Home > Dinner > Black Pepper Chicken Black Pepper Chicken October 29, 2019 | 5 Comments SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Jump to Recipe This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy. A simple 30-minute Black Pepper Chicken stir-fry with veggies and a delicious peppery sauce. Today I’m sharing how to serve this over chow mein noodles or rice! Serve Black Pepper Chicken alongside our favorite Asian Cucumber Salad! My family will make fun of me for how much I love black pepper. I’ll add normal amounts to whatever I’m making and then add a few extra dashes to my own plate. So naturally, Black Pepper Chicken is one of my favorite things to eat. This quick stir-fry recipe is loaded with flavor, but very easy to make. It’s quickly become a family favorite! The pepper does make this dish a bit spicy, but it’s easy to adjust to personal preferences. We’ve made this stir-fry over noodles and over rice and love it both ways; today I’m sharing how to prepare it either way. How to make Black Pepper Chicken This recipe is incredibly easy and quick to make. Once the veggies and chicken are prepped, the actual cook time is very fast. Prep veggies: Thinly slice/chop all the veggies: the pepper, celery, garlic, and ginger. Prep sauce: Whisk all the sauce ingredients together in a liquid measuring cup or small bowl and set aside. Cook noodles or rice: Follow package directions to prepare the noodles and then rinse in cold water. Alternatively, prepare rice instead. Fire up stove: Now that everything’s prepped, it’s time to cook! Start with the veggies, and then the chicken. Add sauce: Pour it in, toss to combine, and enjoy! Make Black Pepper Chicken with rice or noodles To make Black Pepper Chicken with rice: Reduce the chicken broth/stock to 1 tablespoon. Remove the noodles entirely from the recipe and prepare rice separately. Serve stir fry over rice. To make this stir fry with noodles: Cook chow mein noodles (click the link to see what I use) for 1 minute less than the container says; drain and rinse in cold water. Increase the chicken broth or stock from 1 tablespoon to 1/3 cup. Toss the noodles along with the sauce to get everything coated. The “secret” to ultra-tender chicken breast Chop the chicken into small, bite-sized pieces (the smaller the pieces = more evenly dispersed chicken is throughout the dish and quicker to cook) and toss with baking soda. Let stand for 15-20 minutes and then rinse the chicken in a strainer in cold water to get all the baking soda off. Dry the chicken pieces with paper towel, and then it’s ready to use in this recipe. While this is an optional step, it keeps the chicken super tender and sleek! Thanks to Cooks Illustrated for this tip! QUICK TIP It’s important to chop the veggies in even sizes so everything will cook through in the right amount of time. If the veggies are too big or thick, they’ll take longer to cook, and the chicken will likely be overdone. Also note that we’re aiming for crisp-tender veggies; you want the celery, pepper, and onion to still have some “bite” to them. Black Pepper Chicken sauce ingredients Cornstarch: Use just a little for thickening. Soy sauce: Avoid dark or sweet soy sauce; use regular or lite. Oyster sauce: This gives an amazing depth of flavor, so don’t skip it! You’ll find oyster sauce on the international aisle with other Asian sauces and condiments. Chicken stock: I prefer the flavor of stock, but broth also works here. Use low sodium if you’re watching your sodium! Honey: Add just a little to balance everything out. You can use brown sugar instead (1 tablespoon). Rice vinegar: It adds the perfect tang to the sauce. Sesame oil: This adds a great authentic flavor. And of coursewe use plenty of black pepper (geek out on black peppercorns here). Make sure you’re using freshly cracked pepper or a coarse ground black pepper for the best flavor. QUICK TIPWhat’s the difference between broth and stock? Stock is hearty, made with bones and skin and is minimally seasoned. Broth is generally waterier and made with meat, skin, and sometimes the bones. It’s seasoned with herbs and often salt. More delicious chicken dinners Chicken Ramen 30-minute skillet recipe Coconut Chicken Curry reader favorite; read the rave reviews! Chicken Pot Pie packed with flavor Chicken Stir Fry with an easy stir fry sauce Cilantro Lime Chicken with a mango salsa FOLLOW ALONG! Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates, recipes and content. Black Pepper Chicken 5 from 7 votes - Review this recipe Black Pepper Chicken with veggies and a delicious peppery stir-fry sauce can be ready in 30 minutes or less! SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Print Recipe Black Pepper Chicken 5 from 7 votes - Review this recipe SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Print Recipe Black Pepper Chicken with veggies and a delicious peppery stir-fry sauce can be ready in 30 minutes or less! Course Dinner, Main Course Cuisine Chinese Keyword Black Pepper Chicken Prep Time 20 minutes minutes Cook Time 10 minutes minutes Total Time 30 minutes minutes Servings 2 - 3 servings Calories 332kcal Author Chelsea Lords Cost $4.68 Ingredients▢ 1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (or thighs) (cut into small bite-sized pieces)▢ 3/4 teaspoon baking soda, optional ingredient▢ salt and pepper▢ 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch▢ 1 cup green bell pepper (~1 large pepper)▢ 1 cup thinly sliced (on the bias) celery (~3 stalks)▢ 1 cup thinly sliced yellow onion (~1/2 large onion)▢ 2 teaspoons fresh ginger minced (~1 inch piece) Note 1▢ 2 teaspoons garlic cloves minced (~2 large cloves)▢ 1 and 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil▢ Serve over: cooked white rice or with cooked chow mein noodles Note 2▢ Optional: fresh sliced green onions for toppingSauce▢ 1 teaspoon cornstarch ▢ 2 tablespoons lite soy sauce▢ 2 tablespoons oyster sauce▢ 1 tablespoon chicken stock or broth Note 2▢ 2 teaspoons honey▢ 1 tablespoon rice vinegar▢ 1/2 teaspoon toasted or plain sesame oil▢ Freshly cracked pepper (1/2 to 2 teaspoons depending on heat preference/tolerance)US - Metric USMetric InstructionsCHICKEN PREP: Cut the chicken into small, 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, for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, place chicken in a fine mesh sieve and rinse thoroughly in cold water. Pat dry with paper towels. (Because this step is optional, you can simply chop the chicken and proceed with the recipe.) Toss chicken with salt, pepper to taste (I add about 1/4 teaspoon each) and 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch.VEGGIE PREP: Prepare the ingredients, because the cooking goes fast. Chop the pepper into small bite-sized chunks, thinly slice the celery on the bias (diagonal) (Hold your knife diagonally across the celery stalk, and thinly slice. This helps obtain more surface area to brown the celery and reduce the cooking time.) Thinly slice the yellow onion. Mince the ginger and garlic. SAUCE PREP: In a small bowl, add remaining 1 teaspoon cornstarch and soy sauce. Whisk with a fork until completely smooth. Stir in the oyster sauce, chicken stock, honey, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Add pepper to taste. (I would start with 1/2 teaspoon and go up to 2 teaspoons -- all depends on the type of pepper you have and personal heat preferences or tolerances; start with less; you can always add more.) Whisk until smooth; reserve for later.COOK: Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the bell pepper, onion, and celery. Cook for 5-8 minutes or until crisp tender (still have a bite to them, but not hard and not soggy). And the garlic and ginger. Be very careful to make sure neither burn -- only cook for about 20 seconds. Transfer veggies to a plate and set aside. Add chicken to the skillet (adding an additional tablespoon of oil if needed) and stir constantly for about 2-4 minutes or until both sides are lightly browned (not fully cooked through; time will vary depending on size of chicken chunks).COOK CONT.: Return all the cooked veggies and the sauce mixture (give the sauce a quick stir before adding in case ingredients have settled). Toss with tongs for 1-3 minutes or until sauce has slightly thickened and chicken is fully cooked. Optional: garnish with green onions. Taste and adjust seasonings to taste adding more salt if needed and pepper if desired.ENJOY: Enjoy immediately served over cooked white rice or with cooked chow mein noodles. Recipe NotesNote 1: Garlic/ginger: I recommend using fresh ingredients so neither burn at the high cooking heats. Jarred or paste garlic and ginger cook much quicker at a high heat. Note 2: Rice: 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 the cooked noodles back in when you add in the sauce. Toss with tongs for an extra minute. Nutrition Facts do not include rice or noodles. Nutrition FactsServing: 3servings | Calories: 332kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 2056mg | Potassium: 747mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 312IU | Vitamin C: 68mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 1mg We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed. DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? I love hearing from you when you've made one of my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @ChelseasMessyApron or leave me a comment below. With noodles:
We were looking for something quick and easy to make and came across this! It taste so good! Served it over rice! Reply
Made these last night and served them over yakisoba noodles. So delicious and so easy! There was plenty of sauce for the noodles too. Reply
