Black Pepper Chicken - CJ Eats Recipes (2024)

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By Chris Joe

5 from 35 votes

Sep 10, 2023, Updated Oct 05, 2023

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Black Pepper Chicken is most commonly known from Panda Express. This copycat version is so delicious and SUPER easy to make! This Chinese takeout restaurant dish has been requested so many time and for good reason – it’s so good and easy to make, you’re never going to want to order it at a restaurant again!

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Watch the Black Pepper Chicken Recipe Video Below!

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Ingredients for Black Pepper Chicken

I love this Black Pepper Chicken recipe because only a few ingredients will make crispy, juicy chicken. Firstly, here are the ingredients you will need!

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

  • Chicken Thigh – I like to use chicken thigh in this recipe but if you prefer chicken breast, feel free to substitute here!
  • Neutral Oil – My favorite neutral oil is avocado oil, but you can also use canola or vegetable oil! I don’t use olive oil when cooking Chinese food for two reasons: 1. It has a low burning point and 2. I find that the flavor profile does not usually go with the dish.
  • Shaoxing wine – If you cannot or do not want to use wine, you can sub with sherry, mirin, or chicken stock.
  • MSG – As always, this is optional.

Black Pepper Chicken: Recipe Instructions

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Black Pepper Chicken - CJ Eats Recipes (5)

Cut the Chicken

The first step in making Black Pepper Chicken is cutting the chicken into 1″ pieces. Cut the chicken into uniform pieces so they cook evenly in the pan or wok.

Next, place the sliced chicken into a bowl with light soy sauce, white pepper, salt, sesame oil, neutral oil and cornstarch. Mix well with your hands and let marinate for at least 20 minutes.

Next, mix the sauce by combining chicken stock, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, shaoxing wine, sugar, cornstarch, and msg. I always like to premix my sauce to have it ready to go during the fast cooking process.

Black Pepper Chicken - CJ Eats Recipes (6)
Black Pepper Chicken - CJ Eats Recipes (7)

Velvet the Chicken

After the chicken is marinated, heat about a cup of neutral oil (I always prefer avocado oil) over high heat until smoking. Fry the chicken pieces (in batches if needed) for 2 minutes or until they are cooked through and golden brown. Remove the chicken and the excess oil to leave about 2 tbsp of oil left in the pan.

Black Pepper Chicken - CJ Eats Recipes (8)
Black Pepper Chicken - CJ Eats Recipes (9)

Fry the Aromatics

Next, sauté the garlic and ginger for about 15 seconds until fragrant.

Sauté Onions and Celery

Once the aromatics are fragrant, add the onions and cook for another minute.

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Black Pepper Chicken - CJ Eats Recipes (11)

Add Chicken and Sauce

Once the vegetables are crisp and cooked through, add back the chicken along with the sauce. Work quickly to mix the sauce together to evenly coat all the ingredients in the pan.

Continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes until the sauce has thickened and your Black Pepper Chicken is done! I love serving Black Pepper Chicken with a freshly steamed bowl of rice.

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Recipe Tips for Black Pepper Chicken

VELVETING

  • Velveting is a key Chinese cooking technique that involves marinating the protein in cornstarch and various seasonings (such as white pepper, salt, shaoxing wine, and oils) before quickly passing it through hot oil. It’s one of my favorite ways to guarantee moist and tender meat, and it’s a trick that I don’t hear home chefs talk about often. I love incorporating it into my recipes because it’s one of the best ways to make restaurant quality Chinese food at home!

VEGETABLE SIZES

  • In most of my recipes, I like to cut my vegetables to a similar size – this ensures that one vegetable is not ‘more’ cooked than others, and it also is more aesthetically pleasing! You can adjust the size of the vegetables to your preference (smaller or larger) – just make sure to adjust the cooking time so they are ‘done’ to your liking!

