This Mongolian chicken is crispy slices of chicken breast stir fried in a sweet and savory sauce. A restaurant favorite that tastes even better when you make it at home!
I’m a huge fan of Mongolian beef, but I have to say, I think I may like this easy Mongolian chicken even better. The chicken is perfectly crispy on the edges and the sauce has the perfect balance of flavors.
I recently ordered Mongolian chicken at my local Chinese restaurant instead of my go-to Mongolian beef, and boy am I hooked. I decided I needed to learn how to make this dish at home, and it’s been on constant rotation in our house ever since.
How do you make Mongolian chicken?
This recipe starts with thin pieces of chicken breast. I recommend partially freezing your chicken breasts to make them easier to slice. You can cube your chicken if that’s easier, but I think the long thin slices are better because they have more surface area for the sauce to cling to. The chicken is coated in cornstarch and stir fried until crispy.
What is Mongolian sauce made of?
The crispy chicken pieces are coated in Mongolian sauce which is a combination of soy sauce, sesame oil and brown sugar. This dish also gets its flavor from the garlic, ginger and green onions that are added in during the cooking process.
Tips for Mongolian chicken
I keep this dish true to the restaurant version by just including chicken and green onions in the sauce. You can absolutely add more vegetables if you like, some great choices are
- Zucchini
- Water chestnuts
- Sliced carrots
- Broccoli
- Mushrooms
- Red peppers
I typically serve Mongolian chicken over steamed rice, but it’s also great over zucchini noodles or cauliflower rice if you’re looking to watch your carbs. If you’re not watching your carbs, try it with a side of chow mein.
If you’re not a fan of chicken breast, feel free to use chicken thighs in this dish. Or try something completely different and use shrimp instead of chicken, I’ve done that before and it’s fabulous. Regardless of how you choose to serve it, Mongolian chicken is sure to be a hit! My kids like it so much that they even ask to have it for lunch the next day.
More asian dishes you’ll enjoy
Mongolian Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup + 2 teaspoons cornstarch divided use
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup green onions cut into 1 inch pieces
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the chicken and 1/4 cup cornstarch in a resealable plastic bag, shake to coat evenly.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan over high heat
- Add the chicken to the pan in a single layer and season to taste with salt and pepper (keeping in mind the sauce has plenty of salt in it!).
- Cook for 3-4 minutes per side or until browned. Cook in multiple batches if needed.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a plate lined with paper towels
- Add the garlic and ginger to the pan and cook for 30 seconds. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, water and brown sugar to the pan and bring to a simmer.
- Mix the 2 teaspoons of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of cold water. Add the cornstarch to the sauce and bring to a boil; boil for 30-60 seconds until just thickened.
- Add the chicken and green onions to the pan and toss to coat with the sauce. Serve over rice if desired.
Nikki says
Going to make this this evening, can I use regular sesame oil instead of toasted?? 🙂
Sara says
Yes that’s fine!
NJ Hemphill says
wonderful….i love it, son loves it, littles love it…couldn’t ask for anything more 🙂 thanks!!!
Rachel Kefauver says
GREAT recipe, thank you!!! Did use leeks instead of green onion and added sriracha an wine vinegar. YUM!!!!
Karen says
Made this for dinner last night. It was delicious. My husband had seconds. I had some broccoli I decided to throw that in. I served it over soba noodles. Thus is Dey going into the meal rotation.
Jen says
Just made this for dinner tonight for me and my fiance, it was awesome! Followed the recipe exactly, served it over rice and added some broccoli. Will definitely make again and again! Can’t wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow:)
Tricia says
I’m making this tonight and don’t have cornstarch- I use arrowroot as a thickener. Do you know how it works for as a coating? Thanks.
Sara says
I have not tried this with arrowroot, although I assume it would work in a similar way.
Trish says
Just circling back to say it turned out great! I reduced the sugar to 1/3 cup but will use 1/2 next time as instructed. Thanks!
Michelle says
Made this for dinner with jasmine rice and it was hit with huzzy and kids. Simple and delicious! I added onions and bell peppers for the kids
Michelle says
I use your recipes quite often. Thanks for the inspiration when I don’t know what to make for dinner. And thank you for the great recipes!
Audrey says
AMAZING!! I am notorious for not being able to cook chicken but I managed to make this and it tastes so good.
Shaelyn says
I need to ask as I am new to cooking. I made this and it’s great but my sauce was a lot darker. How come your chicken is so light?
Ivy says
Try adding a bit more water! It’ll thin out the sauce, but it’ll still taste great! Also, mushrooms are super yummy in this 😋
Judyj says
1 made this tonight too and it was delicious but wanted to comment mine was really dark too.
Nancy says
This was delicious! Had leftover brown sugar carrots I added. Did not have green onions so added dried chives. It was so tasty could have eaten the entire recipe!
Maggie says
I made this the other evening as it hit the spot. This is a true winner in my book.
Stephanie says
Thanks to quarantine, I have had more opportunities to cook more Asian inspired dishes. This was perfect! Nice balance of flavors and even my kids loved it. Will make again!
CAROL D. says
I just made this for my family for dinner and I have to say, this is the best recipe I have tried on Pinterest! It is beyond fantastic!!! Thank you so much for sharing. It is perfection!
John says
This was really tasty. A great recipe. But I need you advice on the cooking time and heat level for the chicken. When I fried the “thinly sliced” chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side, the chicken was completely dried out…..like crunchy cardboard. So my question is how thin do you slice the chicken and is 3-4 minutes per side the correct amount of time for high heat? Thanks for your help.
Sara says
The chicken is supposed to be crispy, if you prefer a softer chicken just omit the cornstarch coating!
Lori says
Would love to make this tonight but I only have olive or coconut oil. Would either of those work and which would you recommend? Thanks!
Sara says
I’d just omit the oil as neither of those replicate the flavor of the sesame oil!
Christine says
Made last night and served it with rice. Delicious! Next time I would add a vegetable, but definitely will make again.
Cindy T. says
I made this recipe with shrimp which was delicious, however, it was a little too sweet for my taste. Next time I will half the brown sugar. But other than that it was delicious with fried rice and pot stickers.
Donna Werner says
Oh my gosh!! As we say in the South, This is slap your grandma good.a.k.a. Never gets any better than this.
Michelle says
This was delicious! My husband isn’t a big chicken anything fan, but he loved this recipe. I didn’t have dark brown sugar so I used 1/4c molasses and golden brown sugar.