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–+ servings
Hunan chicken is an easy weeknight stir fry featuring juicy hunks of marinated chicken and a vibrant medley of peppers in a spicy sauce with a bright tang.
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Hunan Chicken

Make this takeout classic at home: my Hunan Chicken brings the heat, marrying the robust spiciness of traditional Hunan cuisine with the comforting embrace of Chinese-American flavors. The best part is that this easy weeknight meal comes together in about 20 minutes.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Chinese-American
Keyword stir-fry
Level Beginner
Main Ingredient Poultry
Diet Dairy-Free, Low-Carb
Prep Time 12 minutes
Cook Time 7 minutes
Total Time 19 minutes
Servings 3 servings
Calories 455kcal
Author Marc Matsumoto

Equipment

Ingredients

For chicken

For Hunan Chicken Sauce

  • ⅓ cup chicken stock
  • 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
  • 1 ½ tablespoons doubanjiang
  • ½ teaspoon potato starch

For stir-fry

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 12 grams garlic (thinly sliced)
  • 4 dried chili peppers
  • 100 grams shiitake mushrooms (cleaned, trimmed, & quartered)
  • 100 grams red pepper (cored & cut into squares)
  • 100 grams mild green pepper (cored & cut into squares)
  • 50 grams scallions (sliced diagonally)
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
Grams + US Cups - US Standard

Instructions

  • Cut 430 grams boneless skin-on chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces and add it to a bowl with 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 10 grams ginger. Mix and let the chicken marinate while you prepare the other ingredients.
    430 grams boneless skin-on chicken thighs, 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 10 grams ginger
    Marinating chicken thighs for Hunan Chicken.
  • Make the Hunan Chicken Sauce by whisking together ⅓ cup chicken stock, 2 tablespoons oyster sauce, 1 ½ tablespoons doubanjiang, and ½ teaspoon potato starch
    ⅓ cup chicken stock, 2 tablespoons oyster sauce, 1 ½ tablespoons doubanjiang, ½ teaspoon potato starch
    Mixing Hunan Chicken Sauce.
  • Prepare all of the ingredients for the stir-fry by measuring them out and cutting them according to the ingredient notes above.
    Cutting red peppers on a black cutting board.
  • When you're ready to make the stir-fry, add 2 tablespoons potato starch to the marinated chicken and mix it in to coat the chicken evenly. It should all look wet.
    2 tablespoons potato starch
    Mixing in potato starch into marinated chicken.
  • Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat until hot. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and 4 dried chili peppers and fry them in the oil until they stop sizzling.
    1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 4 dried chili peppers
    Frying red chili peppers in a large frying pan with oil.
  • Add the marinated chicken and spread the pieces out evenly around the pan in a single layer with the skin side down. Fry undisturbed until the chicken starts browning on one side (~ 1 ½ minutes).
    Browning marinated chicken.
  • Flip the chicken over and add 100 grams shiitake mushrooms in the spaces around the chicken (~1 minute).
    100 grams shiitake mushrooms
    Stir-frying garlic, chicken, and mushrooms.
  • When the chicken is browned on the second side, add 12 grams garlic and start stir-frying the mixture until the mushrooms are mostly cooked through (~1 minute).
    12 grams garlic
    Stir-frying garlic, chicken, and mushrooms.
  • Add 100 grams red pepper and 100 grams mild green pepper and continue stir-frying until the peppers are cooked but still vibrant in color (~2 minutes).
    100 grams red pepper, 100 grams mild green pepper
    Hunan style chicken with chicken and red and green peppers in a pan.
  • Stir the sauce to redistribute the starch settled at the bottom of the bowl and pour it over the Hunan Chicken.
    Adding Hunan chicken sauce to a frying pan of chicken and peppers.
  • Add 50 grams scallions and toss together to glaze everything with the sauce.
    50 grams scallions
    Hunan chicken in a frying pan with marinated chicken, mushrooms, peppers, and scallions.
  • Finish the Hunan style chicken by drizzling over 1 tablespoon rice vinegar and tossing to distribute evenly.
    1 tablespoon rice vinegar
    Finished Hunan Chicken in a large frying pan.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 455kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 141mg | Sodium: 936mg | Potassium: 689mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1515IU | Vitamin C: 53mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 2mg