Hunan chicken is a popular Chinese-American dish made with tender pieces of chicken cooked with vegetables and tossed in a thick savory and spicy sauce.
I L-O-V-E Chinese food.
I spent three years living and working in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei, Shenzhen and Shanghai so I consider myself fairly well informed about Chinese food. And while it’s obvious that authentic Chinese food is delicious, I still very much enjoy eating American-Chinese food because I grew up on it.
Hunan chicken is one of those dishes that was altered by Chinese restaurants (like general Tso chicken) in order to please the American palate.
The original dish is hot, spicy and savory. However, the Hunan chicken we are used to eating here in America is sweeter, than savory and quite mild.
The real Hunan chicken also comes with bone-in chicken pieces and contains vegetables such as scallions, peppers and chilis.
I’ve tasted both versions and can honestly say I enjoy both of them.
Maybe it’s because they taste so different that it feels like I am eating two completely different dishes!
I grew up eating Chinese buffet food from places with names like Jade Palace and Imperial Garden so you can see why a dish like Hunan chicken with a little sweetness is appealing to me.
I didn’t discover really spicy food until later in my life – my mother (like most Japanese people) never made anything spicy since she couldn’t handle the heat. It wasn’t until my first trip to Thailand that I got my first taste of mouth numbing – eyes popping out of my sockets – spicy.
And I fell in love with it instantly.
This Hunan chicken recipe is very simple and packs a punch in taste. It’s spicy enough to give you a little lip sweat but not enough to make you want to call the fire squad. Alright, let’s get to the recipe!
Ingredients for Hunan Chicken
- Chicken: skinless breast of fillet are better because they marinate well and absorb a lot of flavor.
- Egg: Dipping chicken pieces in egg helps preserve the moisture when they are cooking.
- Cornstarch: constarch tenderizes meat by breaking down myosin, a protein that’s known for making meat tough.
- Salt and Pepper: to season the chicken.
- Oil: You can use any type of neutral oil for this dish.
- Garlic: To add pungency and nuttiness.
- Ginger: To add a little heat.
- Vegetables: I’m using a mix of zucchini, red bell pepper and carrot.
- Hunan Sauce: A combination of sugar, apple cider vinegar, cornstarch, chili bean paste, oyster sauce, soy sauce, chicken stock, and white ground pepper.
How To Make Hunan Chicken
- Whisk the eggs and cornstarch in a bowl and add the chicken pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
- Make the hunan sauce by mixing the ingredients in a bowl.
- Cook the chicken in a pan until it’s cooked through and golden brown. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
- Add the vegetables to the pan and cook for 5 minutes.
- Return the chicken to the pan and stir in the sauce for about 1 minute, until it thickens.
- Serve with white or brown rice.
Variations
Use button onions and/or mushrooms instead of zucchini. You can also use firm tofu instead of chicken and add more chili bean paste for a spicier taste.
What Does Hunan Chicken Taste Like?
As I previously mentioned, the American version is on the sweeter and milder side. My version is more savory and has a bit more heat. I wouldn’t call it fiery, but just spicy enough to make your lips tingle.
What To Serve With Hunan Chicken
If you feel like serving an all Chinese theme dinner this evening, here are some dishes that will pair really nicely with hunan chicken. They are also quite popular in Chinese restaurant so you will recognize them right away!
- Dry-fried green beans with garlic sauce
- Hot and sour soup
- Chinese broccoli with garlic sauce (gai lan)
- Chinese eggplant with garlic sauce
- Singapore chow mei fun
Serve this recipe with a side of Japanese rice. Watch our video on How To Make Japanese Rice the stove top or rice cooker method!
Did you like this Hunan Chicken Recipe? Are there changes you made that you would like to share? Share your tips and recommendations in the comment section below!
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Easy Hunan Chicken
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: Stir Fry
- Method: Stir Fry
- Cuisine: Chinese
Description
Hunan chicken is a popular Chinese-American dish made with tender pieces of chicken cooked with vegetables and tossed in a thick savory and spicy sauce.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound skinless (boneless chicken breast, chopped bite size)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 large egg (whisked)
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 1 thumb size ginger (peeled and finely chopped)
- 2 cups mix of zucchini, red bell pepper and carrot (sliced bite size)
For the sauce:
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons chili bean paste or chili paste (such as tobanjan, Sambal Oelek)
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/4 cup low sodium chicken stock
- white ground pepper
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine egg and cornstarch and season with a little salt and pepper. Add chicken pieces and marinade for 5 minutes.
- Add all the ingredients for the sauce into a bowl and whisk until well blended.
- In a large pan over medium high heat, add 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Drop chicken pieces and cook until both sides are golden brown. Remove chicken from the pan and set aside.
- Add remaining 1 tbsp vegetable oil to the pan (still over medium high heat) and add garlic and ginger. Cook for 1 minute and add vegetables. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Return chicken to the pan and add sauce. Stir and coat vegetables and chicken for 1 minute and turn the heat off.
- Transfer to a plate or bowl and serve Hunan chicken with a side of white rice.
Notes
If you ran out or cannot find chile bean paste, substitute it for 2 tsp gochujang.
