You should have black pepper chicken on your dinner menu every week.

It’s a one-pot meal that’s easy to make, tastes great, and is full of healthful lean protein and colorful veggies.

At first, making restaurant-style stir fry could seem hard, but if you’ve followed a good recipe once, you’ll know how to do it and it won’t seem so scary. Also, you’ll like homemade stir fry better than takeout once you’ve tried it. The homemade kind also has less sugar, oil, and sodium, which is healthier for your health.

You probably already have most of the things you need to make black pepper chicken in your kitchen.

Before you start cooking, be sure you chop up the ingredients, make the sauce, and soak the chicken in it. You need to move quickly when the stir fry starts so the food doesn’t cook too long.

Your table should have the following things when you’re ready to cook:

• Ginger and garlic chopped up on a dish
• Mixed sauce (it’s helpful to have a tiny spoon on the side because you’ll need to whisk the sauce again before putting it in the pan)
• Chicken that has been marinated

Ingredients

I like to get my ingredients ready by putting them all together. This makes cooking easier and means you won’t have to clean as many bowls later.

• ○ 1 pound of chicken breasts (or thighs), cut against the grain into 1/4″ (5-mm) thick chunks

Marinade:

• ○ 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce (or soy sauce)
• ○ 1 tablespoon of Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
• ○ 1 tablespoon of cornstarch

Sauce:

• ○ 1/2 cup of chicken broth
• ○ 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce (or soy sauce)
• ○ 2 tablespoons of Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
• ○ 2 teaspoons of dark soy sauce (or soy sauce)
• ○ 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
• ○ 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar
• ○ 2 teaspoons of coarsely crushed black pepper
• ○ 1/8 teaspoon of salt

Stir-fry:

• ○ 2 tablespoons of peanut oil (or veggie oil)
• ○ 1 tablespoon of chopped ginger
• ○ 1/2 white onion, chopped
• ○ 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• ○ Bell peppers of different colors, cut up

Notes about cooking

1. The secret to juicy, tender chicken

This method will give you incredibly tender chicken, much as you would get at a Chinese restaurant, whether you use chicken breasts or thighs:

• Cut the meat against the grain every time. Try to keep the thickness and size of each slice the same.
• Always let the chicken sit in the marinade. The whole thing will make the chicken more tender and give it a lot of flavor.
• Before you stir the chicken, let it sear for 30 seconds. The cornstarch in the recipe will make the chicken stick to the pan if you try to stir it right away. If you let the chicken cook for a while before transferring it, the meat will be well-seared and not fall apart.

2. Why you need to take the chicken out once

It’s very important to move the half-cooked chicken to a plate before adding the other ingredients for two reasons.

1. The pan will get a lot cooler when you add the sauce and vegetables. The sauce won’t reduce very quickly, and the veggies won’t get the right amount of heat if you don’t take the chicken out first. Both make a soupy stew with steamed foods in it.
2. When you take the chicken out, it’s a little undercooked. When you put it back in, it’s done. If you keep the chicken in the skillet the whole time, it will be very overcooked by the time the veggies are done. It will be dry and chewy.

3. Get acclimated to how fast stir frying goes

I learned that Chinese stir frying is much faster than most Western cookery. It takes me around five minutes (or less) to finish preparing a dish. This implies you have less than a minute to add each ingredient. So study the recipe before you start cooking and move quickly once you do.

How to cook chicken with black pepper

1. Put the chicken in a large skillet that is hot.
2. Take the chicken out of the skillet when the outside is lightly browned and the inside is still pink.
3. Add the aromatics and cook them slowly.
4. Fry the veggies in a pan
5. Add the black pepper sauce and simmer until it gets thicker.
6. Put the chicken back in and mix everything together.

Directions

1. Put the chicken, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and cornstarch in a bowl that is medium-sized. Use your hands to gently mix the chicken with the mixture until it is covered in a thin layer. Let it sit in the marinade for 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Put all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix them together. Combine well and put aside.
3. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat until it is hot. Put in the chicken. Use a spatula to quickly spread the chicken out into a single layer, making sure there is as little overlap as possible. Sear for about a minute, or until the bottom is gently browned. Turn the chicken over. For 30 seconds to 1 minute, cook. Stir every now and then till all sides are brown but still a little pink within. Put the chicken on a platter and put it aside.
4. Put the last tablespoon of oil in the skillet. Put in the garlic and ginger. Stir it quickly until it smells good. Put in the peppers and white onion. Cook for 20 seconds while stirring.
5. Mix the sauce until the cornstarch is completely dissolved, then pour it into the skillet. Immediately stir with a spatula and simmer for a few seconds, or until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Put the cooked chicken back in. Stir everything together quickly so that the sauce covers everything. Take the skillet off the stove and turn off the heat. Put everything on a huge platter right away so the hot skillet doesn’t keep cooking the food.

Serving Suggestions and Storage

Serve hot as the main course.

That’s all! The chicken is moist and delicious, and the vegetables are bright and crisp. You can eat it alone or with rice that has been steamed. Try using steamed brown rice instead for a healthy supper. Put leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days or in the freezer for a month or two. I hope you like it!