Tender chicken stir fried in a delicious black pepper sauce with crunchy celery, carrots, onions, garlic and ginger! This quick and easy black pepper chicken is restaurant-quality and made in one pan. A fantastic main for the whole family!
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Black Pepper Chicken features juicy chicken stir fried with celery, carrots, onions and garlic in a savory sauce packed with black pepper and umami flavor!
It’s a popular Chinese-American stir fry dish served at many Chinese restaurants, like Panda Express. Best served with white rice to make it a complete meal!
I love this stir fry dish because it's perfect for a busy weeknight meal or meal prep as it comes together simple ingredients. Every bite is packed with flavor and that chicken is so tender!
Ingredients
Please scroll down to recipe card below for exact measurements.
- Skinless boneless chicken breast or substitute with boneless chicken thighs
- Celery: or substitute with bell peppers
- Carrots
- Onion
- Garlic
- Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil. Avoid olive oil, coconut oil or any heavy scented oils.
Chicken marinade
- Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If you’re gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce.
- Neutral oil
- Cornstarch: or substitute with potato starch
- Shaoxing wine or substitute with rice wine vinegar
- Baking soda: do not skip this as this is the key ingredient to tenderizing the chicken so it tastes like Chinese takeout! Don't worry you won't taste it as we're using a tiny amount.
Stir-Fry Sauce
- Oyster sauce: or substitute with vegetarian stir fry sauce if you don't like oysters. If you're gluten-free: substitute with a gluten-free version.
- Regular soy sauce
- Dark soy sauce: this is thicker and darker than regular soy sauce. But if you don’t have this, substitute with regular soy sauce.
- Fresh Ginger
- White granulated sugar: or substitute with brown sugar
- Black pepper: lots of black of black pepper will be needed for this dish!
- Shaoxing wine: or substitute with rice vinegar
- Cornstarch: or substitute with potato starch
- Low-sodium chicken stock: or substitute with vegetable stock
Note: Most Asian grocers will carry these ingredients. You may find some at your select grocery store or online, like on Amazon.
Expert Tips
- Thinly slice chicken on a bias for very tender chicken!
- Velvet the chicken in the marinade for at least 20 minutes for moist chicken.
- Do not skip the baking soda or cornstarch! These are the secret ingredients for very tender chicken.
- Prepare the ingredients in advance as the cooking process is fast!
- Do not over cook the vegetables! They should be crisp.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make black pepper chicken:
Slice and Marinate Chicken
First step, slice chicken breasts against the grain into ¼-inch-thick pieces ensuring they are a similar size.
Transfer sliced chicken breast into a medium bowl. Marinate chicken pieces with Marinade ingredients as listed above for 20 mins.
Create Sauce & Cook Chicken
In a small bowl, combine Sauce ingredients as listed above. Set aside.
In a large pan or wok on medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil. Once oil is hot, fry marinated chicken in a single layer on both sides until cooked and golden brown on the edges, about 3 mins in total. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
Fry Vegetables & Simmer Sauce
Reduce to medium heat. Add remaining oil. Fry onions, garlic, carrots and celery until slightly softened, about 1-2 minutes.
Pour in prepared Sauce. Allow it to simmer to thicken.
Toss in Chicken
Once sauce has thickened, toss back in cooked chicken until each piece is coated in sauce. Remove off heat. Enjoy!
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
- Freezer friendly? This can be stored in a freezer friendly bag and frozen up to 3 months or until you see freezer burn. To reheat, defrost it and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop in a pan. Warning: the celery will lose some of its crisp texture due to the freezing.
Pairing Suggestions
Black pepper chicken serves well with:
- starters like egg rolls, crab rangoons, egg drop soup, hot and sour soup
- white or brown rice, cauliflower rice, fried rice, chow mein, or lo mein.
FAQ
This can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To enjoy, reheat it in the microwave or in a pan on the stovetop on medium heat.
Yes, you can substitute the chicken with shrimp, thinly sliced beef or pork, or diced extra-firm tofu.
Other recipes you may enjoy
📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Black Pepper Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast skinless boneless
- 1 cup celery sliced on an angle
- ½ cup carrots thinly sliced into ¼ inch thick rounds
- ½ cup onion sliced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1.5 tablespoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
Chicken marinade:
- 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1.5 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoon Shaoxing wine or sub with rice vinegar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda do not skip!
Stir Fry Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce or sub with vegetarian stir fry sauce
- 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon ginger peeled and grated
- 2 teaspoon white granulated sugar or sub with brown sugar
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper (add ¼ teaspoon more if you desire a strong black pepper taste)
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine or sub with rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ cup chicken stock unsalted
Instructions
- Slice chicken breasts into ¼-inch-thick pieces ensuring they are a similar size.
- Transfer sliced chicken breast into a medium bowl. Marinate chicken pieces with Marinade ingredients as listed above for 20 mins.
- In a small bowl, combine Stir Fry Sauce ingredients as listed above. Set aside.
- In a large skillet or wok on medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil. Once oil is hot, fry marinated chicken on both sides until cooked and slightly golden brown on the edges, about 3 mins in total. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
- Reduce to medium heat. Add remaining oil with onions, garlic, carrots and celery. Fry until slightly softened but still crisp, about 1-2 minutes.
- Pour in prepared stir fry sauce. Toss everything together and allow sauce to simmer to thicken.
- Once sauce has thickened, toss back in cooked chicken until each piece is coated in sauce. Remove off heat. Enjoy!
Mary
Loved this recipe! Super flavorful and relatively easy. Chicken came out amazing. Will be adding to our dinner rotation. Thank you!
Christie Lai
So happy to read this! Glad it worked out well and it's going into the books!
Kevina Tierney
I was shocked how tender the chicken was! So good!
Christie Lai
I am so thrilled to hear that you were happy with how tender the chicken was! Thank you so much for making my recipe and for leaving this positive review, Kevina!
Rish
Unbelievably delicious !!
Christie Lai
I am so thrilled to read this! Thank you so much for making my recipe and for the positive review, Rish! Have a wonderful day!
Collin S
Your recipes are a revelation. I've been making dishes like this for decades, and I've finally found the source for all the best recipes!
They're easy. They're delicious!! Thank you!
The only difference that I introduce is I usually blanch the vegetables for 1-2 minutes in salted water before stir-frying (I learned that from a local Chinese restaurant 🙂
christieathome
Thank you so much for your kind review and comment - it truly made my day, Collin! I'm so happy that I could share my recipes here with you and glad they're easy and delicious. Love that tip on blanching the veggies!