Chinese Garlic Chicken Stir Fry is a takeout favorite that you can make at home! Tender chicken in an easy to make garlic sauce in under 30 minutes!
This delicious recipe is a dish the whole family will love! The sauce is made with easy to find ingredients and I'll share my secret for getting the best and most tender chicken at home. It's a stir fry game changer!
Chinese Garlic Chicken is also know as Chicken in garlic sauce or Chinese Chicken with garlic. And it is on every takeout menu! It is a delicious stir fry with a thick garlicky sauce that is super savoury. This is perfect for serving with rice for a dish the whole family will love.
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Ingredients Notes
These notes are here to help make this recipe a success; they cover some but not all ingredients. For a complete ingredient list, with quantities, check out the recipe card below.
Chicken: Chicken breast is perfect for this recipe, it cooks quickly and is tender and lean. Perfect for stir fry.
Baking soda: This is also know as bicarbonate of soda, bicarb and sodium bicarbonate. Don't get muddled with baking powder.
Spring onion/Green onion: These add an authentic taste to the dish. They are chopped into chunky lengths and used as a vegetable and an aromatic.
Garlic: The garlic is the star of the show here, so it is well worth using fresh garlic and slicing it yourself. It will taste better.
Chicken broth: You can use chicken broth or chicken stock. Use a low sodium/salt reduced variety to avoid an overly salty sauce. It also wants to be cold so that the cornstarch/cornflour dissolves smoothly without lumps. You can sub in veg broth/stock.
Chinese cooking wine: This goes by many names! It is also known as Chinese rice wine, Shaoshing rice cooking wine, Shaoxing wine, Shaoxing cooking wine. They are all the same. But don't get it confused with rice wine vinegar, that will not taste good!! You can find it in most grocery stores in the Asian section, on Amazon or at your local Asian grocery store. (It will be cheapest here!) If you can't find Chinese cooking wine, use dry sherry.
Oyster sauce: This is easy to find these days. Most grocery stores will stock it near the soy sauce.
Cornstarch/cornflour: This helps to thicken the sauce and give you that classic Chinese takeout sauce constancy. Without it, the sauce will be watery and thin. If you prefer a thinner sauce, you can half the amount.
Tenderizing the chicken
Once the chicken has been cut into thin strips, sprinkle it with baking soda. This will tenderize the chicken and give you the softest most juicy chicken you have ever eaten. It works by breaking down some of the meat fibres so it melts in the mouth.
The baking soda only needs to be on the meat 10-15 minutes. This is enough time for it to work its magic. After that you need to rinse the chicken really well to remove any traces of it. It is a great tenderizer but it doesn't taste great!
Recipe Tips
We've tested this recipe at least 3 times to ensure it works well for you. Have a look at our tips for getting the best dish you can!
- Once you have tenderized the chicken, rinse it well so there are no traces of baking soda left. Pat it dry gently with kitchen paper.
- Prep all the ingredients before you start cooking, this is a quick cook and things will burn or overcook if you are chopping as you go. I use the time while the chicken is sitting in the baking soda to get everything else ready.
- Make sure the chicken broth is cold when you add all the sauce ingredients. This is so the cornstarch/cornflour doesn't go lumpy.
- Slice the garlic thinly so it cooks through and is nicer to eat.
- Before adding the sauce to the pan, give it a last stir to ensure everything is well mixed together.
- You can use a wok or large frying pan for this recipe.
Why Is This Recipe Special?
- You can get it on the table in under 30 minutes.
- It is healthier than ordering takeout.
- It is easy to add a little heat or more veggies to suit your family.
- It is perfect for the whole family as the chicken is so meltingly tender.
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Recipe Adaptations
These are just suggestions and things that have worked in my test kitchen for my family, but it is your dinner, so adapt it to suit your family. That is the beauty of cooking; we can all create our own delicious meals.
- Add extra veg: You can add carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, asian greens, asparagus, snow peas, baby corn or sugar snaps to this recipe.
- Add some spice: Add a teaspoon of sriracha or chili paste to the sauce for those who love heat in their stir fry. Or stir fry some sliced fresh chili along with your sliced garlic.
- Add sweetness: Add a teaspoon of honey to your sauce for an extra level of sweetness.
- Substitute the meat: The chicken breast can be substituted for sliced skirt steak or pork tenderloin. Both can be tenderized in the same way as the chicken. You can also use chicken thigh instead, but I would then skip the tenderizing steps.
More Recipes to Try
If you enjoyed this dish, here are a few more recipes I think you'll love! They're all easy, tasty, and perfect for adding to your weekly meal plan.
Enjoy x
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Any questions about the recipe? Use the comment section below and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.
