Ginger Chicken. Crispy, juicy chicken coated in the best sticky, sweet, ginger sauce. This is an easy dinner recipe. Way better than the restaurant version! Ready in 30 minutes. ​
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What is Ginger Chicken?
Ginger chicken is one of those incredibly scrumptious stir fries. Like General Tso Chicken but with a strong ginger flavor. Made of tender chicken thighs that is coated in starch and fried in a very hot pan in oil and coated in a sweet, ginger, savory sauce. You will find this dish served at many Chinese restaurants or for Chinese takeout.
Perfect as a weeknight meal for dinner or lunch and a good recipe that will make the whole family happy and satisfied. Pair it with steamed jasmine rice or noodles with vegetables for a complete meal. Homemade ginger chicken is one of my favorite Asian dishes that doesn't get enough attention! I love making this easy chicken recipe from time to time as it's a great way to feed the whole family in one pan!
Ingredients
You’ll need the below ingredients for my Ginger Chicken recipe. Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
Note: Most Asian grocery store will carry these ingredients. You may find some at your select grocery store or online, like on Amazon.
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs: or substitute with chicken breasts. However, I highly recommend boneless chicken thighs for a juicy tender cut thanks to the dark meat. You will want to dice the chicken thighs into large chunks, about 1.5-inch pieces.
- Neutral oil:Â any flavorless oil like avocado oil, peanut oil, grapeseed oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. I would avoid using olive oil or coconut oil due to its heavier scent.Â
- Cornstarch: or substitute with potato starch or sweet rice flour. This is to coat the chicken so it becomes golden brown and crispy after it’s fried. You may substitute with all-purpose flour but it won’t be as crispy.
- Green onion or spring onions: optional garnishes
- Toasted Sesame seeds: optional garnishes.
Chicken seasoning:
- 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 of your choice.Â
- Fresh Ginger: to flavor our tender chunks of chicken and this also helps remove any gamey flavor in the meat. If you can find young ginger for this recipe, that will work very well as it's more potent in flavor but feel free to use what you have.
- White pepper or substitute with black pepper
Stir-Fry Sauce:
- Garlic: for that garlicky flavor. This balances out that strong ginger flavor.Â
- Brown sugar, or honey: or substitute with white sugar as a very last resort.
- Regular soy sauce
- Hoisin sauce: a thick, sweet, sticky sauce. It looks like oyster sauce in terms of color and texture, but it's completely different in flavor! So do not confuse the two.
- Fresh Ginger Root: The key ingredient to this ginger chicken stir fry recipe so avoid using ginger power if possible.
- Sesame oil: to add a toasted nutty flavor to our sesame ginger chicken.
- Shaoxing wine:Â This is a Chinese rice wine popularly used in Chinese cooking. You may also substitute with Dry Sherry or rice vinegar (aka rice wine vinegar)
- Cornstarch or replace with potato starch or sweet rice flour. A common ingredient used in many stir fry sauces to help thicken them. Â
- Red pepper flakes (optional): for a spicy kick in our sweet savory sauce. You may substitute with red pepper flakes, red chili flakes or even chili sauce if that's what you have.Â
- Chicken broth or chicken stock, unsalted: or substitute with vegetable stock or cold water.
How to Make Ginger Chicken
Make Sauce
In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients. Set aside.
Dice & Season Chicken Thighs
Dice skinless boneless chicken thighs into 1 ½-inch pieces. Transfer chicken pieces into a large bowl. Then add Chicken seasoning ingredients as listed above and mix into chicken.
Coat Chicken
Pour a heaping ¼ cup of cornstarch over the chicken and mix with tongs until each piece is evenly coated.
Fry Chicken until Golden Brown
In a large skillet or wok on medium-high heat, add vegetable oil or any neutral oil. Once oil is hot, lower in the chicken. Fry chicken until golden brown and crispy, about 7-9 minutes. Note: The internal temperature of cooked chicken should be 165 degrees F with a digital thermometer or until juices run clear.
Remove fried chicken with tongs or a slotted spoon and set aside on a paper-towel lined plate.​ Discard any excess oil in the pan.
Simmer & Reduce Sauce
Reduce to medium heat, pour prepared sauce into pan. Simmer to thicken.
