We love to make stir fries on weeknights because they are quick and easy, and this Black Pepper Chicken is no exception! This is a popular and beloved Chinese American takeout style dish, and today we’re making it at home!
Tender chicken thighs, red bell peppers, celery and onions, tossed with a delicious and balanced black pepper stir fry sauce.
Quick Look: Black Pepper Chicken
- Prep Time: 25 minutes, Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Method: Stir fry in wok or skillet (stovetop)
- Main Ingredients: Chicken thighs, bell peppers, celery, onions, black pepper, soy sauce, oyster sauce
- Flavor Profile: Savory with a balanced sauce
- Ideal for: Weeknight dinners, Asian cooking
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How to Tenderize Chicken for Stir Fries
The secret is marinating the chicken for just 20 minutes using a specific technique called velveting.
If you cook Chinese food often, you may have noticed that a lot of recipes call for a quick marinade using baking soda and cornstarch. It’s a classic technique used to prevent the protein from getting tough or dry when cooking over high heat.
Baking soda is a tenderizer and helps keep the chicken extra tender. Cornstarch also helps to tenderize but its main purpose is to lock in the moisture, which is what keeps the chicken juicy.
Here are more tips: Slice the chicken against the grain to break down any tough muscle fibers. And perhaps most importantly, use boneless chicken thighs rather than chicken breast. This ensures your black pepper chicken stir fry turns out extra juicy and flavorful!
Ingredient Notes
For the chicken and marinade:
- Boneless chicken thighs: I’d highly recommend thighs over breasts for this recipe. Breast meat is lean, and therefore less juicy and easier to overcook.
- Light soy sauce: We just need a little bit here.
- Shaoxing wine: Also known as Chinese cooking wine. It adds flavor depth and a touch of sweetness. A good substitution is dry sherry.
- Vegetable oil: Helps to bring all the marinade ingredients together.
- Baking soda: Helps to tenderize the chicken.
- Cornstarch: Creates a layer that protects against overcooking over high heat, thus helping to retain moisture inside.
For the stir fry and black pepper stir fry sauce:
- Minced garlic and ginger: The aromatics.
- Sliced yellow onions, red bell peppers, and celery: These are the 3 veggies I use for this stir fry, but feel free to use your favorite vegetables.
- Vegetable oil for cooking. Use an oil that has a high smoke point.
- For the black pepper sauce: Coarse ground black pepper, low sodium chicken broth, shaoxing cooking wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and oyster sauce, granulated sugar, cornstarch.
As always, quantities are listed in the recipe card down below.
Substitutions and Variations
- Chicken: If you’d like, substitute with chicken breasts but let it marinate for an extra 5-10 minutes so it tenderizes better.
- Vegetable add-ins: Green bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, carrots.
- Shaoxing cooking wine: Dry sherry is a good 1-to-1 substitute.
- Gluten-free: Arrowroot powder is a good substitute for cornstarch.
How to Make Black Pepper Chicken
- Marinate chicken. Slice the chicken into 1-inch pieces against the grain. Then, in a bowl, combine the chicken with the marinade ingredients (light soy sauce, shaoxing wine, vegetable oil, cornstarch, and baking soda) until evenly coated. Let marinate for 20 minutes on the counter.
- Make the stir fry sauce. Whisk the chicken broth with cornstarch to dissolve, then add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, shaoxing wine, ground black pepper, and sugar until smooth. Set aside.
- Cook chicken. In a large wok over high heat, heat oil then cook the chicken until golden brown and cooked through, stirring occasionally. Remove and set aside.
- Cook vegetables and aromatics. In the same pan, cook the onions, celery and bell pepper until crisp tender, about 2 minutes. Push them to the side, add a bit more oil, then sauté garlic and ginger until fragrant, another 30-45 seconds.
- Combine. Return cooked chicken into the pan and give it a quick stir to combine.
- Add sauce and thicken. Give the prepared sauce a quick stir, then gradually add it in, adjusting the amount to taste. Cook for another 2 minutes until the sauce thickens, stirring to coat evenly.
That’s it! If you’d like, add another pinch of sugar to balance out the savory flavor profile, but I didn’t find this necessary. I love serving black pepper chicken over warm over rice to soak up all the delicious sauce.
Tips for Success
- Use low-sodium chicken broth. If you don’t have low-sodium broth, use a little less soy sauce and oyster sauce so it’s not too salty.
- Marinating the chicken (“velveting”) ensures it’s always tender and juicy. Don’t skip this step. It only takes 20 minutes, which I usually spend cutting the veggies and making the sauce.
- Mise en place. Have everything ready before you start cooking. Stir fries are cooked over high heat and fast, so having everything prepped ensures nothing gets overcooked.
- Use high heat, or medium-high, depending on your skillet. That’s the secret to tasty stir fries, aka “wok hei” which is that smoky flavor.
- I’d recommend using a neutral oil with a high smoke point, such as vegetable (this is what I use), canola, or peanut oil.
- Add the stir fry sauce gradually at the end. Some people prefer their stir-fries less saucy (me!), so definitely adjust to taste.
Recipe FAQs
Through a technique called velveting, which is a quick 20-minute marinade included in the recipe card below.
It’s not necessary. You can use a large skillet instead. I personally prefer to use carbon steel wok because it’s conducive to high heat.
Dry sherry is a common substitute for it.
No, not really, unless you find ground black pepper spicy in general. Feel free to adjust the amount of ground black pepper to taste. If you want to add more spice, add some chili oil.
