You should make black pepper chicken a regular part of your evening menu.

It’s a great one-pot meal since it’s so easy to make and tastes great. It also has a lot of healthy lean protein and colorful vegetables in it.

At first, making restaurant-style stir fry could seem hard, but once you’ve followed a good recipe once, you’ll know how to do it and the whole thing will seem a lot less scary. And after you’ve had a homemade stir fry, you’ll never want to eat out again. The homemade version has less sugar, oil, and sodium, which is healthier for your health.

Things you need to make black pepper chicken

You probably already have most of the things you need to make black pepper chicken in your kitchen.

Before you start cooking, be sure you cut up the food, make the sauce, and marinade the chicken. You need to move quickly when the stir fry starts so that the food doesn’t cook too long.

Your table should have the following things when you’re ready to cook:

• A platter with minced garlic and ginger
• Mixed sauce (it’s helpful to have a small spoon on hand because you’ll need to whisk the sauce again before adding it to the pan)
• Chicken that has been marinated

I like to get ready by putting all of my ingredients together. This makes cooking easier and means you’ll have fewer bowls to wash later.

Cut 1 pound of chicken breasts (or thighs) against the grain into 1/4″ (5-mm) thick pieces.

Marinade

• 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce (or soy sauce)
• 1 tablespoon of Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch

Sauce

• 1/2 cup chicken broth, 2 tablespoons light soy sauce (or soy sauce), 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry), and 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce (or soy sauce).
• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of coarsely crushed black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon of salt

Stir fry

• 2 tablespoons of peanut oil (or veggie oil)
• 1 tablespoon of ginger minced
• Two cloves of garlic, chopped;
• half a white onion, chopped;
• Two bell peppers, diced (I used different colors)

1. The secret to juicy, tender chicken

If you follow these steps, you’ll get chicken that is really tender, much like in a Chinese restaurant, whether you use chicken breasts or thighs.

• Cut the meat against the grain every time. Try to keep the size and thickness of each slice the same.
• Always let the chicken soak in the marinade. The whole thing will assist the chicken become more tender and taste better.
• Stir the chicken after it has been searing for 30 seconds. Because of the cornstarch in the recipe, the chicken will stick to the pan if you try to stir it right away. If you let the chicken cook for a while before moving it, it will be well-seared and not fall apart.

2. Why you should take the chicken out once

There are two important reasons why you should move the half-cooked chicken to a plate before adding the other ingredients.

• The pan will get a lot cooler when you add the sauce and vegetables. If you don’t take the chicken out ahead of time, the veggies won’t get a good sear and the sauce will take a long time to thicken. Both make a soupy stew with steamed food.
• When you take the chicken out, it’s not quite done yet. When you put it back in, it’s fully cooked. If you keep the chicken in the skillet the whole time, it will be dry and chewy by the time the veggies are done.

3. Get acclimated to how fast stir frying goes

I noticed that Chinese stir frying goes a lot faster than most Western cookery. It takes me around five minutes (or less) to finish preparing a dish. This implies you have less than a minute to add each component. So, before you start cooking, read the recipe all the way through. Once you do, move quickly.

1. Put the chicken in a hot, big skillet and spread it out.
2. Take the chicken out of the skillet when the outside is lightly browned and the inside is still pink.
3. Add the aromatics and cook them gently.
4. Stir-fry the veggies
5. Add the black pepper sauce and simmer until it gets thicker.
6. Put the chicken back in and mix everything together.

Cooking instructions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the chicken, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and cornstarch.
2. With your hands, gently mix until the chicken is covered in a thin layer of the mixture.
3. Let sit in the marinade for 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Put all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix them together.
5. Mix well and put away.
6. Put 1 tablespoon of oil in a big skillet over medium-high heat and allow it get hot.
7. Put the chicken in.
8. Using a spatula, quickly spread the chicken out in a single layer, making sure there is as little overlap as possible.
9. Sear for about a minute, or until the bottom is gently browned.
10. Turn the chicken over.
11. For 30 seconds to 1 minute, cook.
12. Stir every so often until all sides are brown but still a little pink in the middle.
13. Put the chicken on a platter and set it aside.
14. Put the last tablespoon of oil in the skillet.
15. Put in the garlic and ginger.
16. Stir it for a few seconds until it smells good.
17. Put in the peppers and white onion.
18. Cook for 20 seconds after stirring.
19. Mix the sauce together until the cornstarch is completely dissolved, then pour it into the skillet.
20. Use a spatula to stir right away, and heat for a few seconds, or until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
21. Put the cooked chicken back in.
22. Stir everything together quickly so that the sauce covers everything.
23. Take the skillet off the stove and turn off the heat.
24. Put everything on a huge platter right away so the hot skillet doesn’t keep cooking the food.

That’s all! The chicken is moist and delicious, and the vegetables are bright and crunchy. You can eat it by itself or with rice that has been steamed. Steamed brown rice is a healthier option for a supper. You can keep leftovers in the fridge for three to four days or in the freezer for one to two months. I hope you like it!