Chinese Garlic Chicken Recipe
Chinese Garlic Chicken Stir Fry is a takeout favorite! Tender chicken in an easy-to-make thick Chinese garlic sauce - this delicious recipe is a dish the whole family will love! You can have this Chinese chicken with Garlic Sauce on the table in well under 30 minutes. I share my secret to getting the best and most tender chicken at home. It is easy to make at home and tastes better than takeout. Serve it with some rice and stir-fried veggies for a delicious, easy weeknight meal.
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.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Nutrition
Calories: 238kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 702mg | Potassium: 538mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 130IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition is per serving
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