This Black Pepper-Garlic Chicken i one on my favorite Stir-fry recipes, inspired by Black Pepper Chicken served at Panda Express Restaurants. The savory sauce took a bit of tinkering, but I think this copycat version is really close… and it’s delicious, too!
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1 lb boneless, skinless Chicken meat, cut into thin strips
- 2 teaspoons Rice Wine (Saki) or Seasoned Rice Vinegar
- 1 large egg white
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons Canola or Peanut Oil- divided
- Water
For the stiry fry:
- 2 cups thinly sliced Celery
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced Onion- red or yellow
- 1/2 cup sliced Green onions
- 1-2 teaspoons chopped garlic
- 2 Tablespoons Canola or Peanut Oil for frying
- Sesame Seeds for garnish- optional
Sauce Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup Oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoons Soy Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper (to taste)
- 2-3 teaspoons mild Molasses or honey (to taste)
- 1 teaspoon Rice Vinegar or Rice Wine (Sake)
- 1/2 teaspoon Sesame Oil
Instructions
Prepare the chicken:
- Whisk the egg white, cornstarch, rice wine, salt and 1 Tablespoon of oil in a medium bowl until smooth.
- Add the sliced chicken and stir until coated.
- Refrigerate (marinate) 30 minutes. Drain in colander.
- Add 1-2 inches of water plus 1 Tablespoon oil to the skillet. Bring to a full boil over high heat.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low. Immediately add chicken strips, individually, to the almost-boiling water. Stir with slotted spoon so they don’t stick together.
- Once the water comes back to a barely-bubbling simmer, cook the chicken strips for 1 minute longer, stirring occasionally.
- After 1 minute, remove the chicken with a slotted spoon into the colander to fully drain.
- Put the drained strips into bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
Stir fry time:
- Stir all of the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl, allowing about 10-15 minutes for the flavors to mingle/mature while you slice the vegetables. Before stir-frying, taste the sauce and adjust the heat and sweetness as desired. Set aside.
- Heat 2 Tablespoons oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat until almost smoking.
- Add the sliced red/yellow onions to the skillet, stirring constantly for about one minute. At this point, your skillet has cooled down significantly. Crank the heat up to high if neccessary.
- Add the sliced celery, green onions and chopped garlic to the skillet. Stir constantly for 1-2 minutes until the celery is tender-crisp.
- Add the stir-fry sauce. Heat and stir until the sauce is bubbling hot.
- Add the velveted chicken, reduce the heat to medium and stir to coat. Let the chicken heat through, about 1-2 minutes longer.
- Serve over prepared Basmati or Jasmine Rice. Garnish with sesame seeds and additional sliced green onions as desired.
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