Mongolian Chicken
This Mongolian Chicken is a healthier spin on a classic Chinese-American dish. The crispy coated chicken is smothered in a delicious sweet and savory sauce that is so tasty! This 30-minute easy to make dish is perfect for weeknight dinner.
While Mongolian Beef has always been one of my favorite things to order at Chinese restaurants thanks to its delicious sweet and salty flavor combination. I recently decided to experiment with making a chicken version at home. This healthier version of Mongolian chicken is absolutely delicious! The chicken is coated in an arrowroot and spice mixture and then pan seared until golden brown and crispy. The crispy chicken pieces are then coated in a delicious savory sauce and served with scallions. This is an easy to make recipe that comes together in under 30-minutes and is perfect for weeknight dinner.
Why You Will Love This Mongolian Chicken
- The sweet and salty sauce coats the crispy chicken creating an incredibly flavorful and delicious dish that tastes just like the popular chinese takeout dish!
- This easy mongolian chicken recipe requires basic ingredients you may already have in your kitchen and takes less than 30 minutes to prepare making it the perfect option for an easy weeknight dinner.
- Most Mongolian Chicken recipes that you will find online use store bought sauces such as oyster sauce or hoisin sauce which are packed full of sugar, or require deep frying. This is a healthier spin on mongolian chicken that has all of the flavor but less sugar.
- This Mongolian Chicken recipe is Paleo, Gluten Free, Grain Free and Dairy Free.
What Is Mongolian Chicken
Mongolian chicken is a popular Chinese-American dish that includes thinly sliced chicken stir-fried in a savory and slightly sweet sauce. Interestingly the dish originated from Taiwan and actually has no direct ties to Mongolian cuisine. It is a popular dish that can be found on the menu of many chinese-american restaurants.
Ingredients You Need To Make This Mongolian Chicken
- Chicken: boneless skinless chicken thighs are sliced into thin strips. I recommend removing any large pieces of fat from the chicken thighs before coating them in the arrowroot mixture.
- White Pepper: I love the flavor of white pepper in asian inspired dishes. It has a much milder taste compared with black pepper with no hint of spice. White pepper can be purchased off Amazon or at any asian grocery store.
- Arrowroot Powder: it is a gluten free alternative to corn starch which coats the chicken and helps to create a crispy coating. Feel free to swap the arrowroot for cornstarch or potato starch depending on what you have in your kitchen.
- Oil: I like using avocado oil but any mild flavored oil with a high smoke point can be used.
- Ginger and Garlic: I like using fresh ginger and garlic for the best flavor, but jarred can be used to save time.
- Shallots: these can be substituted for a thinly sliced yellow onion.
- Coconut Aminos: I like using coconut aminos to make this dish paleo, but it can be substituted for soy sauce (I recommend regular soy sauce rather than dark soy sauce) or tamari.
- Chicken Broth: Chicken stock or vegetable stock can be used to thin out the sauce
- Honey: Honey adds sweetness to the sauce contrasting the saltiness and creating a perfect balance of flavors.
- Fish Sauce: fish sauce adds a wonderful saltiness to the sauce that both mongolian beef and chicken are known for.
- Scallions: strips of chopped green onions add a nice oniony flavor to the dish and a vibrant pop of color.
You can find a full list of ingredients in the recipe card below.
How To Make This Mongolian Chicken
In a bowl stir together the arrowroot powder, salt, white pepper and garlic powder. Add in thin slices of chicken and toss to ensure all of the chicken is well coated.
Heat vegetable oil or avocado oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Working in batches, add in the chicken and ensure that it is well spread out to help the chicken to become crispy (overcrowding may make the chicken soggier in texture). Cook the sliced chicken for 3-4 minutes until golden brown in color and then flip and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Set the tender chicken pieces aside and repeat with the remaining chicken.
Wipe the pan clean of any excess oil with paper towels and then add in sesame oil and saute fresh garlic, ginger and shallots for a minute on medium-high heat. Add in all of the sauce ingredients and leave to simmer until the sauce has begun to thicken and then return the chicken to the pan along with the scallions. Stir to ensure the chicken is coated in the mongolian sauce and then sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.
Can I Use Chicken Breasts In Place Of Thighs?
I prefer to use chicken thighs as I find that the chicken has more flavor and remains moist after cooking. Chicken breasts can be used inplace of thighs, but I recommend cutting them into cubes rather then strips to result in juicy chicken pieces once cooked which do not become dry.
What To Serve With This Mongolian Chicken
I love serving this Mongolian Chicken with a side of rice to absorb any of the excess salty and sweet sauce and to make it a more filling meal. As a Paleo or low carb option I like serving it with sauteed cauliflower rice, but brown rice or jasmine rice are also great options. To add more vegetables to the meal I like to serve this mongolian chicken with a side of simple stir-fried vegetables (such as carrots, zucchini, broccoli or asparagus).
Is This Mongolian Chicken Spicy?
Not at all! There is actually zero spice in this chicken dish making it very kid friendly. That being said you can easily make this dish spicy by adding thinly sliced chili peppers in with the shallots, or sprinkling the dish with red pepper flakes before serving.
Can I Add Other Vegetables?
Absolutely! Traditional mongolian chicken usually only contains green onions, but feel free to add in other vegetables to bulk up the dish. Thinly sliced bell peppers, bok choy, broccoli or asparagus would all be delicious added in with the chicken. I recommend adding any vegetables in the same step as the coconut aminos and other sauce ingredients to give the vegetables time to become tender.
How To Store Leftovers
Leftover Mongolian Chicken will last for up to 4 days stored in the fridge in an airtight container. Unfortunately the chicken loses its crispy texture but overtime in the fridge the coating absorbs some of the sauce so every bite of chicken seems to become even more flavorful. I recommend reheating any leftover chicken in the microwave or in a large sauté pan on medium heat until warmed through.
Here are a few more Chinese-American inspired recipes that you might enjoy:
- Sweet & Sour Pork
- Crispy Sesame Chicken
- Teriyaki Chicken Bowls
- Spicy Orange Chicken
- Pork Fried Rice
- Thai Basil Beef
- Salt & Pepper Chicken
- Black Pepper Chicken
If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!
Mongolian Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1 inch wide strips
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp white pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ cup arrowroot powder or corn starch
- 2 tbsp avocado oil or other neutral oil
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp finely chopped ginger
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 large shallot halved and then finely sliced lengthwise
- 1/4 cup coconut aminos or soy sauce or tamari
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 1 bunch scallions cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 tbsp white sesame seeds
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into 1 inch wide strips. Place the chicken in a bowl and toss with the salt, white pepper, garlic powder and arrowroot powder. Toss to ensure that all of the pieces of chicken are well coated in the arrowroot
- Heat the avocado oil in a large skillet or wok on medium high heat. Add in half of the chicken strips ensuring that they are separated and don’t overlap. Cook for 3-4 minutes until golden brown and crispy, flip and cook for another 2 minutes and then set aside in a bowl and repeat with the remaining chicken.
- Once all of the chicken is cooked, use a paper towel to wipe any of the excess oil from the pan. Add in the sesame oil and once hot add the ginger, garlic and shallots and saute for 1 minute before adding in the coconut aminos, chicken stock, honey and fish sauce. Bring to a gentle simmer and leave to cook for 4-5 minutes until the sauce has begun to reduce and thicken.
- Add in the chopped scallions and return the chicken to the pan. Toss to ensure everything is well coated and garnish with sesame seeds before serving.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on May 28, 2024.
Absolutely delicious! Loved the sauce! Will definitely make it again