Prep Ahead, Freezing, Reheating
- Prep ahead: You can chop all the veggies and mince the garlic and ginger ahead. I’d recommend marinating the chicken 20 minutes before cooking, as letting it sit for too long can actually make the chicken mushy and too salty.
- Make ahead and reheating: This black pepper chicken stores and reheats very well, making it great for meal prep. Make it up to 3 days ahead and reheat in the microwave oven.
- Freezing: Let it cool completely then freeze in portioned containers for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat.
Pairing and Serving Ideas
My go-to side for black pepper chicken is steamed jasmine rice. To cook rice, I use a ratio of 1 ⅓ cups of water for 1 cup of rice. I always use my electric rice cooker, but you can also make it in a small saucepan, covered over low heat for about 18-20 minutes.
If you want to up your rice game, try my Coconut Jasmine Rice! Or make Chinese Sausage Fried Rice, which is a lighter fried rice recipe.
Soups are also great! Try by Chinese Chicken Corn Soup, which is like an egg drop soup.
More Takeout Style Recipes
Want to try something more authentic Chinese? My Char Siu Pork or Beef Chow Fun are two of my favorites.
I’d love to hear from you! If you loved my recipe, please consider leaving a 5-star rating and a comment down below. Sign up for my newsletter and follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest
Black Pepper Chicken
Equipment
- Large wok 12-inch or larger
Ingredients
For the chicken and marinade
- 1 pound boneless chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Chinese shaoxing cooking wine - or dry sherry
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch - do not substitute
- ½ teaspoon baking soda - do not substitute
For the stir fry sauce
- ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- ½ tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce - plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon Chinese shaoxing cooking wine - or dry sherry
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar - plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
For the stir fry
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- ½ a medium yellow onion, sliced
- 2 stalks celery, diagonally sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into squares - seeds removed
- Vegetable oil - for cooking
Instructions
- Marinate chicken (aka "velveting"): Cut the chicken thighs against the grain into 1-inch thick pieces. In a bowl, combine the sliced chicken with the all the marinade ingredients. Cover and marinate for 20 minutes at room temperature.
- Prep: Meanwhile, prep all the vegetables and stir fry ingredients. Having everything ready is important because once you start cooking, everything happens quickly over high heat.
- Make the stir fry sauce: In a bowl, dissolve the chicken broth with cornstarch. Then, add the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, shaoxing wine, and granulated sugar and mix until evenly combined. Tip: Cornstarch dissolves best with room temperature liquids, so make sure the broth is at room temp.
- Cook chicken: Heat a large wok or skillet over HIGH heat and add a few generous drizzles of vegetable oil. Once hot, add the chicken and cook until fully cooked and golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Add vegetables and aromatics: In the same pan, add a few more drizzles of oil as needed, and then sauté onions, celery, and red bell peppers for about 2 minutes until crisp tender. Push them to the side of the pan, add a bit more oil then sauté garlic and ginger until fragrant, another 30-45 seconds.
- Combine and add sauce: Return the chicken to the wok. Give the sauce a quick stir again and then gradually add it into the stir fry (adjust the amount to taste). Cook for 1-2 more minutes until the sauce is thickened, stirring.
- If you’d like, add another pinch of sugar to balance out the savory flavor profile, but I didn’t find this necessary. Serve immediately with rice or your favorite sides. Enjoy!
Notes
- Tania’s kitchen note (May 2026): I re-tested this recipe and made a slight update. This updated version calls for 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce (it was 2 tablespoons before). I think this change makes a more balanced black pepper sauce that’s not as salty.
- Marinating time for the chicken: 20 minutes or even overnight.
- For busy weeknights: Prep all the ingredients the day before, including the chicken. Cooking takes 10 minutes or so.
- Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave oven or in a skillet.
- Freezing: Freeze in portions for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat in the microwave oven or skillet.
- How to make jasmine rice for serving: In a pot, combine jasmine rice with water. For every 1 cup of uncooked rice, I use 1 ⅓ cups of water. Bring to a low boil, covered, and cook for 18-20 minutes over low heat until tender. You can also use an electric rice cooker.
- Shaoxing wine: Dry sherry.
- Chicken thighs: Chicken breast, but marinate for an extra 15 minutes or overnight.
- Optional vegetable add-is: Mushrooms, zucchini, green beans, carrots, etc.
- For heat, finish with a little bit of chili oil.
Jack B says
I REALLY liked this recipe. Like all of Tania’s meals, it is a simple recipe yet the flavors come together so remarkably well. I had a 2.5 lbs package of chicken so I doubled the ingredients for the sauce, which worked perfectly. I did stick to the 1 tsp of pepper, however, and that was just enough. Personal preference as I know some would double the pepper. Next time I will start with the wok a little less hot so I do not burn the garlic and ginger. Can say enough about the Black Pepper Chicken. Try it…you will be glad you did! And if you do, you basically have the ingredients you need to make the Beef Chow Fun, so try that one, too!
Tania says
Thank you so much for your kind words, Jack. I am so happy to hear that!
David says
Your mother-in-law shared this dish with me. Delicious! I did add a touch of Bertie’s hot pepper sauce because I like a little added heat. Thank you.
Tania says
Hi David! That’s so awesome to hear. I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Patricia says
This was really good. The chicken had great flavor and was moist. The vegetable were crunchy. And leftovers were very good and it was easy to make. Delicious.