This Black Pepper Chicken is another classic dish at Chinese buffets. It consists of juicy chicken thighs stir-fried with onions, green peppers, and a savory black pepper sauce. It is very easy to make and takes less than 45 minutes.
Black pepper chicken is easily one of my top 5 Chinese buffet foods. Surprisingly, I do not really crave it, but whenever I am at the buffet, it is one of the dishes I eat the most. That last time I had it, I ate almost a whole plate so I want to try making it at home.
Black pepper chicken is not an exclusive buffet food. You will find it at many Chinese restaurants in North America. I find the buffet version and restaurant version to be slightly different. The buffet version uses only green peppers whereas the restaurant version uses a variety of bell peppers. I'm not exactly sure why this difference exists but I think it has to do with cost.
How to make black pepper sauce
Sure, you can buy black pepper sauce from the store for only $5, but it's way tastier to make it yourself. Simply combine black pepper, oyster sauce, soy sauce, chicken stock (or water), sugar, and cornstarch. The key step is to crack the black pepper yourself instead of using the preground stuff. I used a mortar and pestle.
Velveting the chicken
Velveting is a technique used by Chinese chefs to make meat more tender for stir-fries. You essentially marinate the meat in a wet marinade with some cornstarch, then flash-fry it for 1-2 minutes. The cornstarch forms a protective barrier around the meat which keeps it juicy and prevents it from overcooking in the stir-fry.
To velvet the chicken, first marinate it in a wet marinade with a spoonful of cornstarch. Don't worry if the meat looks really wet right now; it will absorb the moisture as it sits in the fridge. I marinated mine for about 40 minutes.
Then, you have to flash fry the meat. You can also do this in boiling water, but frying tastes way better.
To flash fry, heat up some oil to about 350℉. Add the meat and quickly separate the pieces using a metal spider. Just put the spider on the meat and agitate it quickly to separate everything. The meat is ready in about 1-2 minutes. You want the meat to cook about 90% of the way through then take it out. This is because we will finish cooking it in the stir-fry.
I checked the temperature of a couple of pieces of chicken and pulled them out when they reached 150℉.
The rest of the cooking
After the chicken is velveted, the recipe comes together very easily. All you do is cook the garlic, onions, and peppers, add back the chicken, and mix everything with the sauce. Here are some process shots of what it looked like:
Chinese Black Pepper Chicken (Buffet Style)
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
- 1 pound boneless chicken thighs (cut into thin, bite-sized pieces)
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Black Pepper Sauce
- ¼ cup chicken stock (or water)
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon cornstarch
Stir-fry
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- ½ small onion (sliced)
- 1 medium green pepper (chopped)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine all the chicken marinade ingredients and let it marinate for at least 40 minutes.
- In a small bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients. Set aside.
- Now, it is time to "velvet" the chicken. You can either do this in hot oil or a pot of boiling water. I prefer oil because it tastes better. See the blog post for pictures. Heat about 1 inch of oil to 350℉. Add ½ the chicken then use a metal spider to quickly separate the pieces. Cook for about 1 ½ minutes until the chicken is opaque and 90% cooked. Remove the chicken and repeat with the remaining chicken.
- Heat a wok of medium until it is lightly smoking. Add the oil and swirl it around the base of the wok. Add the garlic and onions and cook for 1 minute. Add the green peppers and cook for another minute.
- Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the velveted chicken and cook for another 2 minutes. Give the sauce mixture a quick stir then add it to the wok. Cook and toss everything for 1 minute until the sauce is thickened. Enjoy!
Dawn Burlock
This was absolutely delicious and so easy to make. Very authentic flavors. Served over jasmine rice and it was a big hit!