This Hunan Chicken Recipe is:
High in Vitamin A
Sambal Oelek is made of chilies with no other additives such as garlic or spices for a more simpler taste. Use this sauce to add heat to a dish without altering the other delicate flavors.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 484
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 1216.7 mg
- Fat: 13.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 48 g
- Fiber: 11.6 g
- Protein: 39.8 g
- Cholesterol: 183.5 mg
Find it online: https://pickledplum.com/hunan-chicken-recipe/
Meet The Author: Caroline Phelps
Caroline Caron-Phelps is a recipe creator, food blogger, and photographer. She showcases delicious, authentic Asian recipes, especially Japanese, Korean, and Chinese, with beautiful photography, easy-to-follow instructions, videos, and practical recipe variations. Caroline has been featured on Bon Appetit, Shape Magazine, Self, Today Show, and more.
This was fantastic. It was my first time trying the dish and I loved it. I only had eggplant and broccoli available but will be trying it again with the veggies as written. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Courtney!
Wow! Wow wow WOW!!!This is an awesome idea! I love learning how to make things. Thank you for this recipe! Thanks for Sharing !
I absolutely love this recipe! I’m going to try to mix it up a bit tonight and use Chinese barbecued pork instead of chicken and chili crisp instead of chili bean paste (I ran out). I’ll be trying all of your other Chinese recipes after I’ve had enough of this one. Thank you for sharing them all!
Thank you so much Aaron for the lovely message! 🙂
How fishy is the oyster sauce? Im not a fan of fishy flavors.
Hi Dara, I personally don’t find oyster sauce fishy. I find it rather sweet and savory than anything else. You can substitute with soy sauce though since 1 tablespoon won’t make that much of a difference.
If you google a substitute, they say use Worcestershire sauce but 1/2 the amount (ex: 2tbs oyster = 1tbs worcestershire). They say it works because Worcestershire actually has anchovies in the ingredients, but can’t be tasted at all. Just a suggestion. And this recipe looks great!!
Thank you so much Dona! 🙂
Hi,
So many recipes call for either oyster sauce or fish sauce…neither of which I want to use. How else can I make the taste come out authentic?
thank you…brenda
Hi Brenda, that’s a tough question. Do you have allergies or are you vegan?
I made the Hunan chicken last night after making the spicy asparagus chicken stir fry the night before. Both were positively delicious!! The chicken was was so smooth and tender and the dish was filled with spice and flavor. My wife and I loved them both. My wife is calling me a chef…haha!
As someone new to cooking Asian food, I must compliment your concise approach and attention to detail with your recipes. Your commentary and explanation of ingredients are most welcome. I must admit however it was the beauty of your photography which pulled me in. Who wouldn’t want to eat food you make so beautiful with your photographs?
I look forward to working my way through many more recipes. Tonight I will try the Korean sticky chicken. Thank you so much!!
Thank you Gregg, you are making me blush! Your words are so kind you just made my day 🙂
-Thankyou for a beautiful recipe ,I thought at first that it may be too spicy for my taste but it was lovely.I look forward to trying more of your recipes. kind regards Lesley
This recipe is soooo good! I am always looking for Chinese recipes on Pinterest and have gotten so frustrated because nothing taste like authentic Chinese food. Every other recipe I have tried is always too sweet and and not savory. This Hunan Chicken is a game changer! It is savory and delicious! I can’t wait to try the other recipes on this website!
Thank you Janie! I totally agree with you about having a hard time finding authentic Chinese recipes! I also have a hard time finding good Thai recipes that taste like what I used to eat in the streets of Bangkok. Very happy you liked it and I hope you enjoy all the other recipes as well!
Hello Carolyn,
I enjoy this basic recipe immensely and have
been preparing variations on it for years. The
original recipe I stumbled across called for sautéing
a few shredded chilis and using a teaspoon of ground Szechuan pepper, hmmm, finishing with
a touch of sesame oil(I like a teaspoon of sesame
paste).
I hope you like this.
Another tweak I adore is substituting a touch
of Pomegranate Molasses for the sugar and using
a touch of good balsamic vinegar. It’s really
quite good and the balsamic resembles old time Chinese Aged Black Vinegar.
That sounds wonderful David, thank you for sharing!
This was such a hit! The sauce was awesome and I got away with feeding my family sooo many veggies! Not that this is a particularly high sugar recipe, but do you have any substitution ideas to cut it out completely without sacrificing too much taste? Thanks.
That’s wonderful Justina! I think you can get away with omitting the sugar entirely and still have the dish taste good – or replace it with a little hoisin sauce. Let me know how it turns out next time!
Tried this tonight though i did make a few adjustments first I pretty much doubled the recipe and added celery, yellow squash and water chestnuts to the veggie mix. I ended up tripling the sauce minus 2 Tbsp. of chili paste and replaced the apple cider vinegar with rice vinegar and put a small splash of sesame oil in it. This turned out to be a big hit though my daughter thought it was a bit too spicy. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing your tips Sharon! 🙂
I ordered this in a restaurant and really liked it. Your recipe sounds like a similar one, but I was wondering if you knew the original one; the one that’s spicier?
Hi Matt, you can easily make it spicier by adding more sambal oelek (chile bean paste). This should bring it close to what you tasted at the restaurant. Let me know how it turns out!
I’ve tried a few Hunan recipes and this one is he closet to the restaurant. AWESOME!! Thanks for posting. I’ll be trying your other recipes too!!!
That’s so great to hear Brian, thank you!
Such a healthy meal and so yummy! Thank you Caroline! I added more veggies than chicken and my husband absolutely loved it!
So glad you liked it Sheila!