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Mongolian chicken recipe cooked in skillet
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4.88 from 16 votes

📋20 Minutes Mongolian Chicken

Mongolian chicken is a Chinese-inspired American dish that has crispy fried chicken smothered in a sweet-savory sauce. It’s a delicious fast dinner that comes together in under 30 minutes.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Course: Dinner, Main, Main Course
Cuisine: Asian
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 390kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 pound boneless chicken breasts will do but highly recommend thighs for juicy chicken
  • ¼ cup corn starch + 2 teaspoon extra for adding to sauce
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil + extra if needed to fry chicken strips
  • 1 teaspoon ginger minced
  • 1 teaspoon garlic minced
  • ½ cup green onion white and green part of onion included
  • ½ cup dark brown sugar
  • ½ cup low sodium soy sauce use gluten-free soy sauce if you are on gluten-free diet
  • 1 ½ teaspoons toasted sesame oil
  • â…“ cup water

Instructions

  • Keep corn flour slurry ready - mix 2 teaspoons of corn flour in â…“ cup water.
    adding corn starch into sauce into the pan.
  • Cut boneless chicken into thin strips. Add chicken strips to a zip-lock bag. Add cornstarch and a pinch of salt and pepper.
    coating boneless chicken strips in corn starch in zip lock bag.
  • Close the zip lock bag and shake well to coat the chicken evenly.
    coating boneless chicken strips in corn starch in zip lock bag.
  • Heat oil in a wok or large skillet.
    Add chicken strips coated in corn flour to hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry a few chicken strips at a time and do multiple batches to fry the chicken. Fry chicken strips on medium heat.
    Note: Overcrowding the pan with chicken will result in the chicken not getting browned evenly.
  • Flip the chicken and brown it on both sides. Cook it for 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until browned.
    frying chicken coated in corn starch in a skillet.
  • Transfer chicken onto a plate lined with a kitchen towel to absorb excess oil from fried chicken.
    golden brown fried chicken was removed from the skillet onto a plate.
  • Repeat above steps for rest of the chicken.
  • In the same pan add minced ginger, garlic, and ½ of the green onion (reserve the rest of the green onion to be added to the dish in the last step). If the pan is dry without any leftover oil in it, add 2 to 3 teaspoons of oil before adding ginger and garlic.
    sautéing scallions, ginger, garlic in skillet.
  • Toss well. Add toasted sesame oil, low-sodium soy sauce, and dark brown sugar to the pan.
    scallions, ginger, garlic in skillet
  • Toss. Stir the slurry once and pour it into the sauce.
    Mongolian chicken sauce in skillet
  • Cook for 30 seconds stirring constantly.
    Mongolian chicken sauce cooked in skillet.
  • The sauce will begin to thicken. Add fried chicken strips and the remaining green onion.
    fried chicken and scallion added to the pan to make Mongolian chicken.
  • Give it a quick toss until all the chicken is evenly coated in the sauce.
    Jo’s Tip: If the sauce turns too dry, you can add a splash(about 1 to 2 tablespoons) of water or chicken stock to adjust the consistency of the sauce.
  • Toss until combined.
    Mongolian chicken in skillet
  • Remove pan from heat. Serve it immediately hot over steamed rice.

Video

Notes

    • Mise en place. The most important step in any stir-fried dish you get all the ingredients chopped, measured, and ready near the stove to be thrown into the pan and tossed.
    • Chicken thighs for juicy chicken. The chicken breast will work, but I highly recommend you to use boneless chicken thighs as it will be moist even if you do tend to overcook your chicken by a few seconds.
    • Thin chicken strips. Cutting the boneless chicken into strips will help cook the chicken fast. Cook chicken on medium heat, high heat will brown and dry the chicken fast.
    • Don't overcook the chicken. Do not leave chicken in the pan for long. Remove it from heat as soon as it turns brown.
    • High heat. Cook everything on high heat moving it quickly and frequently.
    • Keep tossing. Do not let the ingredients sit for long while cooking.
 
Nutritional Info – Please keep in mind that the nutritional information provided is only a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.

Nutrition

Calories: 390kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 1206mg | Potassium: 553mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 159IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 1mg