Hunan Chicken

This spicy Hunan chicken recipe has bold flavors, tender chicken, and fresh vegetables that easily rival any takeout version. Follow our simple steps to create a delicious meal in the comfort of your own home.

Spice up your dinner routine with this easy and tasty Hunan chicken recipe. With a perfect balance of heat and flavor, this dish will become a family favorite. It will satisfy your taste buds and leave you wanting more!

This dish is hearty and healthy, with fresh vegetables like onion, celery, broccoli, red bell pepper, and carrots. Even with prep time, this dish takes less than forty minutes to prepare. If you like this recipe, try pepper steak, chicken yakisoba, and pork stir fry.

Ingredients Notes and Substitutions

• Chicken: boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Do not cube your chicken. Instead, cut it into longer and thinner bite-size slices. This will help cook it all the way through without drying it out.
• Soy sauce: preferably low-sodium
• Oil: vegetable oil or canola oil
• Oyster sauce: is a savory condiment used in Chinese cooking. Not everyone has access to oyster sauce or likes it, so feel free to substitute it with a Hoisin sauce. The flavor will be a little different, but it is equally delicious. Find hoisin sauce in the Asian section of your local grocery store, along with the other jarred sauces.
• Rice vinegar: substitute apple cider vinegar or champagne vinegar.
• Shaoxing wine: this is Chinese rice wine. You can substitute dry sherry on a 1:1 ratio.
• Grated ginger: Ginger paste works just as well as fresh ginger, and once opened, it lasts about one month in the fridge.
• Chili paste: I use sambal oelek, which is ground fresh chili paste. You can find it in the Asian food section of most grocery stores. Store it in the fridge for up to two months, and use it in bang bang shrimp and chicken lettuce wraps.

How To Make Hunan Chicken

In a small bowl, combine the thinly sliced chicken, soy sauce, and water and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Stir in the cornstarch and vegetable oil and set aside for about 20 minutes. Whisk the low-sodium soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice vinegar, Shaoxing wine, honey, grated ginger, garlic, and chili paste in a small bowl.

Remove the chicken from the marinade and pan-fry it in a bit of oil in a large skillet on the stovetop. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Add a little more oil and stir-fry the vegetables. Transfer the veggies to a plate. Pour the sauce into the pan and cook until thickened, whisking frequently. Return the chicken and veggies to the skillet and toss to coat.

Preparation Tips

• When cooking the chicken and vegetables, use medium-high to high heat and an oil with a high smoking point, like vegetable, canola, or peanut oil.
• My family loves a ton of sauce, so I double the sauce ingredients. You can do the same, but it will increase the sodium content.
• The sauce will thicken a little more as it cools.

Storage and Reheat

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat on the stovetop in a skillet or the microwave at reduced power.

To freeze, cool, then spoon it into a sturdy airtight freezer container. Freeze for up to 2 months. Completely thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating. Reheat on the stovetop over low heat or in the microwave at reduced power.

More Asian Recipes

Are you on the hunt for more delicious recipes? Follow Small Town Woman on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.

https://www.smalltownwoman.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Beth-1.pdf