Chinese Black Pepper Chicken
Chinese takeout-style Black Pepper Chicken and a traditional cooking method to cook moist silky chicken in far less calories.
Posted By Savita
Sharing today, Chinese takeout-style Chicken stir-fry with homemade black pepper sauce and not-fried but moist silken-ed chicken that just melts in mouth!
Chinese Black Pepper Chicken is by far one of our favorite take-out chicken from Panda Express. This is one such Asian chicken stir-fry that is not sweet, has silky moist chicken, and subtle peppery bite. In one sentence, if you like black pepper and fan of Asian flavors then this recipe is for you!
Whenever we eat out Chinese, specially a quick one such as Panda Express... no matter how much Vishal adores their orange chicken, he will always ask for a side of black pepper chicken in panda bowl. Few years ago, I started messing with these flavor at home. Now a days, we often make black pepper chicken at home! Actually, I even use the black pepper sauce to make some vegetarian black pepper tofu too!
So, today I thought to share with you this skinny, delicious, and ready in 20 minutes Chicken Takeout dinner!
Get ready some rice, and let's get cooking!
What is Silken Chicken
You know the best part? In Black Pepper Chicken, chicken is not deep fried rather marinated and poached which is called "silken-ed" in Asian cuisine. It takes almost same time as battered and fried chicken (staple Chinese take-out cooking technique) but chicken comes out super moist.. almost soft like silk. I think that's why the name.
To make Silken chicken, I marinate the chicken in easy-to-find pantry ingredients such as soy sauce, egg white, corn starch and some seasoning. After a brief marination, I poach the chicken in hot boiling water which seals the egg-based marinade onto the chicken, in 10-12 minutes chicken pieces look like silk and are silk moist tender.
You can ready one batch of chicken over the weekend and then use it for any kind of stir-fry you like. This is a low-calorie yet delicious way cooking chicken for all-purpose use.
Once the chicken is ready, Black Pepper Chicken is ready in a breeze. I saute red onion and celery until these are crisp and crunchy, then add chicken and black pepper sauce. Let the flavors mingle for a while and..
Voila!! Chinese Black Pepper chicken is ready to be devoured.
I did not plan this recipe for today but I decided to post it for one of my follower who seems to really love my Chinese-style Chicken recipes like Sweet and Sour Chicken. Hence, posting little late today. I'm sure I will catch up with my friends who did not see a recipe on the blog this morning. :)
Oh, this makes me ask you, which one of my recipe is your favorite? I would love to hear your thoughts on that. Leave a comment below and let me know.
Enjoy! -Savita
Few more Chicken dinners from my recipe repertoire:
Ingredients
- Silken Chicken
- 1 lbs Chicken (bone-less chicken thighs, cubed)
- 1/2 tbsp Corn Starch
- 1 Egg(s) (white part only)
- 1 tsp Rice Vinegar (or 2 tsp Sake)
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Soy Sauce
- 2 tbsp Canola Oil (or more, if frying instead of poaching)
- Black Pepper Chicken
- 1 Cup Red Onion (medium onion, medium diced)
- 2 Green Onion (scallions, small diced)
- 2 Garlic (cloves, small diced)
- 2 tsp Black Pepper (fresh peppercorns, coarse ground)
- 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 tsp Rice Vinegar
- 2 tsp Sesame Oil
- 2 tbsp Oyster Sauce
- 2 tsp Corn Starch
- 1 tbsp Canola Oil
- 1-2 Celery (stalk, small sliced)
- Serving Suggestions
- 4 Cup Rice (cooked, for serving)
Directions
-
1. Mix all silken chicken marinade ingredients - egg white, starch, 1 tbsp oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar in a small bowl. Add small cubed chicken and mix well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Or at-least 20 minutes while you prep the rest of ingredients. Additional Notes:
If using pre-cooked chicken, skip this step. -
2. In meantime, in a small bowl, add black pepper sauce ingredients - soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, corn starch, and 1 tsp coarse ground black pepper (adjust per taste). Whisk well and set aside. -
3. Slice veggies - scallion, garlic, celery, onion and set aside. -
4. Bring a pot of water (2-3 inch water) to rolling boil. Add marinated chicken with slotted spoon (so as leave behind marinade) and poach for 4-6 minutes (or until chicken is fully cooked). Additional Notes:
You can also shallow fry this chicken if you prefer. -
5. After 3-4 minutes, take a piece and check for done-ness. Chicken should not be pink inside. Continue until full cooked. -
6. Transfer chicken to a paper-lined bowl and set aside. Discard the poaching water and also discard the chicken marinade. -
7. In saute pan, heat 1 tbsp oil until shimmering hot. Add onion, half of scallions, and celery. Saute for 1 minute or until crisp tender. -
8. Add cooked chicken and black pepper chicken sauce. Cook chicken and veggies in sauce for 1 minute or until sauce starts to thicken. Remove from heat. Sprinkle more black peppers (per taste) and remaining scallions. -
9. Serve over rice and enjoy!
Savita's Recipe Notes:
Same marinated chicken can also be shallow fried for crispy silken chicken for the black pepper recipe or any Asian stir-fry such as orange chicken or General TSO's chicken.
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