Garlic Black Pepper Chicken Stir Fry

overhead view of black pepper chicken stir fry in skillet.

5 from 7 votes

Garlic Black Pepper Chicken Stir Fry

Tender chicken pieces are stir-fried and tossed in a deliciously sticky, savory, and slightly sweet garlic and black pepper honey sauce that perfectly coats the chicken!

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Course: Entree, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Asian

Keyword: chicken stir fry, homemade takeout

Servings: servings

Calories: 231kcal

Author: The Chunky Chef

Ingredients

Skillet

1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast diced into small bite-sized pieces
4 Tbsp vegetable oil divided
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 small shallots finely minced
1 - 2 Thai red chile peppers minced (1 small jalapeño pepper can be substituted)
14 cloves garlic minced
2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger

Honey black pepper sauce

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

Garnishes

green onion sliced at an angle
Thai red chiles sliced
sesame seeds

Instructions

Prepare

Since this is a stir fry, it's very helpful to make sure everything is chopped/minced, and measured out before starting the cooking process.

Cook chicken

Heat a large skillet over MED HIGH heat and add 1 Tbsp vegetable oil. When oil is hot, add half the chicken pieces and cook, for about 2 minutes on one side, then flip over and cook another minute or two until chicken is cooked through.
Transfer chicken to a plate and repeat with another 1 Tbsp vegetable oil and the other half of the chicken.

Whisk sauce

While chicken is cooking, in a small mixing bowl whisk together water, chicken broth, soy sauce, honey, black pepper and cornstarch. Set aside.

Cook sauce

After all the chicken has been added to the plate, don’t clean out the skillet.
Add remaining 2 Tbsp vegetable oil and 1 Tbsp butter to the skillet. Add shallot and Thai chiles and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring often, until softened and fragrant.
Reduce heat to MED and add garlic and ginger, cooking about 2 minutes, stirring often.
Give the soy sauce mixture in the mixing bowl a whisk to redistribute the cornstarch, then pour the sauce into the skillet.
Cook several minutes, stirring often, until mixture simmers and thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Return chicken to skillet

Remove skillet from the heat, add cooked chicken to sauce and stir until well coated.

Serve

Serve hot, garnished with plenty of green onions, sesame seeds, and some additional sliced Thai chiles. We like to serve this chicken over rice.

Notes

Since this is a stir fry, things move fairly quickly. I definitely recommend following the steps in the order I’ve written them, so things are prepped and ready for you. Otherwise, it can get pretty hectic.
Recipe serves approximately 6, but this is just an estimate.

Nutrition