Crispy tender chicken packed with salt and pepper flavors stir-fried with fragrant aromatics. This easy Chinese salt and pepper chicken recipe is ready in 20 minutes! A restaurant quality main! I share how to shallow-fry or air-fry the chicken.
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Salt and pepper chicken features diced chicken seasoned with salt, black or white pepper, shaoxing wine and coated in cornstarch. The chicken is fried in oil until crispy and stir fried with garlic, chili, green onion, ginger with a hint of sugar and wine.
It's a popular dish served at Chinese restaurants best served with steamed rice and vegetables. The salt, pepper and aromatics compliment the crispy chicken so well that it's a flavor explosion in your mouth!
There are actually a lot of "salt and pepper" dishes in Chinese cuisine, like salt and pepper pork, shrimp, fish and tofu!
The best part is that you can easily make chicken dish at home with simple ingredients in little time, making it great for a busy weeknight meal.
There's also no deep-frying involved in my recipe. We are simply shallow frying the chicken but I also share how to air fry the seasoned chicken if you have an air fryer.
My version also does not require marinating time and the results are still super flavorful but if you want to marinate them in the seasoning for 10 minutes or more, feel free to!
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs: or substitute with skin-on bone-in chicken thighs and debone and leave the skin on. You may substitute with chicken breast but reduce the cooking time by 1-2 minutes. Not a fan of chicken? Substitute with pork shoulder or jumbo shrimp.
- Garlic
- Red Chili: any fresh large red chilis or green chilis or substitute with red bird's eye chili for an extra spicy version. As a last resort, substitute with whole dried chilis or ½ - 1 teaspoon red chili flakes.
- Fresh Ginger
- Green Onions: or substitute with a finely chopped shallot or ¼ cup onion.
- White Granulated Sugar: or substitute with cane sugar.
- Shaoxing wine: a Chinese rice cooking wine. Or substitute with Dry Sherry, cooking sake or dry white wine. For a non-alcoholic or gluten-free version, substitute with chicken broth.
- Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil that has a low smoke point.
- Cornstarch: or substitute with potato starch or arrowroot starch. Avoid substituting with tapioca starch as this causes the chicken to stick together in the pan.
Chicken Seasoning
- Shaoxing Wine: a Chinese rice cooking wine. Or substitute with Dry Sherry, cooking sake or dry white wine. For a non-alcoholic or gluten-free version, substitute with chicken broth.
- Salt
- Black Pepper or White Pepper
Expert Tips
- Get fresh chicken thighs by performing a smell test at the grocery store. If you smell an off putting odor, get a fresher pack.
- Dice the chicken into even bite-sized pieces for consistent cooking time.
- Feel free to marinate the chicken if you have extra time for extra flavor, but it's not required!
- Evenly coat chicken with cornstarch so they get crispy.
- Prepare all the ingredients in advance because the cooking process is fast!
- Wait for the oil to get hot, before frying the chicken.
- Transfer the fried chicken to a wire rack or paper towel plate to drain off excess oil to prevent soggy chicken.
- Don't burn the aromatics! Just a quick sauté on low heat will do.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make salt and pepper chicken:
- Dice chicken thighs into 1.5-inch wide pieces. Transfer diced chicken to a large bowl and mix in the seasoning ingredients: shaoxing wine, salt and black or white pepper. Optional: marinate the chicken for 10-15 minutes if you have time.
- Add cornstarch to the seasoned chicken and toss until each piece is evenly coated in starch.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot and shiny, fry chicken for a total of 7-8 minutes until golden and crispy, flipping over halfway.
- Remove fried chicken from the pan and transfer to a wire rack or a paper towel lined plate.
- Reserve 2 teaspoon of the oil in the pan and discard the rest. Reduce to low heat, sauté ginger, garlic, red chili, green onion, and sugar for 30 seconds.
- Add fried chicken and deglaze with shaoxing wine. Toss everything together. Remove off heat and enjoy! Feel free to add more salt and pepper to taste if needed.
To Air Fry the Chicken
- First lightly spray the air fryer basket with vegetable oil, neutral oil or cooking spray.
- Place the seasoned and coated chicken in a single layer into the air fryer basket without overlap giving each piece enough space. You may need to air fry in small batches depending on the size of your air fryer.
- Lightly spray oil or cooking spray over the chicken.
