Hunan Chicken
Updated February 5, 2024
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
- Total Time
- 40 minutes
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 25 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
1 ¼ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 tablespoons soy sauce
6 tablespoons neutral oil, plus more as needed
2 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ 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
¾ teaspoon crushed red pepper
12 to 15 whole dried red chile peppers, such as Tianjin or árbol, to taste, or an additional ¾ teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 tablespoons fermented black beans, roughly chopped, or ¼ 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
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
96 grams carbs; 103 milligrams cholesterol; 828 calories; 16 grams monosaturated fat; 9 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 30 grams fat; 11 grams fiber; 1672 milligrams sodium; 48 grams protein; 17 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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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.
Private Notes
Comments
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.
Made as directed with dry sherry and hoison/fish sauce. Really good. Everyone was happy. Solid recipe.
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.
Excellent, we all enjoyed it. Made with chicken thighs instead of breast. I did use fermented black beans, shaoxing, etc. no other substitutions. Great recipe but would say the prep/cook times are flipped. Prep is longer than cooking. It took me at least 30 minutes to do all prep and I am pretty good in the kitchen.
Made according to the recipe with no substitutions. Delicious, but incredibly messy since we had a skillet, not a wok. There was grease everywhere on our induction cook top and the surrounding counters. It took me 30 minutes to get the heated, fused cooking oil off the cook top. It may not be authentic but I think next time I might try putting the chicken on a sheet pan in the oven for 15 minutes finishing it with the broiler for a few minutes at the end. And then dump the meet in the vegetables and sauce to finish. Per suggestions I think I will add more crushed red pepper next time, as well as water chestnuts!
I agree with others who say the prep takes a long time— trimming chicken, chopping, etc. It’s not week night fare. The searing of individual 1/4 in chicken slices is not fast by any means. I subbed chicken thighs and brown rice, as we prefer them, but other than that I stuck to the recipe. The result was delicious. I would cook this again on a leisurely afternoon.