Salt and Pepper Chicken. Crispy tender chicken seasoned with salt and pepper fried with delicious aromatics. Ready in 20 minutes. I also share how to air fry the chicken.
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What is Salt and Pepper Chicken?
Salt and Pepper Chicken is an aromatic, flavorful chicken dish that is served at many Chinese restaurants and at Chinese takeaway. This popular dish is made of golden brown chicken pieces seasoned in salt and black pepper with Shaoxing wine with some cornstarch and stir fried with garlic, red chili, green onion, sugar, ginger and more cooking wine. It's a quick and easy chicken stir fry dish that comes together in just 20 minutes with minimal ingredients without deep frying - we are simply shallow frying the chicken. This homemade salt and pepper chicken recipe serves well as a main dish with white rice and vegetables for dinner or lunch.
I’ve always been a huge fan of salt and pepper dishes as they are so flavourful with the right aromatics, yet pretty simple to make at home. My Chinese salt and pepper chicken is extremely quick and easy to make! Compared to other Chinese meat dishes, you only need several ingredients to whip this up. This will take 20 minutes and it’s a fantastic for a weeknight meal. My Cantonese salt and pepper chicken requires no marinating time and it still produces a flavourful meat. You can of course marinate it for 20-30 minutes if you’d like.
Ingredients
For this crispy salt and pepper chicken, you’ll need the following ingredients. Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs: or you may substitute with boneless skinless chicken breast but reduce the cooking time by 1-2 minutes as breast tends to dry out faster than thigh due to the lack of fat. Cook until the breast reaches an internal temperature of 165 F.
- Garlic
- Red chili: or substitute with dried whole red chilies. Or omit altogether if you prefer no spice.
- Fresh Ginger
- Green onions or spring onions
- White granulated sugar
- Shaoxing wine: This is a Chinese rice wine popularly used in Chinese cooking. You may also substitute with Dry Sherry or omit altogether.
- Neutral oil: any flavorless oil like avocado oil, peanut oil, grapeseed oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a higher smoke point. I would avoid using olive oil or coconut oil due to its heavier scent.
- Cornstarch or potato starch
Salt and Pepper Chicken Marinade
- Shaoxing wine, or sub with dry sherry wine
- Salt
- Black pepper
How to make Salt and Pepper Chicken
Dice Chicken Thighs
Dice chicken thighs into bite sized pieces, about 6-8 pieces per thigh. Transfer to a bowl.
Season Chicken
Season chicken with shoaxing wine, salt and black pepper and mix well with hand.
Coat Chicken in Starch
Add cornstarch to chicken and mix until each piece is coated in starch.
Fry Chicken
Over medium heat, add oil into large skillet or wok. Once the oil is hot (dip a wooden chopstick and look for bubbles), add chicken. Fry chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side, a total of 7-8 minutes, until golden and crispy. To air fry the chicken, please visit the FAQ section below.
Remove Chicken
Remove and transfer chicken to a plate lined with paper towels or wire rack to remove excess oil.
Sauté Aromatics
Discard most of the oil, leaving enough to moisten the pan. Lower heat to Low setting. Add ginger, garlic, red chili, green onion, and sugar. Sauté for 45 seconds.
Toss in Chicken & Wine
Add fried chicken and Shaoxing wine and mix again. Once mixed, remove off heat. Enjoy!
Storage & Reheating
Leftover salt and pepper chicken will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat, you can either microwave for 2-3 minutes, air fry at 350 degrees F for 5-6 minutes or reheat on the stovetop in a pan on medium heat until hot.
Expert Tips
Below are tips on making this easy salt and pepper chicken:
- Cut chicken into equal bite size pieces for even cooking time. I usually cut each thigh into 6-8 pieces (about 1 x 2-inch-long pieces). I’ll slice the thigh horizontally and then cut them vertically.
- Prepare your ingredients ahead of time. I know I say this in every single recipe post but in Asian cooking it is all about preparing the ingredients prior to cooking. Since we are cooking this dish in a hot wok, it is important to have the ingredients lined up and ready to throw into the pan. You do not want to be fumbling around the kitchen looking for ingredients as you cook. This causes overcooking.
- Do not overcook chicken. 6-8 minutes over medium heat will be suffice for crispy chicken. If you cook any other, the chicken will dry out.
- Cook aromatics over low heat. Aromatics like garlic, green onion or ginger tend to burn easily when cooked over very high heat so I like to recommend lowering the heat, so you have more control.
FAQ
Below are frequently asked questions about this salt and pepper chicken Chinese recipe:
Can I air fry salt and pepper chicken?
Salt and pepper chicken can be made in the air fryer if you follow these instructions:
- First lightly spray the air fryer basket with neutral oil.
- Place the seasoned and coated chicken in a single layer into the air fryer basket giving each piece enough space. Depending on the size of your air fryer basket, you may need to air fry in batches.
- Lightly spray neutral oil over the chicken.
- Air fry at 400 degrees F for 9-12 minutes until golden. No need to flip half way.
Other chicken recipes you may like!
If you enjoyed this Chinese chicken dish, you may enjoy these other recipes:
📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Chinese Salt and Pepper Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 red chilli sliced
- 1 teaspoon ginger thinly sliced
- 1 stalk green onion chopped
- ½ teaspoon white granulated sugar
- ¾ tablespoon Shaoxing wine or sub with Dry Sherry wine
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil or any neutral oil
Marinade:
- 1 tablespoon Shoaxing wine or Dry Sherry wine
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper or white pepper
- ¼ cup cornstarch or potato starch
Instructions
- Slice chicken thighs into bite sized pieces, about 6-8 pieces per thigh. Transfer to a bowl.
- Season chicken with shoaxing wine, salt and black pepper and mix well with hands.
- Add cornstarch to chicken and mix until each piece is coated in starch.
- Over medium heat, add vegetable oil into wok. Once the oil is hot (dip a wooden chopstick and look for bubbles), add chicken. Fry chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side, a total of 7-8 minutes, until golden and crispy. Remove and transfer to a plate. Alternatively to air fry the chicken, please refer to Notes section below.
- Discard most of the oil, leaving enough to moisten the pan. Lower heat to Low setting. Add ginger, garlic, red chili, green onion, and sugar. Sauté for 45 seconds.
- Add fried chicken and Shaoxing wine and mix again. Once mixed, remove off heat. Enjoy!
Notes
Can I air fry salt and pepper chicken?
Salt and pepper chicken can be made in the air fryer if you follow these instructions:- First lightly spray the air fryer basket with neutral oil.
- Place the seasoned and coated chicken in a single layer into the air fryer basket giving each piece enough space. Depending on the size of your air fryer basket, you may need to air fry in batches.
- Lightly spray neutral oil over the chicken.
- Air fry at 400 degrees F for 9-12 minutes until golden. No need to flip half way.
Millie
This was perfect and so easy to make!