Cooking With a Wok (Alternatives)

By now, you know that I LOVE cooking with my carbon steel wok! It is my #1 most recommended kitchen tool, as I believe it is perfect for high-heat cooking and results in restaurant quality Chinese food!

If it is your first time cooking with a wok, make sure to read my “How To Season a Wok” post. There is a video included that shows exactly how to season your brand new wok and how to maintain it so it lasts for years.

If you cannot or do not want to use a wok, you can use a large pan, cast iron, or even a dutch oven.

My KEY TIP would be to avoid crowding your pan – crowding can lead to your XX not cooking thoroughly and becoming mushy. If you think your dish will be crowded, use a larger pan, cast iron, or dutch oven, OR cook in batches.

If you liked this Black Pepper Chicken recipe, check out some of the most popular Chinese Take-Out recipes on the blog!

  • Chicken Lo Mein
  • Shrimp Fried Rice
  • Beef and Broccoli
  • Sesame Chicken
  • String Bean Chicken
  • General Tso’s Chicken
  • Sweetfire Chicken Breast

If you tried this Black Pepper Chicken or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!

5 from 35 votes

Black Pepper Chicken

By: Chris Joe

Servings: 3

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Cook: 10 minutes mins

Save

Black Pepper Chicken - CJ Eats Recipes (13)

Black Pepper Chicken is so easy and delicious to make at home in about 30 minutes! The chicken is juicy and paired with the crisp vegetables and savory black pepper sauce!

Ingredients

Chicken

Vegetables & Aromatics

  • 3 stalks celery, cut at an angle to 1" pieces
  • 1 yellow onion, sliced
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 inch ginger, minced

Sauce

US CustomaryMetric

Instructions

  • Slice chicken thigh into 1" pieces into a bowl with soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, white pepper, avocado oil and cornstarch. Mix until combined and marinate for 20.

  • Slice celery at an angle into 1" pieces, onion into 1" pedals, and mince garlic and ginger and set aside.

  • In a small bowl, mix oyster sauce, light soy sauce, coarse black pepper, shaoxing wine (or sherry cooking wine), sugar, chicken stock, and cornstarch and set aside.

  • Over high heat, cook chicken for 2-3 minutes until cooked through and set aside.

  • Over high heat, fry garlic and ginger for 15 seconds until fragrant. Add celery and onion and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add back chicken and sauce and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes to combine, until sauce has thickened. Serve with freshly steamed rice & enjoy!

Additional Info

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese

Tried this recipe?Mention @cj.eats_ or tag #cjeatsrecipes!

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About CJ

I’m a third generation Chinese-American home cook who has always loved cooking & eating! Welcome to my food blog, where you can find trusted, tested, easy & approachable recipes for the everyday home cook that taste delicious! I am so glad you're here!

Read more about me

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43 Comments

  1. Black Pepper Chicken - CJ Eats Recipes (19)
    Such a easy and delicious recipe will make this over and over!

    @ryan.gatsby

    Reply

  2. Black Pepper Chicken - CJ Eats Recipes (20)
    Better than Panda’s!

    Reply

  3. Black Pepper Chicken - CJ Eats Recipes (21)
    Great recipe! It is simple but tasty.

    Reply

  4. Black Pepper Chicken - CJ Eats Recipes (22)
    I make this with tofu instead of chicken, and it’s one of my go-to dinners! I made it for my parents too, and they loved it. It’s just so flavorful and addictive, and I really love the texture of the celery in this. Which I didn’t expect. Now I cook with celery a lot 🙂

    IG: jay._.eats

    Reply

  5. Black Pepper Chicken - CJ Eats Recipes (23)
    Wanted an easy and delicious recipe for a weeknight dinner. This was it!
    IG:@dr_jonw

    Reply

  6. Black Pepper Chicken - CJ Eats Recipes (24)
    Thanks to this recipe my husband no longer has to go to Panda Express to get peppered chicken!! Love love love this recipe. We keep this in our dinner rotation! Leftovers don’t get dry and the sauce is delicious drizzled over rice. @jdoanuttt

    Reply

Black Pepper Chicken - CJ Eats Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is pepper chicken made of? ›

What is Pepper Chicken made of? Pepper Chicken is made using whole spices for tempering along with freshly roasted, grind spice mix. First chicken is cooked along with tempering then tossed in the prepared spice mix and cooked until dry to make Pepper Chicken.

