Mongolian Chicken
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This BEST Mongolian Chicken recipe is ready to serve in 15 minutes and rivals your favorite takeout or restaurant for freshness and flavor! Tender chicken is drenched in a sweet and savory sauce with crisp green onions and served over steamed rice or egg noodles. It’s quick, easy and thoroughly delicious! And if you’re looking for a vegetarian Mongolian chicken, I’ve got you covered too!
What is Mongolian Chicken?
Mongolian Chicken is a variation of Mongolian Beef. Of Chinese-American origin, both of these dishes are two of the most popular Chinese dishes in the United States and can be found in practically every Chinese restaurant. It’s one of my favorite dishes to order when we go for takeout and it’s also a family favorite when I make it at home.
The sauce for Mongolian chicken is made with soy sauce, water, brown sugar, toasted sesame oil, hoisin sauce, pepper, garlic, ginger, and thickened with cornstarch. Typically the only vegetable added to Mongolian chicken is green onion but feel free to improvise and add any other veggies of your choice. Some other tasty additions can include broccoli, mushrooms, bean sprouts, red bell peppers, carrots and zucchini.
I’m using chicken breast for this but you can also use boneless thigh meat. For a vegetarian Mongolian chicken you can use tofu following our recipe for Baked Tofu.
Serve Mongolian chicken with steamed rice or egg noodles or chow mein. For a low carb alternative you can serve it with cauliflower rice or spiralized zucchini noodles.
Mongolian Chicken definitely isn’t a low-sugar meal, but it’s an indulgence we really enjoy from time to time. And if you’d like to reduce the caloric intake you can substitute all or part of the brown sugar with our favorite brown sugar alternative, Sukrin Gold.
If you’re a fan of this popular Chinese dish then you’ll have to give this Mongolian chicken recipe a try – we’re confident you’re going to love it as much or more than your favorite takeout!
Mongolian Chicken Recipe
Let’s get started!
Cooking Chinese food over high heat is a quick process so have all you ingredients prepped and measured in advance. Cut up the chicken and chop the green onions, keeping the white parts separate (they take longer to cook). Mince the garlic and ginger.
Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl.
Sprinkle the chicken with the cornstarch and toss to coat.
Heat the wok (or regular skillet if you don’t have a wok) over high heat. Once the wok is good and hot pour in the oil. I use avocado oil because it’s a healthy oil with a high smoke point.
Add the chicken and fry until cooked through. It will only take about a minute. Add the garlic and ginger and fry for another 30 seconds. Pour in the sauce.
Stir in the white parts of the green onions.
Cook for a minute or so until the sauce is thickened.
Add the remaining green onions and stir to coat and to just heat through. You don’t want to cook the soft green onions for long because you want them to remain a little crispy. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.
Your Mongolian Chicken is ready!
Serve with steamed rice, egg noodles, or chow mein.
Enjoy!
Want to bulk up this dish with more healthy veggies? Simply add some steamed broccoli and/or fry some bell peppers along with the chicken. You can also toss in some bean sprouts at the very end.
For more delicious Chinese takeout recipes, be sure to try my:
- Mongolian Beef
- Orange Chicken
- Egg Foo Young
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Beef and Broccoli
- General Tso’s Chicken
- Beef Stir Fry
- Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Orange Beef
- Sesame Chicken
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Mongolian Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast or thighs , cut into thin strips (*Vegetarian/Vegan: use diced tofu tossed in oil and baked in oven until crispy)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch , for coating
- 2 tablespoons high heat cooking oil (I use and recommend avocado oil as a healthy oil with a high smoke point)
- 1 tablespoon fresh garlic , minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger , minced
- 2 bunches green onions , cut into 2 inch pieces, white parts kept separate
- For the Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- OR Best Homemade Hoisin Sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup tamari (can substitute light soy sauce)
- ½ cup water
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ cup brown sugar
- or brown sugar alternative
Instructions
- Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl, stirring until the cornstarch and brown sugar are dissolved, and set aside.
- Sprinkle the cut up chicken with the cornstarch and toss to coat.Heat a wok or heavy frying pan over high heat. Once hot, add the oil. Add the chicken and fry until cooked through, about one minute. Add the garlic and ginger and fry for another 30 seconds. Add the sauce and white parts of the green onions and simmer until thickened, about a minute. Add the remaining green onions, stir to coat and remove from heat (the green onions should remain a little crispy).
- Serve immediately with steamed rice, egg noodles or chow mein.
Notes
Nutrition
First published on The Daring Gourmet February 22, 2015
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
I feel like Julie and Julia! I’m working my way through your recipes! I have not had a fail yet… This recipe was so easy and so flavorful. Thank you Kimberly for another fantastic dinner!
You’ve made my day, Maureen, thank you so very much! <3
I tasted the sauce as I blended it, so started with very little sugar and wound up adding only about 3 T. It still was too sweet for me. I added a few splashes of rice wine vinegar and a few grains of Szechuan peppercorns for zing. This is an easy recipe to customize. The chicken was very juicy in its light cornstarch coating. I only had one bunch of green onions, unfortunately — the recommended two would have been spot on.
I’m going to make this tonight. Looks awesome and I love the positive comments. One question. should I use Tamari or soy sauce. it seems like everyone is using soy sauce. tamari has a different taste profile though. I have both. Just wondering which you would recommend. thanks.
Hi Eric, I regularly use both and I like both but if I had to choose I generally prefer the flavor of tamari.
Fantastic flavors and I blanched some broccoli and added just before serving.
As always another great recipe…..
The wife loves it too…..
I’m so glad both enjoyed it, Paul, and as always I appreciate the feedback! :)
This is by far the best Mongolian chicken we have ever had! It’s delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
Can you make this with lean pork chop meat?
Absolutely, Veronica!
This is the best mongolian sauce recipe ive ever tried. I make this multiple times a mo th in our house lol its nust amazing.
Fantastic, Lindsay, thank you so much!