Hunan Chicken
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This Hunan Chicken is a spicy, simple, saucy stir fry has to be next on your list for dinner! Enjoy it with your favorite rice or noodles, or all on its own. It’s sure to be a hit at your next takeout fakeout night! Turn the heat up or down as much as you can handle.
Easy Hunan Chicken Recipe
I love making Asian dishes at home, especially all my Chinese restaurant favorites like Kung Pao Chicken, Easy Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry or Chinese Lemon Chicken. The great thing about Asian dishes is that they’re incredibly easy to make, the hardest part is assembling all your ingredients. Once you do that, the cooking takes no time at all.
What Is Hunan Chicken?
This spicy dish hailing from the Hunan province of China is traditionally loaded up with chilies and tossed in a tangy sauce. I’ve toned down the spiciness a bit for my own version, but it still packs some heat! You can always add more or less spice as you see fit.
What an easy recipe this was! The hardest part is chopping all the vegetables up. You can chop them up small, big, use completely different mix-ins; it’s up to you. While my recipe includes my own stir fry favorites, I have a list for you below with other veggies you can include to customize your own Hunan chicken.
- Chicken – Skinless and boneless chicken breasts or chicken thighs. Feel free to sub the chicken with beef, pork or shrimp.
- Cornstarch – You’ll need cornstarch for both coating the chicken and thickening the sauce. This is a must pantry ingredient, as it’s used a lot in Asian cooking.
- Pepper – Freshly ground pepper is always best!
- Sesame oil – Try to find toasted sesame oil. You’ll thank me! If you don’t have any, you can sub it with some vegetable oil.
- Vegetables – Carrot, celery, bell pepper, broccoli and onion.
- Chilies – I used whole dried red chili peppers. You can use fresh red chilies if you’re brave, but trust me, huge difference.
- Garlic and ginger – Fresh or from a jar. You can even use garlic ginger paste.
- Peanuts – Plain, toasted, salted; up to you! They’re great to add a little crunch, so you can skip them if you don’t have them. You can sub peanuts with other nuts, such as cashews.
- Soy sauce – I always opt for low sodium soy sauce.
- Chicken broth – Veggie broth can be used instead. Try and find the low sodium or no sodium added kind. Asian dishes tend to have quite a bit of sodium so it’s best to reduce it wherever possible.
- Honey – Or brown sugar to add a bit of sweetness and balance out the flavor.
- Oyster Sauce – Yep, it’s actually made from oysters, to be precise it’s a mixture of caramelized oyster juice. Again a great pantry ingredient.
- Rice vinegar – Same as rice wine vinegar. Sub with regular white vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
- Chili garlic sauce – Also known as sambal oelek. You can substitute with any hot sauce you like best but this ingredient is a favorite of mine and I add it to a whole bunch of recipes, including chicken noodle soup!
- Cook the chicken. Add the chicken, cornstarch, and pepper to a mixing bowl. Toss well to completely coat each piece of chicken. Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces, working in batches if needed. Cook until browned on all sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. (This is the beginning of many Asian dishes)
- Cook the veggies. If needed, add more sesame oil. Add the carrot, celery, bell pepper, broccoli, onion, and chilies to the pan. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the veggies soften, 4-5 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the sauce ingredients together.
- Make the hunan sauce and add to wok. Stir the garlic and ginger in with the veggies and sauté for another 30 seconds. Pour the sauce into the skillet and reduce the heat to medium. Stir constantly until the sauce thickens.
- Finish and serve. Add the chicken back to the skillet and toss well to coat in the sauce. Garnish with chopped peanuts and serve over noodles or rice.
What Other Vegetables Can I Add To My Hunan Chicken?
This savory stir fry can by loaded up with any of your favorite veggies. Need some inspiration? Here are some ideas:
- Snow peas
- Mushrooms
- Baby corn
- Zucchini
- Water chestnuts
- Green onions
- Cabbage
- Bean Sprouts
How To Serve Hunan Chicken
I served this dish over some simple jasmine rice. Do you prefer noodles? Cook up any of your favorite Asian style noodles. You can also toss the rice or noodles directly into the skillet with that saucy stir fry.
