This Black Pepper Chicken combines crispy chicken with peppers and onion in a rich, glossy black pepper sauce. Easy to make and better than takeout!
This is one of those recipes that delivers maximum flavour with surprisingly little fuss. It comes together quickly (just 30 minutes), uses simple ingredients and tastes every bit as good as something you’d order from your favourite Chinese restaurant. Better still, you can easily tweak the spice level to suit your taste! Follow me…
Ingredients Notes
The full list of ingredients and measurements is in the recipe card below, but here are a few quick notes on the important ones:
- Chicken thighs work best – I much prefer thighs here because they stay nice and juicy while you build up a golden crust on the outside. Chicken breast will work, just be more careful not to overcook it.
- Freshly cracked black pepper is key – It is Black Pepper Chicken after all! Freshly cracked pepper gives you a much bolder flavour than the finely ground stuff, so definitely opt for that.
- Dark soy sauce adds depth – Alongside adding a deep savoury flavour, dark soy is what gives the sauce that gorgeous rich colour. I wouldn’t substitute it for regular/light soy sauce.
- Oyster sauce does the heavy lifting – This gives the sauce a deep savoury flavour with a subtle sweetness. It’s one of the key flavours in the sauce.
- Cornflour creates the crust – Also known as cornstarch in the US, this coats the marinated chicken and helps it develop that lovely golden crust as it fries. It also helps the sauce cling to the chicken later on.
Preparing the chicken
The chicken gets a quick marinade in dark soy sauce, oyster sauce and black pepper, which gives it a head start on flavour before it even hits the pan. Once marinated, toss through the cornflour until every piece is completely coated. You only need to marinate whilst you prep the other ingredients, but you could tightly store in the fridge and marinate for up to 24 hours if you’d like.
Don’t rush the coating – Make sure the cornflour gets right into every nook and cranny of the chicken. You want each piece nicely coated with no wet patches remaining, otherwise, you won’t get that gorgeous crust once it hits the oil.
Process shots: add chicken, pepper, oyster sauce and soy sauce to bowl (photo 1), mix (photo 2), add cornflour (photo 3), mix (photo 4).
Black Pepper Chicken Stir Fry
There are a couple of things to keep in mind before you get started. Firstly, make sure the oil is nice and hot before adding the chicken. This is important for developing that golden crust and preventing the coating from going soggy. Secondly, don’t overcook the peppers and onion – you want them tender-crisp rather than completely soft.
Work quickly – Like most stir fries, once you start cooking everything comes together pretty fast. I highly recommend having the sauce mixed and all of the ingredients prepped and ready to go before you start!
Process shots: add chicken to hot oil (photo 1), fry then remove (photo 2), fry onion and red pepper (photo 3), fry garlic and black pepper (photo 4), add sauce (photo 5), stir in chicken (photo 6).
Recipe Tip
If you don’t want to pan-fry the chicken in oil, you could air-fry it with oil spray instead. It’ll take a little longer, but it still comes out pretty crispy (more on this in the recipe card below)
Serving Black Pepper Chicken
To serve, I’ll sometimes sprinkle with sesame seeds if I’ve got them on hand, but they’re not mandatory. From there, this dish goes perfectly on a bed of rice or noodles! You could also serve with some Salt and Chilli Chips too.
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this black pepper chicken shall we?!
How to make Black Pepper Chicken (Full Recipe & Video)
Black Pepper Chicken
Equipment
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- 2x Small Mixing Bowls (one for sauce, one for chicken)
- Whisk
- Large Wok & Wooden Spoon
- Tongs
Ingredients
Chicken
- 300g / 10.5oz boneless skinless Chicken Thighs
- 1 1/2 tsp Dark Soy Sauce
- 1 tsp Oyster Sauce
- 1/2 tsp Coarse Ground Black Pepper (see notes)
- 40g / packed 1/4 cup Cornflour/Cornstarch
- 5-6 tbsp Groundnut Oil (sub veg oil)
Sauce
- 60ml / 1/4 cup Chicken Stock
- 2 tbsp Oyster Sauce
- 2 tsp Dark Soy Sauce
- 2 tsp Granulated Sugar
Stir Fry
- 1 small/medium White Onion
- 1 Red Pepper
- 2 cloves of Garlic
- 1 tsp Coarse Ground Black Pepper, or to taste
- Sesame Seeds, to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Slice the chicken into bite-sized pieces then combine in a bowl with the dark soy sauce, oyster sauce and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Leave to marinate as you complete steps 2 and 3.
- Slice the onion in half and peel the outer layer. Slice off the stubby ends, then slice each half into quarters and unpack the layers. Slice the pepper into similar sized pieces then finely dice the garlic.
- Use a whisk to combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
- Add the cornflour to the chicken and give it a good mix until fully coated. Add the oil to a large wok over medium-high heat and once hot, shake excess cornflour from the chicken and space it out in the wok. Fry until both sides are deep golden and crisp with the centre cooked right through (5 or so mins depending on size). Remove the chicken and carefully discard all but 1 tbsp of oil (just eyeball it).
- Place the pan back on medium-high heat and add the onion and red pepper. Fry until they soften and very lightly char, then add the garlic and black pepper and fry for another 20 seconds or so (careful the garlic doesn't burn).
- Add the sauce and simmer for a minute until it begins to thicken, then lower the heat and stir in the chicken until fully coated.
- Serve with a pinch of sesame seeds (optional) and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’
For another delicious black pepper recipe check out my Black Pepper Beef Noodles!
For more similar recipes check out these beauties:
Fakeaway Recipes
- Chicken Chow Mein
- Salted Caramel Chicken
- Salt and Chilli Chicken
- Honey Sriracha Chicken
- Crispy Chilli Beef
I think this might be my favourite recipe of yours! Certainly the one Iโve made the most often.
A lovely, tasty and quick midweek meal that is always polished off and thoroughly enjoyed. Thank you!
That’s awesome to hear, Jan! Thank you so much for the review! C.
Amazing! I love your cooking.
Thanks so much Dianna! C.
So much better than any Chinese takeaway!! Thanks for another amazing recipe Chris.
Thanks so much for the review, Alex! So pleased it went down well ๐ C.
It was super delicious
Great to hear, Jenny! ๐ C.
It was absolutely delicious
Incredible!!
Thanks Yolanda! ๐ C.