This 30-Minute Mongolian Chicken is a restaurant-quality meal made in the comfort of your own home in less than 30 minutes. With chicken tenders cut into bite-size pieces, then stir-fried in a sweet and savory garlic ginger soy sauce. This Mongolian Chicken recipe is an easy weeknight dinner the whole family will love.
If you're looking for more easy and delicous Asain chicken recipes try my Korean Chicken Bowl with Kale or my Thai Red Curry Chicken Soup.
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I love making Chinese meals at home. I feel like they always turn out better than most take-out restaurants.
Here are a few of my favorites… Mango Chicken, Broccoli and Beef, Honey-Lime Roasted Sheet Pan Salmon, Sweet and Sour Shrimp, Kung Pao Chicken, and of course Mongolian Beef!!
I think most of us know and love Mongolian Beef – am I right? (It's currently the most popular restaurant on the blog so I strongly suggest you head on over to my Mongolian Beef recipe and give it a try.)
It is also one of the most popular Chinese meals served at restaurants like Panda Express and P.F. Chang’s.
Well, we’re switching it up and using the same delicious combinations of flavors but with chicken.
It’s just as delicious but honestly easier than the beef version.
This Mongolian chicken is perfectly tender and golden and the sweet and savory sauce clings to the chicken pieces coating them with amazing flavor.
What is Mongolian Chicken?
This Mongolian Chicken recipe is a spin-off of the crazy popular Mongolian Beef which is a Chinese-American dish popular in many restaurants. Since the beef version is so delicious and popular I decided to try it with chicken.
This chicken recipe has it all… golden tender chicken with a sweet, and savory garlic ginger soy sauce with a little kick. It’s so good.
Let me tell you how easy it is to make…
How to make Mongolian Chicken
Chop up the chicken into ½-1 inch pieces and sprinkle it with salt and pepper.
Put the meat in a zip-loc bag or a large mixing bowl and add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.
Massage/toss the chicken and cornstarch together to ensure each piece is fully coated.
Pour 1-2 tablespoons of canola oil into a large sauté pan, and heat on medium-high heat until the oil is hot but not smoking. Be careful to not burn the oil.
Gently Add the chicken to the pan. (Be careful the oil could pop out and splatter on you.) Don’t overcrowd the pan with chicken. Cook it in batches for the best result.
Cook the first side for 3-4 minutes then flip the chicken and cook for 2-3 more minutes or until a digital thermometer reaches 165 degrees. When the chicken is cooked set it aside on a plate.
Drain off some of the oil if there are more than 2 teaspoons left.
Next, add the ginger, garlic, and chili oil or red pepper flakes (if desired) to the pan sauté, and stir for 30 seconds.
Then stir in tamari (or, soy sauce), water, brown sugar, and rice vinegar, and bring the mixture to a simmer.
Add the additional cornstarch (this is optional, add for a thicker sauce) and stir, and let the sauce thicken for 1-2 minutes.
Fold in the chicken turning it over to coat all sides of it with the sauce. Then remove it from the heat.
Add the green onions, and stir to combine.
Now I bet you’re wondering what to serve this yummy Chinese meal with.
As always, I’m here to help!
There are many options for serving this delicious meal.
What to serve with Mongolian chicken?
I served my Mongolian chicken over steamed jasmine rice with some steamed broccoli. Another great side dish for this recipe would be an Asian Cucumber Salad.
But you could also serve it with any combination of veggies or starch that you like.
What Veggies to serve with Mongolian Chicken?
- Broccoli
- Sliced Carrots
- Bok Choy
- Zucchini
- Mushrooms
- Sweet bell peppers
- Sliced onions
What Starch to serve with Mongolian Chicken?
- Jasmine Rice
- Basmati Rice
- Brown rice
- Rice noodles
- Ramen Noodles
- Soba Noodles
- Udon Noodles
- Lettuce wraps with crispy cellophane noodles
You gotta love options, my friend!
