Easy 30-Minute Mongolian Chicken

Ohhhhh man.  I’ve always been a huge Mongolian beef fan when I get Chinese takeout, but I’d never really given any thought to Mongolian chicken. 

But the other night I was really missing my amazing Chinese place back in Atlanta.  I was trying to find something delicious and indulgent but easy, and remembered how much I loved my easy 30-minute Mongolian beef. 

Problem was…I didn’t have any flank steak or similar.  I *did* have chicken thighs though, which honestly were getting close to their use-by date, so I decided to give that a try.

AND IT WAS SO GOOD!!!  I could truly have eaten the entire dish in one sitting.  I did make a big side of my honey-balsamic roasted brussels sprouts, so I wasn’t *entirely* being naughty.

I kept it simple and roasted some thin red peppers to go along with it, but you could do broccoli or anything else you prefer.   

Go ahead and get the rice started, this won’t take long…

Slice the chicken into bite-size pieces (against the grain if you’re using chicken breasts), then toss it with the cornstarch.  I like to do this in a ziploc bag for ease of clean-up.

Allow the chicken to sit for at least 10 minutes, or until you’re ready to cook it. This step is important, so don’t cut corners here—the cornstarch is what will ultimately thicken the sauce and it tenderizes the meat (called “velveting”).

Go ahead and chop up your scallions as well.

Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat (yeah, I realize that I used the wrong pan in the pic below…). Add the minced ginger and garlic, and sauté until golden (just a minute or so). Be careful not to burn the garlic.

Add the soy sauce and water, then stir in the brown sugar until fully dissolved. Increase the heat to medium and bring the sauce to a boil for 3 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat and set aside for now.

Place a large sauté pan or wok over medium-high heat and add 1/3 cup of coconut oil. Once the oil is hot (but not smoking), add the chicken to the pan and sauté until it’s seared on all sides but barely cooked in the center—for me that was probably 8-10 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the skillet with a slotted spoon or spatula (so you don’t keep all the oil) and transfer it onto a paper towel-lined plate. Pour any excess oil out of the pan.

Place the skillet back over medium heat. Add the prepared sauce to the hot pan (it should come to a boil almost immediately), and add any of the remaining cornstarch from the chicken. 

Add the chicken back to the pan as well and cook at a boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. The sauce should thicken during this time (as there’s still cornstarch on the chicken too).

Add the sliced scallions, stirring to combine.  Serve on top of rice.  This Mongolian chicken will keep for at least a few days in the fridge.

I’d never really thought of Mongolian chicken before, but now I’m kind of obsessed!  You’ll love the blend of flavors in the sauce, and just how dang easy it is to make.

Other delicious Asian-inspired meals you’ll love:

• Easy Sesame Chicken
• Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken
• Quick Healthy Thai Chicken Cauliflower Bowl
• Chicken Tikka Masala
• Korean BBQ Cauliflower & Chickpeas
• Chicken Massaman Curry

Easy 30-Minute Mongolian Chicken

Yield: 2 large servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

You usually hear about Mongolian beef as a normal Americanized Chinese dish, but I didn't know what I was missing with this easy 30-minute Mongolian chicken!

Print

Ingredients

• 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
• 1/3 cup + 2 teaspoons of coconut oil (vegetable works too)
• 1/2 teaspoon of minced fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon of minced garlic (1 large clove, or 2 small ones)
• 1/2 cup of low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup of water
• 2/3 cup of dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup of cornstarch or maybe a little more
• 5 scallions or green onions (green parts sliced into 1-inch pieces, white & pale green cut into halves or slivers)
• Jasmine rice (or whatever you like) for serving

Instructions

1. Go ahead and get the rice started, this won’t take long…
2. Slice the chicken into bite-size pieces (against the grain if you're using chicken breasts), then toss it with the cornstarch.  I like to do this in a ziploc bag for ease of clean-up.
3. Allow the chicken to sit for at least 10 minutes, or until you’re ready to cook it. This step is important, so don’t cut corners here—the cornstarch is what will ultimately thicken the sauce and it tenderizes the meat (called "velveting").
4. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the minced ginger and garlic, and sauté until golden (just a minute or so). Be careful not to burn the garlic.
5. Add the soy sauce and water, then stir in the brown sugar until fully dissolved. Increase the heat to medium and bring the sauce to a boil for 3 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat and set aside for now.
6. Place a large sauté pan or wok over medium-high heat and add 1/3 cup of coconut oil. Once the oil is hot (but not smoking), add the chicken to the pan and sauté until it’s seared on all sides but barely cooked in the center—for me that was probably 8-10 minutes.
7. Remove the chicken from the skillet with a slotted spoon or spatula (so you don’t keep all the oil) and transfer it onto a paper towel-lined plate. Pour any excess oil out of the pan.
8. Place the skillet back over medium heat. Add the prepared sauce to the hot pan (it should come to a boil almost immediately), and add any of the remaining cornstarch from the chicken.  Add the chicken back to the pan as well and cook at a boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. The sauce should thicken during this time (as there's still cornstarch on the chicken too).
9. Add the sliced scallions, stirring to combine.  Serve on top of rice. It will keep at least a few days in the fridge.

Notes

• Can easily be doubled to serve 4

Original recipe here

Pin for later!