Get the Recipe
Chinese Garlic Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
For the stir fry
- 1 pound chicken breasts
- 1 ½ tablespoon baking soda (Note 1)
- 3 green onions/spring onions (Note 2)
- 4 clove garlic
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 cup beansprouts
For the sauce
- ½ cup chicken stock/broth (Note 3)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon Chinese Cooking Wine (Note 4)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- pinch pepper - white is traditional
Instructions
Start with tenderizing the chicken.
- Cut the chicken into thin strips across the grain. Place in a non-metallic bowl and sprinkle with the baking soda. Stir gently to coat all of the chicken. Then cover and let the chicken marinate for 15 minutes.1 pound chicken breasts1 ½ tablespoon baking soda
- Wash off the baking soda and rinse the chicken several times. (Note 5)
- Pat the chicken dry with kitchen paper and set it to one side.
Next, make the sauce.
- Add all the sauce ingredients into a large measuring cup/jug and stir well. Ensure the broth is cold to stop the cornstarch from clumping.½ cup chicken stock/broth1 tablespoon cornstarch1 tablespoon Chinese Cooking Wine1 tablespoon soy sauce1 teaspoon oyster sauce½ teaspoon sesame oilpinch pepper
For the stir fry
- Remove the roots from the green onion and chop them into 2-inch (5cm) length chunks. Peel and thinly slice the garlic.3 green onions/spring onions4 clove garlic
- Pour the oil into a heavy-based frying pan or wok and place over high heat.2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- Add the green onions to the oil (be careful it can spit) and stir fry them for 1 minute to flavor the oil.
- Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Add the sliced garlic and stir constantly for a minute.
- Add the beansprouts, stir to combine, and cook for another minute.1 cup beansprouts
- Give the prepared sauce another stir, and then pour it into the pan. The sauce will thicken quickly, so stir it to coat your stir fry. (Note 6).
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Baking soda is also known as bicarb of soda, bicarbonate of soda, and sodium bicarbonate. Don't get it muddled with baking powder that won't tenderize your meat.
- Green onions are also known as scallions in the US. And are known as Spring Onions in the UK and Australia.
- Make sure the broth is cold; this will ensure that the cornstarch/cornflour dissolves fully and doesn't clump together.
- You can buy Chinese cooking wine in the Asian section of the grocery store, but you can use dry sherry or sake if you can't find it. (See bulk of post for more information on Chinese Cooking Wine)
- Make sure you wash the chicken really well to remove any traces of baking soda. It is incredible at tenderizing meat but has a terrible taste, so you want to remove it.
- The sauce thickens quickly to that authentic thick Chinese takeout-style sauce. If you aren't a fan of the thick coating takeaway style sauces, you can reduce the quantity of cornstarch to ½ tablespoon if you just want a thinner sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition is per serving
Rose says
Such a quick and delicious meal! And the whole family including my picky eaters enjoyed it!
Jennifer says
This is such a quick and easy dish! I loved how tasty it was and the garlic was just right!
E. Franke says
This chicken is absolutely wonderful! It practically melts in your mouth. Just one thing. What is the best way to reheat it without drying it out?
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
I find the chicken reheats quite well, but the sauce doesn't always stay as thick.
Hope that helps
Cx
Aimee says
I've been looking for a chicken garlic recipe since relocating and leaving behind my favourite Chinese takeaway and this recipe is the closest I've gotten.
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
So happy you enjoyed it Aimee.
Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment.
Cx
Elizabeth S says
I made this instead of ordering takeout and OH MY! It was flavorful, delicious, and made for a perfect date night. My love and I had so much fun making and eating it.
Joanne caravaggio says
This is a fantastic recipe I also add extra veggies i.e carrot broccoli mushrooms and up the garlic I also double the source as I like it really saucy definitely a family favourite
Joanne caravaggio says
I double the source and also add other vegetables i.e broccoli carrots mushrooms and also up the garlic absolutely delicious
Shelby says
In love with the garlic sauce on this, it's going to be my "I put that sh*t on everything" thing hehe
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
Haha, I love that!!!
Mandy says
Oh wow! This Chinese chicken was incredible! We will make it again for sure!
Shelby says
The garlic sauce on this stir fry is perfect! The hint of sesame oil gives just the right flavor.
Glenda says
This Chinese Garlic Chicken recipe is scrumptious! And I love how simple it is to toss together, even on a busy weeknight. Both my husband and my grandkids gobbled it up over the weekend. Thanks!
Leoni says
Stir fry made it easy and I have you to thank. Super delicious meal that came together rather quickly. We loved it and making it again soon.
Thank you for your recipe.
Kim says
I couldn't believe how fast this dinner was. The best part is that the kids enjoyed it too!
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
So happy the kids enjoyed it!
We love a quick stir-fry in our house too 🙂
Cx
Lindsey says
This sauce was phenomenal! It was thick and coated the chicken and noodles perfectly! I also added bok choy to the mix to get even more that that garlicky sauce in every bite! And it was super fast. Brava! I'll be making this again soon but doubling it so that we can have leftovers for lunch!