Toss in Chicken
Once thickened, toss cooked chicken back in the sauce and coat evenly. Remove off heat.Â
Garnish & Serve
Optionally, garnish with green onions and sesame seeds and enjoy!Â
Storage & Reheating
This ginger chicken stir fry will last up to 4 days in the fridge stored in an airtight container. The best way to reheat is to microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or on the stove top in a non-stick pan on medium heat.
FAQ
Below are frequently asked questions about my Chinese ginger chicken recipe:
Can I add vegetables to my Ginger Chicken?
​Yes, feel free to add any of the suggest veggies to this gooey ginger chicken:
- Onions, diced.
- Carrots, cut into medallions.
- Bell pepper, diced.
- Fresh green beans, cut into small pieces.
- broccoli to make it into a broccoli stir fry.
- snap peas
- snow peas
- celery
Can I air fry the chicken?
Yes! To air fry the coated chicken:
- Lightly spray air fryer basket with neutral oil.
- Place coated chicken in a single layer. Do not overlap. You may need to air fry in batches depending on the size of your air fryer.
- Lightly spray oil over the chicken.
- Air fry at 400 degrees F for 10-14 minutes until golden brown, crispy and the internal temperature is 165 F with a digital thermometer (or until juices run clear).
Other chicken recipes you may enjoy!
If you enjoyed this ginger garlic chicken, you may like these other fried chicken recipes:
- ​Mongolian Chicken
- Orange Chicken
- Chinese Lemon Chicken
- Honey Sesame Chicken
- General Tso Chicken
- Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Crispy Gochujang Chicken
- Korean Sweet Sticky Chicken
- Bang Bang Chicken
📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Ginger Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken thighs boneless skinless (or sub with chicken breast)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil or any neutral oil for frying
- â…“ cup cornstarch or sub with potato starch/tapioca starch
- 1 green onion finely chopped (optional for garnish)
- ½ teaspoon sesame seeds toasted (optional for garnish)
Chicken seasoning:
- 2 teaspoon regular soy sauce (not dark soy sauce)
- 1 teaspoon ginger peeled & grated
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper or black pepper
Sauce:
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar or honey/white sugar
- 2 tablespoon regular soy sauce (not dark soy sauce)
- 2 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon ginger peeled & grated
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil toasted kind
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine or sub with rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch or sub with potato starch/tapioca starch
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional for a spicy kick (or red chili flakes)
- ½ cup chicken stock unsalted
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine Sauce ingredients as listed above. Set aside.
- Dice skinless boneless chicken thighs into 1 ½-inch pieces (about 6 pieces per thigh). Transfer diced chicken into a large bowl. Then add Chicken seasoning ingredients as listed above and mix into chicken.
- Pour a heaping ¼ cup of cornstarch over the chicken and mix with tongs until each piece is evenly coated.
- In a large skillet or wok on medium-high heat, add vegetable oil or any neutral oil. Once oil is hot, lower in the chicken. (To Air Fry the Chicken, see Notes section below for instructions).
- Fry chicken until golden brown and crispy, about 7-9 minutes. Note: The internal temperature of cooked chicken should be 165 degrees F with a digital thermometer or until juices run clear.
- Remove fried chicken with tongs or a slotted spoon and set aside on a paper-towel lined plate. Discard any excess oil in the pan.
- Reduce to medium heat and pour in prepared sauce into pan. Simmer to thicken.
- Once thickened, toss cooked chicken back into sauce and coat evenly. Remove off heat.
- Optionally, garnish with green onions and sesame seeds and enjoy!
Notes
To air fry the coated chicken:
- Lightly spray air fryer basket with neutral oil.
- Place coated chicken in a single layer. Do not overlap. You may need to air fry in batches depending on the size of your air fryer.
- Lightly spray oil over the chicken.
- Air fry at 400 degrees F for 10-14 minutes until golden brown, crispy and the internal temperature is 165 F with a digital thermometer (or until juices run clear).
Jd
How I'd wish I can make all of your recipes
Indy
Just tried this and it was fantastic. Really tasty, and yes, it's beats a takeaway!!
Christie Lai
Thanks so much for making my recipe and for the positive review, Indy 🙂 So glad it beats takeaway! Have a fantastic day 🙂
Margaret
An amazing recipe. So simple. Flavor out of this world. Air fried the chicken as recipe option instructs- so tender and crispy! A must try
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe, Margaret! So happy the flavor was out of this world! Also happy to read that the air frying option worked out well 🙂