all/products/zhongba-dark-soy-sauce-naturally-brewed?aff=2
You can also replace it with regular soy sauce, but the dish will come out a lot lighter in color. The dark soy sauce also add a light caramel flavor, which is nice.
Wow what a great recipe! My family just loved it, even the picky 8 year old! I used sake instead of the Shaoxing wine because I had trouble finding it. So damn good!!
First time using shaoxing wine and wow, this was a great dish!! So good that even though spicy, my kids ate it all.
This was so delicious and easy to make. I didn’t have a red pepper, so used green ones. I also added mushrooms. I mom said, I love that sauce. Thank you for sharing.
This is a new staple for me. It’s super easy and delicious. I just added some chopped baby bok choy and broccoli florets along with the onion and bell peppers for some added veggies and followed the recipe to a T and it turned out delicious.
Made this for my husband and I tonight! It was SO good! I’m already looking forward to eating the leftovers! Thank you for sharing your notes too! Super helpful.
This was very tasty. I will definitely make it again with fresh veggies. I had used a bag of frozen peppers and onions. The chicken was so tender. This recipe made me realize how long I usually cook chicken and why it is so tough. This one is a keeper.
This recipe was very simple and delcious! I will certainly be making this over and over again!
This dish was delicious! Love that black pepper kick! I really appreciate all of the details in the instructions …… the chicken wasn’t tough, the veggies crisp/tender and the flavor divine…… thanks for this new favorite ❤️
This was pretty wonderful! Easy, delicious!