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This simple Black Pepper Chicken recipe has crispy chicken tossed in a homemade sauce with sautéed bell pepper, celery, and onion served on a bed of rice. It's flavorful, comforting, and ready in less than 30 minutes!
Ridiculously good Black Pepper Chicken
Ridiculously good Black Pepper ChickenThe number of times I've made this in the last few months is…to many to count (and my family never got sick of it, which isn't always the case when recipe testing!) It's ridiculously good, with minimal effort required!
The chicken has the perfect crisp (without deep-frying), and a black pepper sauce with just the right amount of punch. I love that it's a meal-in-one, with rice, veggies and protein, and it's easy enough for any busy weeknight. I marinate the chicken, make the sauce and chop veggies, all in the morning, so that dinner-time is a breeze. So delicious and flavorful, and the leftovers are great too (lunch meal-prep, anyone?).
Want more 30-minute meals? Try Tuscan Chicken Pasta, Pastalaya, Hibachi Chicken, Pimento Cheese BLT, or Taco Soup!
How to make Black Pepper Chicken:
Marinate Chicken: Add chopped chicken to a bowl with soy sauce, oyster sauce, black pepper, and salt and set aside. Add cornstarch to a large bowl or resealable plastic bag and set aside.
Make Sauce by stirring sauce ingredients in a bowl.
Sauté Chicken: Remove chicken pieces from marinade and add to bowl or bag with cornstarch, tossing well to coat. Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Once hot, add ½ of the chicken pieces, spacing them out, so they can get golden and crisp on the outsides, flipping once, about 5 minutes, or just until cooked through. Remove chicken to a plate, reserving the oil in the pan. Repeat with remaining chicken, adding more oil if needed.
Sauté Veggies and Combine: Pour a tiny bit more oil in the pan if needed, then add onion, celery and bell pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, over medium-high heat for a few minutes, until tender. Pour in sauce then simmer until it begins to slightly thicken. Add chicken and stir to coat. Serve Chinese black pepper chicken over hot cooked rice.
Make Ahead and Storage Instructions:
To Make Ahead: Marinate the chicken up to a day in advance, stored in the fridge. Mix sauce ingredients and chop veggies ahead of time.
To Store: Store leftover pepper chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days, depending on freshness of chicken used.
More Asian-Inspired Dishes:
- Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Kung Pao Shrimp
- Teriyaki Chicken
- Mongolian Beef
- Lettuce Wraps
- Chow Mein
- General Tso's Chicken
- Kung Pao Chicken
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Black Pepper Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade:
- 1 ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, , cut into bite-size pieces (680 grams)
- 2 Tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup cornstarch, (65 grams)
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil, (80ml)
Sauce:
- 1 ½ Tablespoons oyster sauce
- 3 Tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock, , low sodium (360ml)
- 3-4 garlic cloves, , minced
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons freshly grated ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
- 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
Stir Fry:
- 1 medium white onion, , chopped into bite-size pieces
- 2 ribs celery, , chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, , large, chopped into bite-size pieces
Serving:
- 5-6 cups hot cooked white rice, (850-1000grams)
Instructions
- Marinate Chicken: Add chicken pieces to a bowl with 2 Tablespoons soy sauce, 2 teaspoons oyster sauce, 1 ½ teaspoons black pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt. Set aside. Add ½ cup cornstarch to a large bowl or resealable plastic bag and set aside.
- Make Sauce: Mix sauce ingredients together and stir to combine.
- Coat chicken in cornstarch: Remove chicken pieces from marinade and add to bowl or bag with cornstarch, tossing well to coat.
- Sauté Chicken: Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Once hot, add ½ of the chicken pieces, spacing them out, so they can get golden and crisp on the outsides, flipping once, about 5 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove chicken to a plate, reserving the oil in the pan. Repeat with remaining chicken. Add more oil if needed.
- Sauté Veggies: Pour a tiny bit more oil to the pan if needed and add onion, celery and bell pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, over medium-high heat for a few minutes, until tender.
- Finish: Add sauce and simmer until it begins to slightly thicken. Add chicken and stir to coat.
- Serve over hot cooked rice.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Made this tonight! So glad I did! I used 1T sugar in the sauce, tho. Everything else as written. Absolutely delicious! Will be making frequently!
This was amazing! So easy and so flavorful!
What can be substituted for oyster sauce in case of allergy?
You could try swapping it out with a little bit of hoisin sauce.
I made this tonight with my 3 year old helping. The kids liked the chicken so much as is that I served the sauce on the side because they loved it as is. However my 8 year old did drizzle the sauce all over his rice and went back for seconds. This rarely happens in my house with new recipes so if you are on the fence about trying it… you should!
How long should the chicken marinate?
You can marinate while you prep other ingredients (just a few minutes) or make ahead up to a day in advance in the fridge.
It looks delicious! Do you have any recommendations for a replacement for the oyster sauce for someone with a shellfish allergy?
For a shellfish-free option, you can use a mix of soy sauce and a little brown sugar or hoisin sauce instead of oyster sauce.
Too hot for mom, but perfect for me. Delicious
This was a great, fast dinner. We all loved it! Kids, teens, and Husband happy! Will make again. Just the right amount of spice.
So good
I usually follow tbfs recipes as is because they’re always amazing. This one I didn’t have oyster sauce so had to use fish sauce. But i was bummed because it didn’t turn out for my taste. Waaayyy to peppery. I used my classic pepper I have in my shaker so maybe using fresh ground would have been better but it was too peppery for me to even keep leftovers. It was HOT. The underlying flavor was good so if I tried making again I would half the required pepper at least and add as needed post.
This was so delicious! So easy to make. Have everything prepped and it comes together fast. Leftovers warm very tasty, too!