This Mongolian chicken recipe is fast, easy, delicious, and better than takeout! It can be on your table in under half an hour.
As a rule, I'm not usually one for copycat recipes or bothering with recreating something you can easily (and pretty cheaply) buy. That's why I rarely make fries at home, for example. 😛 However, recipes like teriyaki chicken, or in this case, Mongolian chicken can actually be done well at home.
You can make this "takeout fakeout" dish in less than 30 minutes, which is faster than going out and picking up food or waiting for delivery.
The trick in making these types of recipes taste like takeout is the cornstarch. It keeps the chicken pieces tender and thickens the sauce right up.
Mongolian chicken ingredients
- chicken breasts
- cornstarch
- olive oil
- brown sugar
- garlic
- fresh ginger
- soy sauce
- sriracha sauce
- scallions (for garnish)
The Mongolian chicken sauce in this recipe has a little bit of kick to it from the sriracha sauce, but I wouldn't say it's too spicy. Every recipe for this sauce is a little bit different, but as usual, I tried to keep the recipe nice and simple without adding too many ingredients. The sauce is fairly sweet, but the ginger, soy sauce, and sriracha also give a nice savory quality to it.
What to serve with Mongolian chicken
I serve it with jasmine rice and scallions on top. I sometimes sprinkle some sesame seeds on, but that's totally optional.
Want to make this into a meal prep recipe? Try my Mongolian chicken meal prep bowls.
You may also like my Instant Pot teriyaki chicken recipe.
Have you ever made Mongolian chicken at home?
Questions? Let me know in the comments below!
Easy Mongolian Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup (packed) brown sugar
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce
- 1 cup water
- Scallions chopped, to taste
Instructions
- Prep your chicken and add it to a large ZipLoc bag along with the cornstarch. Toss until coated.
- Add the sauce ingredients (brown sugar, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sriracha, and water) to a small bowl and whisk together.
- Add the oil to a skillet, along with the chicken. Give it a stir and cook it over medium-high heat for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is no longer pink on the outside.
- Pour the sauce into the skillet and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for a few more minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened.
- Serve with rice and garnish with scallions if you wish.
Notes
- The ginger is much easier to grate if it's frozen. I always keep some fresh ginger in the freezer and I use my Microplane grater/zester to easily grate it.
- Use 2 larger or 3 smaller chicken breasts.
Amanda says
Can I use ground ginger instead of fresh? If so, do you approximate measurements?
Natasha says
Hmmm... I am not the biggest fan of ground ginger. It's so easy to go overboard and it's just not the same, I find. I'd start with a really small pinch because it can be really concentrated. Let me know how it goes!
Doha says
If the sauce didn’t thicken while I’m cooking the chicken do I add more cornstarch? Please answer me!
Natasha says
Hi Doha! I don't see why it wouldn't thicken if you coated the chicken with cornstarch (it's quite a lot of cornstarch). It takes a few minutes for it to thicken. Yes, I would add more if necessary, but I really don't see how it wouldn't thicken.
Laura says
I have made 2 of their recipes, garlic chicken and mongolan chicken and for me (someone who does not enjoy cooking) I was more than pleased!!
I will continue to look for easy family to please recipes!!
Thank you 🙂
Natasha says
So happy to hear it!!
Brian says
THIS was GREAT!! Will be making it again soon!
Natasha says
I’m so glad to hear it! Thanks for letting me know!!
Dorothy Scallon says
Natasha: I'm a bit of a neophyte navigating your recipe website (79 year old senior). I want to simply find a recipe, print the ingredients and directions and get to shopping and cooking. I'm having a little difficulty. Currently I want to print recipe for Mongolian Chicken and for Chicken, Bacon Mushroom Pasta.
Can you walk me through the directions as to how to do this please? I don't want to join Instagram or Pinterest at this time.
Natasha says
Hi Dorothy! Do you see where there’s the “print” button? That’s the easiest way to print any of my recipes. You just scroll down to the recipe and you’ll see it within the box the recipe is in. It’ll then bring up your printer settings and you can print right from there. I hope this helps! If not, reach out to me again and we will figure something else out. 😊
Rita Kimmel says
Thank you so much for including this comment section. I was having the same issure about printing. I went back to the recipe and found the print icon under the photo. I'm off to make mongolian chicken, .... yummmm
Natasha says
🙂
Wanda says
Hi sounds real good but do you have to use heavy Cream or can u milk?
Natasha says
Hi! Are you sure you’re asking about the right recipe? This one doesn’t contain cream. In general, any recipes I suggest to use cream I do recommend it because the sauce will be thicker and just taste better. Milk will yield a thinner sauce.