Looking for some fun sides to serve up with your Hunan chicken? Try these:
Chow Mein
Homemade Egg Rolls
Sesame Noodles
Fresh Spring Rolls
Expert Tips
- Prep all your ingredients and make the Hunan sauce first. This is the most time consuming part. Once this is done, cooking is a piece of cake.
- Customize the heat level. You may like it really spicy or really mild. Simply use as many dried chilies as you like and adjust amount of chili garlic sauce to your preference.
- Don’t overcook the veggies. You only want them to soften a bit, but you still want them to be crispy and fresh.
- Freeze your chicken breast for a few minutes before cutting it, to make it easier to cut into cubes or thin slices.
- Notice I don’t add any salt to this dish and that’s because there should be plenty of sodium from all the other ingredients, however, taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.
How To Store Leftovers
Transfer leftovers to an airtight container and store for 3-4 days in the fridge. You can reheat in the microwave, or you can use a skillet over medium heat. If you find the sauce is drying out a bit using a skillet, add a splash of water or broth to bring it back to life.
You can also store your Hunan chicken in the freezer. This makes for a great, easy freezer meal for busy weeknights! It will last 2-3 months. Reheat either using the microwave, or let it thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in a skillet.
More Asian Dishes You’ll Love
- Orange Chicken
- Mongolian Beef
- Easy Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Instant Pot General Tso’s Chicken
- Meatball Banh Mi Bowls
- Bulgogi Pork
- Air Fryer Lemon Chicken
- Chicken Mushroom Stir Fry
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Hunan Chicken
Ingredients
For the stir fry
- 1 pound chicken breast (boneless and skinless, cut into bite-sized pieces)
- ⅓ cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
- 2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 medium carrot (sliced 1/4" thin diagonally)
- 1 stalk celery (sliced into 1/2" pieces diagonally)
- 1 red bell pepper (sliced into 1/2" strips)
- ½ red onion (sliced into 1/4" thin strips)
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 3-6 dried chilies (whole, as per your spice preference)
- 1 tablespoon garlic (minced)
- 1 tablespoon ginger (minced)
- ¼ cup peanuts (roughly chopped)
For the sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce (low sodium)
- ½ cup chicken broth (low sodium)
- 2 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (aka sambal oelek)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Cook the chicken: Add the chicken, cornstarch, and pepper to a mixing bowl. Toss well to completely coat each piece of chicken. Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces, working in batches if needed. Cook until browned on all sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
- Cook the veggies: If needed, add more sesame oil. Add the carrot, celery, bell pepper, broccoli, onion, and chilies to the pan. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the veggies soften, 4-5 minutes.
- Make the hunan sauce: Whisk all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl.
- Incorporate the sauce: Stir the garlic and ginger in with the veggies and sauté for another 30 seconds. Pour the sauce into the skillet and reduce the heat to medium. Stir constantly until the sauce thickens.
- Finish: Add the chicken back to the skillet and toss well to coat in the sauce. Garnish with chopped peanuts and serve over noodles or rice.
Equipment
Notes
- Nutritional information does not include rice.
- Prep all your ingredients and make the Hunan sauce first. This is the most time consuming part. Once this is done, cooking is a piece of cake.
- Customize the heat level. You may like it really spicy or really mild. Simply use as many dried chilies as you like and adjust amount of chili garlic sauce to your preference.
- Don’t overcook the veggies. You only want them to soften a bit, but you still want them to be crispy and fresh.
- Freeze your chicken breast for a few minutes before cutting it, to make it easier to cut into cubes or thin slices.
- Notice I don’t add any salt to this dish and that’s because there should be plenty of sodium from all the other ingredients, however, taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.
- Leftovers: Transfer leftovers to an airtight container and store for 3-4 days in the fridge. You can reheat in the microwave, or you can use a skillet over medium heat. If you find the sauce is drying out a bit using a skillet, add a splash of water or broth to bring it back to life.
- Freezing: This makes for a great, easy freezer meal for busy weeknights! It will last 2-3 months. Reheat either using the microwave, or let it thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in a skillet.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
