Black Pepper Chicken

5 from 6 votes

Black Pepper Chicken is a quick and flavorful meal loaded with tender chicken, colorful veggies, and a bold, peppery stir-fry sauce. You can have it on the table in 30 minutes or less!

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Total Time30

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: Black Pepper Chicken

Servings: servings

Author: Chelsea Lords

Cost: $4.68

Equipment

Fine mesh sieve optional
Large pan

Ingredients

1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
3/4 teaspoon baking soda optional
Salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 cup green bell pepper 1 large pepper
1 cup thinly sliced celery sliced on the bias, 3 stalks
1 cup thinly sliced yellow onion 1/2 large onion
2 teaspoons fresh ginger minced in 1-inch pieces, see note 1
2 teaspoons garlic cloves minced, 2 large cloves
1-1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Cooked white rice or cooked chow mein noodles, for serving, see note 2
Fresh sliced green onions optional, for topping

Sauce

1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon chicken stock or broth, see note 2
2 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil or plain sesame oil
1/2 to 2 teaspoons freshly cracked pepper depending on heat preference

US - Metric

Instructions

Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. This step is optional, but will ensure super tender chicken: Place in a small bowl, toss with baking soda, and refrigerate, covered, 15 minutes. Then place chicken in a fine mesh sieve and rinse thoroughly in cold water. Pat dry with paper towels. If not doing this step, simply chop the chicken and proceed.
Toss chicken with 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch and salt and pepper to taste (I add about 1/4 teaspoon each).
Chop pepper into bite-sized chunks, thinly slice celery on the bias: Hold your knife diagonally across the celery stalk, and thinly slice. This obtains more surface area to brown the celery and reduce cooking time. Thinly slice yellow onion. Mince ginger and garlic.
In a small bowl, add soy sauce and remaining 1 teaspoon cornstarch. Whisk with a fork until completely smooth. Stir in oyster sauce, chicken stock, honey, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Add freshly cracked pepper to taste. (I start with 1/2 teaspoon and go up to 2 teaspoons—depending on the type of pepper and personal heat preferences. Start with less; you can always add more.) Whisk until smooth and set aside.
Heat vegetable oil in a large pan over high heat. Add bell pepper, onion, and celery. Cook 5–8 minutes or until they aren't hard or soggy but still have a bite to them. And garlic and ginger. Be careful to make sure neither burn—only cook about 20 seconds. Transfer veggies to a plate and set aside. Add chicken to the pan (adding an additional tablespoon of oil if needed) and stir constantly for about 2–4 minutes or until both sides are lightly browned but not fully cooked through; time varies depending on size of chicken chunks.
Return all cooked veggies and sauce mixture to the pan (give the sauce a quick stir before adding in case ingredients have settled). Toss with tongs 1–3 minutes or until sauce has slightly thickened and chicken is fully cooked. Optionally garnish with green onions. Taste and adjust seasonings to taste, adding more salt and pepper if desired.
Enjoy immediately served over cooked white rice or with cooked chow mein noodles.

Notes

Note 1: I recommend using fresh garlic and ginger so neither burn at the high cooking heats. Jarred or paste garlic and ginger cook much quicker at a high heat.

Note 2: If you’d like to serve this stir fry with noodles instead of rice, cook 6 ounces of chow mein noodles (I use WEL-pak®) for 2 minutes in boiling water. Drain and rinse in cold water. Increase the chicken stock/broth in the sauce to 1/3 cup. Add cooked noodles back in when you add in the sauce. Toss with tongs for an extra minute.

Nutrition Note: Nutrition Facts do not include rice or noodles.

Storage: Store this Black Pepper Chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3–4 days. Reheat in a microwave or on the stove. To freeze, place it in a freezer-safe container or airtight freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.

Nutrition