And just to be sure I set you up for success I wanted to point out a few helpful tips for cooking this dish.
Tips For Cooking this Mongolian Chicken Recipe
Make your Veggies and Starch Beforehand. Since this Mongolian Chicken comes together so quickly I like to make my rice and veggies before I start the cooking process.
Be Sure to Use Fresh ingredients. This recipe doesn’t require too many ingredients which is great. But that’s why using quality fresh ingredients like garlic, ginger, and green onions is so important. This recipe gets its amazing flavor from the balance of gingery and garlicky sweetness.
Have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go! This recipe comes together quickly. Once you start the cooking process there’s not really time to stop and prep ingredients. Having them already ahead of time works great!
Chicken Tenders are the Cut of Meat I Prefer for This Recipe. I use Chicken tenders for this recipe because – you guessed it, they are tender! 😀 Plus, they’re already in strips so it makes it easy to cut them into bite-size pieces. You can use chicken thighs or chicken breasts but my recommendation is chicken tenders.
Use medium-high heat to cook the chicken tenders. But be cautious to not let the chicken burn. Check a piece often to be sure it only cooks until it’s golden brown. Turn down the heat as necessary to achieve this.
This chicken recipe is quick and easy and full of all kinds of delicious flavors.
Another amazing easy weeknight meal to add to your rotation!
I’m excited for you to try it!
More Delicious Asian Recipes to Try:
- Sweet and Tangy Asian Meatballs
- 30-Minute Mongolian Beef
- Asian Cucumber Salad
- Asian Sloppy Joes with Pickled Carrots and Onions
- Mango Chicken Stir-Fry with Snap Peas
30-Minute Mongolian Chicken
This 30-Minute Mongolian Chicken is a restaurant-quality meal ready in less than 30 minutes! With chicken tenders cut into bite-size pieces, then stir-fried in a sweet and savory garlic ginger soy sauce. This Mongolian Chicken recipe is an easy weeknight dinner the whole family will love!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons canola oil (use as needed)
- 1 1.2 pounds of chicken tenders cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch
- 2 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- Red pepper flakes or Asian chili oil
- ½ cup water
- ⅓ cup reduced-sodium tamari sauce (for gluten-free), or reduced-sodium soy sauce
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 8 stalks of scallions, green parts only, cut into ½-1 inch pieces
Instructions
- Chop up chicken into inch pieces and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put the meat in a zip-loc bag or a large mixing bowl and add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Massage/toss the chicken and cornstarch together to ensure each piece is coated.
- Pour 1-2 tablespoons of canola oil into a large sauté pan, and heat on medium-high heat until the oil is hot but not smoking. Be careful to not burn the oil.
- Gently add the chicken to the pan. (Be careful the oil could pop out and splatter on you.)
- Don’t overcrowd the pan with chicken. Cook it in batches for the best result. Cook the first side for 3-4 minutes then flip it and cook for 2-3 more minutes or until it reaches 165 degrees with a digital thermometer. When cooked set it aside on a plate.
- Drain some of the oil off if there is more than 2 teaspoons left in the pan.
- Next, add the ginger, garlic, and chili oil or red pepper flakes (if desired) to the pan and sauté, and stir for 15-30 seconds.
- Then stir in the tamari (or, soy sauce), water, brown sugar, and rice vinegar, and bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Add the additional cornstarch (this is optional, add for a thicker sauce) and stir, and let the sauce thicken for 1-2 minutes.
- Fold in the chicken being sure to coat all sides of the chicken with the sauce and remove from the heat.
- Add the green onions, and stir to combine.
- Serve over your favorite rice or noodle, or in lettuce wraps.
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
8 ouncesAmount Per Serving Calories 479Total Fat 19.8gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gCholesterol 151mgSodium 1447mgCarbohydrates 22gFiber 1.3gSugar 12.9gProtein 51.3g
This nutrition card uses an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. This estimate is not a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice!
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