Hunan Chicken

Name: Hunan Chicken
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: chinese
Ingredients: 1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts; 4 tablespoons soy sauce; 6 tablespoons neutral oil, plus more as needed; 2 tablespoons cornstarch; 1/4 cup rice vinegar; 1 teaspoon granulated sugar; 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine or dry sherry; 1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced; 2 scallions, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces, whites and greens separated; 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper; 12 to 15 whole dried red chile peppers, such as Tianjin or árbol, to taste, or an additional 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper; 3 tablespoons fermented black beans, roughly chopped, or 1/4 cup hoisin with 1 tablespoon fish sauce; 4 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced; 1 small red bell pepper, chopped; 1 small green bell pepper, chopped; 1 long hot pepper, jalapeño or cubanelle, halved, seeded (if desired) and thinly sliced; 2 cups broccoli florets; 1 (15-ounce) can baby corn, drained and halved; 4 cups steamed jasmine rice, for serving

By Vivian Chan-Tam

Updated Feb. 6, 2024

Hunan Chicken — Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Total Time: 40 minutes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Rating: 5(451)
Comments: Read comments

The cuisine of the Hunan province is one of the eight traditional Chinese cuisines, but what sets it apart from the others is its use of bold hot and sour flavors. Chiles, vinegar and fermented black beans are staples in Hunan cuisine, and this recipe uses all three. Hunan chicken originated in China and made its way to the United States in the 1970s, where the flavor profile was adapted to please the American palate. Here, bite-size pieces of chicken are marinated in soy sauce, making them tender and juicy, while vegetables are flash-cooked in a wok alongside other staples of Chinese cooking, such as garlic, ginger and scallions, for a flavor-packed dish that hits all the tastebuds. Serve it right away, accompanied by fluffy jasmine rice.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

1¼pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
4tablespoons soy sauce
6tablespoons neutral oil, plus more as needed
2tablespoons cornstarch
¼cup rice vinegar
1teaspoon granulated sugar
2tablespoons Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
1(1-inch) piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
2scallions, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces, whites and greens separated
¾teaspoon crushed red pepper
12 to 15whole dried red chile peppers, such as Tianjin or árbol, to taste, or an additional ¾ teaspoon crushed red pepper
3tablespoons fermented black beans, roughly chopped, or ¼ cup hoisin with 1 tablespoon fish sauce
4medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1small red bell pepper, chopped
1small green bell pepper, chopped
1long hot pepper, jalapeño or cubanelle, halved, seeded (if desired) and thinly sliced
2cups broccoli florets
1(15-ounce) can baby corn, drained and halved
4cups steamed jasmine rice, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then cut crosswise into ¼-inch-thick slices. Place in a medium bowl and add 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon water. Toss, then sprinkle in cornstarch and toss again until each piece of chicken is fully coated. Let marinate for at least 10 minutes or up to 2 hours. Refrigerate if longer than 30 minutes, but bring to room temperature 15 minutes before cooking.
Step 2
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the remaining 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, Shaoxing wine and 2 tablespoons of water.
Step 3
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok or large (12-inch) cast-iron skillet over high. Once the oil is shimmering, add the chicken in an even layer, cooking in batches and adding more oil, if necessary. Cook until the edges are slightly golden brown and the chicken no longer sticks to the pan, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip the chicken and repeat on the other side, then transfer to a plate.
Step 4
Reduce heat to medium-low and add remaining 4 tablespoons oil, ginger, scallion whites, crushed red pepper, dried chiles, fermented black beans and garlic. Cook, stirring, until ginger starts to soften, about 1 minute. Stir in the bell peppers, long hot pepper, scallion greens, broccoli and corn until everything is coated. Return the chicken and any of its juices back to the pan.
Step 5
Increase the heat to high. Pour the soy sauce mixture into the pan and toss until everything is coated. Cover and cook until vegetables are just tender and chicken is cooked through, about 2 minutes. (If you don’t have a lid large enough to fit your wok or skillet, use a large baking sheet.) Transfer everything to a platter and serve alongside steamed rice.

Ratings

5 out of 5

451 user ratings

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Comments

Messcalif1 year ago

This was excellent! Interesting that the summary highlighted the hot and sour flavors…..this delivered. I though a little more balance might be needed, a bit more sweetness thru Hoisin or sugar. Yet my wife’s non-spicy palate tolerated the ever-present but not-overwhelming heat. This definitely delivered if that was the authentic flavors. I still might sweeten up, but this is a keeper.

tmatt1 year ago

Made as directed with dry sherry and hoison/fish sauce. Really good. Everyone was happy. Solid recipe.

Traci G1 year ago

The sour notes of this dish were unexpected but highly addicting with each serving. I couldn’t get enough. I thought about increasing the sugar at first, but glad I didn’t. The other star component of this dish is the well thought out cooking times. Each component was cooked perfectly, from the tender velveted chicken to the crisp peppers and broccoli. I will be making this again.

Liza1 month ago

This was really tasty, I added julienned carrots and a handful of frozen corn (instead of the canned mini corn). I also used dry sherry and the suggested hoisin sauce with fish sauce combo instead of the fermented beans. I prepped all beforehand, and it came together in a jiffy while rice was cooking. Will make this again!

Lane2 months ago

I went with a yellow pepper instead of green bell pepper and skipped the baby corns, just because of what I had on hand. Love the final result and will definitely be putting it into my rotation.

Elle S3 months ago

Forgot the hoisin/fish sauce/black beans and still thought it was excellent.

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