Easy Mongolian Chicken Recipe

Love copycat takeout Chinese chicken dishes? Try my General Tso’s chicken, Hunan chicken, sesame chicken, and peanut butter chicken next. Whenever my family requests Asian takeout, I do one better and make their favorites at home. While I have a few up my sleeve, it’s my Mongolian chicken that everyone CRAVES! While you could easily call up your local Chinese restaurant and order a serving for your dinner, it’s just as easy to make it yourself, and dare I say, it’s even better.

Why I love this recipe

Simple prep. There is no marinating time needed, and everything comes together quickly, making this an easy weeknight dinner. While it’s cooking, I whip up some rice, cauliflower rice, or noodles for a balanced meal. Made with pantry staples. Seriously, you don’t even need to go to the international food section or the aisle to make this. It’s healthier than Chinese takeout. While not completely guilt-free, making this dish at home versus ordering out saves tons of excess preservatives, food additives, and poor-quality oil. Full of flavor and texture. You get the crispy chicken pieces, the sticky sauce, and the tender vegetables. The Mongolian sauce has a complex sweet and savory flavor. It also has notes of tanginess and richness. Okay, my mouth is watering.

Ingredients needed

Chicken breast. Boneless skinless chicken breasts that are thinly sliced. You can use boneless skinless chicken thighs too, but increase the cornstarch by half a tablespoon. Chicken broth. Choose a good quality stock with no added sugar or salt. Garlic and ginger. Must have aromatics. Please use the fresh kind, not the dried ones. Soy sauce. Using both dark and standard soy sauce will yield the perfect balance of umami flavor. Don’t make the mistake of using all dark soy sauce, or else the stir fry will be SO potent. Honey. To sweeten the sauce. I tested this recipe with brown sugar but found it too overpowering. If you want a richer sauce, you can use 50/50 honey and brown sugar. Sesame oil. A popular oil used in Asian recipes that gives the stir fry a delicious flavor. Green onion. Cut into larger pieces. Cornstarch. To toss the chicken and for thickening the sauce. Salt and pepper. To taste. Oil. To fry the chicken. I like to use peanut oil or avocado oil because they are clean and have a high smoke point.

How to make Mongolian chicken

I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Mongolian chicken is one of the most famous Americanized Chinese dishes. It features crispy chicken breast tossed in cornstarch and stir-fried. It’s then tossed through a sauce made with all the staple Asian ingredients, including soy sauce and sesame oil, and sweetened with honey.

Arman’s recipe variations

Add some veggies. Stir fry the vegetables of your choice to go with the chicken. Toss them with the Mongolian sauce you have made. You can use broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, etc. Use a different protein. If you don’t like chicken or don’t have it at home, I’ve tested this recipe with shrimp, shaved steak (for Mongolian beef), and also thinly sliced pork. Make it spicy. Add finely chopped or sliced red chili to the sauce to add some heat to Mongolian chicken. Don’t sub out the ingredients. Avoid substituting the ingredients unless otherwise stated. You want this dish to be as authentic as possible.

Storage instructions

To store: Store leftovers in an airtight container and keep them in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To freeze: Place the cooked and cooled chicken in an airtight container and store it in the freezer for up to 6 months. Reheating: Either microwave the chicken for 20-30 seconds or reheat in a non-stick pan until warm.