- Air fry at 400 degrees F for 9-12 minutes until golden and cooked with an internal temperature of 165 F with a digital instant read thermometer. No need to flip half way.
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? Salt and pepper chicken can be frozen for up to 3 months. To freeze, let the chicken cool down and store the chicken pieces in a single layer into a freezer bag resting on a baking sheet. Label and date the bag. Once the chicken is frozen solid for about 1 hour, remove the baking sheet. To enjoy, thaw the chicken overnight in the fridge and reheat in the microwave or in a pan until hot.
Pairing Suggestions
Salt and pepper chicken serves well with:
- starters like egg rolls, crab rangoons, egg drop soup, hot and sour soup
- white or brown rice, cauliflower rice, or fried rice
- chow mein, lo mein, plain noodles, soup noodles
- cooked vegetables like bok choy, spicy garlic bok choy, choy sum, gai lan, garlic green beans or stir fried snow pea leaves.
- protein dishes like Mongolian Beef, Honey Walnut Shrimp, Shrimp Omelet, Soy Garlic Tofu, and more!
FAQ
Salt and pepper chicken can be made up to 4 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat, microwave for a few minutes or in a pan on the stovetop on medium heat.
Yes, feel free to add vegetables (with low-water content) like bell peppers, carrots, snap or snow peas after cooking the aromatics and before adding the fried chicken.
Salt and pepper chicken is not naturally gluten-free because the Shaoxing wine contains gluten. To make this gluten-free, substitute the shaoxing wine with dry sherry wine, dry white wine or chicken broth.
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📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Salt and Pepper Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs or chicken breast
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 large red chilli chopped
- 1 teaspoon ginger thinly sliced
- 1 green onion finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon white granulated sugar or cane sugar
- ¾ tablespoon Shaoxing Cooking Wine or dry sherry, dry white wine, cooking sake or chicken broth
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil or any neutral oil
- ¼ cup cornstarch or potato starch or arrowroot starch
Chicken Seasoning
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing Cooking Wine or dry sherry, dry white wine, cooking sake or chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper or white pepper
Instructions
- Dice chicken thighs into 1.5-inch wide pieces. Transfer diced chicken to a large bowl and mix in the seasoning ingredients: shaoxing wine, salt and black or white pepper. Optional: if you have extra time, you may marinate the chicken for 10 minutes.
- Add cornstarch to the seasoned chicken and toss until each piece is evenly coated in starch.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot and shiny, fry chicken for a total of 7-8 minutes until golden and crispy, flipping over halfway.
- Remove fried chicken from the pan and transfer to a wire rack or a paper towel lined plate.
- Reserve 2 teaspoon of the oil in the pan and discard the rest. Reduce to low heat, sauté ginger, garlic, red chili, green onion, and sugar for 30 seconds.
- Add fried chicken and deglaze with shaoxing wine. Toss everything together. Remove off heat and enjoy! Feel free to add more salt and pepper to taste if needed.
Notes
To Air Fry the Chicken
- First lightly spray the air fryer basket with vegetable oil, neutral oil or cooking spray.
- Place the seasoned and coated chicken in a single layer into the air fryer basket without overlap giving each piece enough space. You may need to air fry in small batches depending on the size of your air fryer.
- Lightly spray oil or cooking spray over the chicken.
- Air fry at 400 degrees F for 9-12 minutes until golden and cooked with an internal temperature of 165 F with a digital instant read thermometer. No need to flip half way.
Claire
I love this salt and pepper chicken recipe. In fact, my whole family does! It has become a weekly favourite, and tastes better than most take out versions, so big thanks from me!
Christie Lai
Gosh this makes me so happy to read! Thank you so much for making my recipe and so glad you and your family enjoys it 🙂
Erica
I've made this twice and the first time they kept sticking to each other and didn't fry right it was still good but I knew I had to try again and I didn't this time was soo good thank you! Your amazing! Wish I could post a pic here
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for the kind words and glad the chicken didn't stick this time. Happy that you enjoyed my recipe!
Julia
Genuinely the best chicken I’ve ever made, followed the recipe exactly and it was so delicious.
Christie Lai
I am so thrilled to read this! Thanks so much for making it and for sharing your positive experience here. Glad you enjoyed it!
Millie
This was perfect and so easy to make!