BETTER THAN TAKEOUT - Easy Mongolian Chicken Recipe
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Servings
3
Prep Time
50 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Today, we are making easy Mongolian chicken. To be honest, this is not really an authentic Chinese food. It is more like an Americanized take out dish, but is is so savory, sweet, and flavorful. I can indulge in a few bowls of rice with it easily. If you don’t know what to cook for dinner. This is it because everybody loves crispy chicken bites that are covered with a glossy sauce.
Ingredients
- 454g / 1 pound chicken
- 21g / 1.5 Tbsps Chinese cooking wine
- 1.4g / ¼ tsp salt
- 8.3g / ½ Tbsp soy sauce
- 15g / 2 Tbsps cornstarch
- 1 egg white
- 80g / ⅔ cup cornstarch to coat the chicken
- 7.5g / 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- 42g / 2.5 Tbsps soy sauce
- 44g / 3.5 Tbsps brown sugar
- 18g / 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 11g / 2 tsp of dark soy sauce
- 1.2g / ½ tsp ground white pepper
- 120g / ½ cup water
- 330g / 1.5 cup oil for frying
- 9g / 1 Tbsp minced ginger
- 13.5g / 1.5 Tbsps minced garlic
- 4g / about 8 red dried chilies, cut a few open
- 90g / about 6 scallions, separate the white and green parts and cut into stalks
- 9g / 1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds as garnish
For marinading and coating the chicken
For making the sauce
For frying and finishing
Directions
Cut the chicken breast in half, then slice it into 1/3-inch thick pieces. You can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs if you prefer dark meat.
- Marinade the chicken with 1.5 Tbsps Chinese cooking wine, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 Tbsps cornstarch, and 1 egg white. Mix until well combined. The first 2 tbsp of cornstarch in the marinade acts like glue, which will help to catch more cornstarch during the coating.
- Spread 1/3 of the cornstarch in a big container. Add the marinaded chicken one by one. Sprinkle more cornstarch on the top to cover the chicken. Put on the lid and shake well.
- Open the lid and the chicken should be coated nicely. Remove the chicken and use a sieve to shake off the excess starch. Set the chicken aside and continue to coat the next batch. You can also use a big plastic bag, but I decided to reduce the use of plastic so it is your choice.
- Once done, let the coated chicken rest on a try for 15 minutes so the starch has enough time to bond together, and it will fall off less when deep frying.
- While waiting, add 2.5 Tbsps soy sauce, 3.5 Tbsps brown sugar, 1 Tbsp oyster sauce, 2 tsps of dark soy sauce, 1/2 tsp of ground black pepper, 1 Tbsp cornstarch, and ½ cup water into a bowl and mix well.
- Heat 1.5 cups of oil in a wok to 380 F. Fry the chicken in 2 batches over medium heat, about 3 - 4 minutes for each batch. Use a sieve to eliminate the starch crumbs in between the frying.
- Once the chicken is done frying, remove from the oil and set it aside.
- Pour most of the oil out, but leave 1.5 tsp in the wok. Add minced garlic, ginger, and a white part of the scallion. Stir over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until the aromatics are slightly golden on the edge. Pour the sauce and keep mixing until the sauce thickens.
Introduce the chicken back into the wok, along with the green part of the scallions. Toss everything until the chicken is coated nicely. 1 Tbsp of toasted sesame seeds. Serve with white rice.