Does Panda Express have honey chicken? ›

HONEY SESAME CHICKEN

Thin, crispy chicken strips with green beans and crispy yellow bell peppers with our delicious honey sesame seed sauce.

Does Panda Express have string bean chicken? ›

String Bean Chicken is most commonly known from Panda Express.

What is three pepper chicken? ›

Three Pepper Chicken is made from three peppers: long hot peppers, dried red chilis, and Sichuan numbing peppercorns. These three peppers are stir fried with crispy wok fried chicken in a spicy red chili oil and caramelized bits of garlic.

What are the benefits of black pepper in chicken? ›

Galib et al. (Reference GALIB, MAMDOOH and SABA2011) showed that chickens fed black pepper had significantly lower cholesterol, H/L ratio, red blood cells (RBC), packed cell volume (PCV) and haemoglobin (Hb) compared with a control group.

How long does pepper chicken last in the fridge? ›

Like most cooked ingredients and leftovers, cooked chicken will be good for three to four days in the fridge.

What does fried rice from Panda Express have in it? ›

Ingredients: cooked white rice, liquid eggs, peas, carrots, soybean oil, green onions, contains less than 2% of: salt, sesame oil, maltodextrin, modified food starch, sugar, onion powder, celery extract, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, soybeans, wheat.

Is string bean chicken from pandas healthy? ›

String Bean Chicken This option of lean protein and crunchy beans is a great option for those who want a flavorful kick. It provides 14g of protein, 9g of total fat and 4g of fiber. Having both high fiber and protein will provide sustained energy that last you throughout your day.

Does Panda Express use chicken breast or thigh? ›

For the best flavor and texture, I highly recommend using boneless skinless chicken thighs for this recipe. It's what Panda Express uses, and they're less likely to overcook and become dry compared to chicken breasts.

What is Inferno chicken? ›

This spicy chicken sets your tongue aflame. Of course, you can temper the heat by not adding the cayenne and holding back on the chipotles. While the heat level may be sky-high when freshly made, after sitting overnight, the inferno turns to a pleasant blaze.

What are the yellow peppers called at in and out? ›

The yellow chile peppers carried by IN-IN-OUT burger are in fact cascabella peppers. Cascabella peppers are cone shaped and produce a chile pepper that is approximately 1 ¾” long by ¾” wide. Cascabellas turn from yellow, to orange, to red when mature. The plant has green stems, green leaves and white flowers.

Why is crushed red pepper good for chickens? ›

Please disregard urban legends. about red pepper flakes; backyard chickens should. NEVER be fed hot pepper flakes- there is no benefit. whatsoever!

What is salt and pepper chicken made of? ›

Coat the chopped chicken thigh fillets in a a mixture of cornflour, salt, pepper and Chinese five-spice. Fry the chicken in oil until golden and cooked through, then transfer to a bowl. In a separate pan, fry chopped onions, chillies and spring onions in a little oil, along with garlic, salt and pepper.

Does salt and pepper chicken contain egg? ›

Ingredients: Starch, iodised salt, ginger (15.1%), garlic (15.1%), pepper (11%), anise, corn oil, cinnamon, fennel seeds, clove. May contain celery, cereals containing gluten, egg, milk, mustard and soy.

How many calories are in Chinese black pepper chicken? ›

5 ½ oz of black pepper chicken (Chinese Gourmet Express) contains 300 Calories. The macronutrient breakdown is 16% carbs, 55% fat, and 29% protein. This is a good source of protein (38% of your Daily Value).

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