Mongolian Chicken Recipe – (Easy and Quick)

Mongolian Chicken might not be as popular as Mongolian Beef but it is still one of the most delicious Asian cuisines. Preparing this dish does not take much time and only requires a few ingredients, which makes this dish accessible to anyone with basic cooking skills.

You can also prepare this at home just by following these easy instructions. So follow along to cook one of the best Asian delicacies to impress all of your friends and to bring variety to your cooking skills.

What Is Mongolian Chicken?

Mongolian Chicken is an Asian chicken dish that contains crispy chicken pieces covered in a thick, sweet, and savory Hoisin sauce. The recipes might differ in chicken pieces, marinating style, frying technique, and the taste of the sauce but as long as it consists of fried chicken covered in the special Hoisin sauce, it can be regarded as Mongolian Chicken.

The chicken is coated heavily with corn flour before deep frying which makes it crispy and the sauce has a mild spice to it from the ginger and the chili flakes. Still, it also has savory flavors from the Hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and vinegar and sweet flavors from the brown sugar.

How Does Mongolian Chicken Taste?

Mongolian Chicken has different flavors combined in it as you will taste the crispy chicken and get lost in the sweet, savory, and mildly spicy sauce that covers every inch of the juicy chicken. Mongolian Chicken tastes amazing if cooked properly.

Ingredients

We can divide the ingredients that we will need to make Mongolian Chicken into four parts. We must gather the ingredients to marinate the chicken, deep fry it, prepare the sauce, and cook everything to bring the dish together. 

For Marinating the Chicken

Here is the list of ingredients to prepare the chicken for deep frying.

• Boneless Chicken- 300 gm, 1.5-2 inch strips
• Pepper powder- 1 teaspoon
• Salt- ½ teaspoon
• Light soy sauce- 1 teaspoon
• Egg white- 1 egg
• Corn starch- 5 tablespoons
• Vegetable oil- 1 tablespoon

For Deep Frying the Chicken

You will need a neutral-tasting vegetable oil such as canola oil, soybean oil, or sunflower oil to deep fry the chicken pieces. The amount of oil that you will need will depend on the depth of your pot. Every chicken piece should be submerged fully in the hot oil to be deep-fried. For a medium size pot, this will require about 200-400 ml of oil. The oils can be reused for cooking so that they don’t get wasted.

For Making the Stir-Fry Sauce

Here is the list of ingredients that you will need to make the stir-fry sauce for making Mongolian Chicken.

• Hoisin Sauce 2 tablespoons
• Dark Soy Sauce 1 teaspoon
• White Vinegar 1 teaspoon
• Brown Sugar 1.5 tablespoon
• Chili Powder 1 teaspoon

For Cooking the Mongolian Chicken

Here is the list of ingredients to finish cooking the Mongolian Chicken.

• Vegetable Oil 2 Tablespoons
• Garlic- 2 Teaspoons
• Ginger- 2 Tablespoons
• Red Chili Flakes- 2 Teaspoons
• Spring Onion Whites- 10-15 Pieces
• Water- 4 Tablespoons
• Spring Onion Greens- 25-30 Pieces
• Corn Starch- 1 Tablespoon & Water- 4 Tablespoons
• Sesame Oil- 2 Tablespoons

Cooking Method

The entire cooking process of making delicious Mongolian Chicken can be divided into four parts such as preparing the chicken, deep frying the chicken, making the sauce, and bringing everything together. All of these are discussed with step-by-step instructions.

Marinating the Chicken

Step 1

Cut the chicken breast into small two-inch cubes. You can also use chicken thighs for this recipe. Make sure to debone the thighs and cut them into two-inch cubes.

Step 2

Get the chicken pieces in a bowl and add 1 teaspoon pepper powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon light soy sauce.

Step 3

Mix the chicken with the added ingredients with your hands or a spoon.

Step 4

Keep this marinated meat covered for 10-15 minutes.

Step 5

Add one egg’s white, 5 tablespoons of cornstarch, and one tablespoon of vegetable oil. Mix everything well. Cover it and keep it aside for 10-15 minutes for the meat to get marinated and flavors to get in the chicken.

Deep Frying the Chicken

Step 1

Fill up a medium or large pot with vegetable oil and put it on the stove. Set the heat to medium-high and heat the oil to 350 F or 175 C.

Step 2

Carefully put the chicken pieces into the hot oil. Avoid splashing the oil as it can cause serious damage to the skin.

Step 3

Let the chickens get fried without stirring them for a few minutes. Then stir them gently so that the chicken pieces do not stick together.

Step 4

Deep fry the chicken pieces for about 10-12 minutes or until they are brown.

Step 5

Use a strainer or a tong to bring the chicken pieces out from the oil and lay them down on paper towels.

Preparing the Sauce

Step 1

Put 2 tablespoons of Hoisin sauce, 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce,  1 teaspoon of white vinegar, 1.5 tablespoons of brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon of chili powder in a bowl.

Step 2

Mix them thoroughly with a spoon until all of the ingredients are homogenous.

Cooking the Dish

Step 1

Thinly slice all the garlic. Cut the white parts of the spring onions and slice them into halves through the middle. Cut the green parts of the spring onions into two to three inches long pieces. Slice the gingers into thin stripes as well.

Step 2

Make a cornstarch slurry in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 4 tablespoons of water.

Step 3

Keep all the ingredients near the stove for convenience.

Step 4

Heat a large wok or pan on the stove and add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Set up the stove on medium-high heat. Heat the oil.

Step 5

Add the garlic slices to the hot oil and keep stirring. Add the ginger slices, and the spring onion whites after a minute and keep stirring. Add the red chili flakes as well. 

Step 6

Pour in the stir-fry sauce and keep on stirring. After a minute of stirring, add the green parts of the spring onions. Keep stirring for a minute. 

Step 7

Add the fried chicken to the pot and keep stirring. Add 4 tablespoons of water. Stir for half a minute and add the cornstarch slurry and the sesame oil. Stir for another 3-4 minutes. 

Step 8

Turn off the heat. Serve the Mongolian Chicken on a plate.

Notes

Mongolian Chicken goes best with white rice. You can also serve it with bread. Adjust the spice level to your liking by adding or reducing the amount of pepper mentioned in the recipe.