Home » Recipes » Meal Type » Dinner » 6-Ingredient Chinese Chicken: Easy Chinese Chicken Recipes for Dinner with Few Ingredients
Dinner
Published: January 25, 2024
This chicken will be on your plate faster than your delivery guy can make it to your front door.
It’s after 6pm. You’re struggling through rush hour, trying to make it home in time to fit in a workout, throw in a load of laundry, and maybe watch the latest episode of Scandal. How can you possibly be expected to cook dinner, too? You sigh, envisioning another evening rifling through the stack of takeout menus in your drawer, choosing a heavy, greasy, sodium-filled meal made with ingredients you don’t entirely recognize. It may taste good at first, but after the first few bites, you’ll be feeling weighed down and just a bit guilty.
But your evening doesn’t have to go down that road! At Skinny Ms., we’re happy to provide our readers with healthy, clean eating versions of their favorite takeout entrees. Our 6-Ingredient Chinese Chicken is one of our favorite easy Chinese chicken recipes for dinner with few ingredients. It’s a cinch to shop for and prepare. It’s a perfect weeknight dinner, even on those nights when your schedule feels hectic.
How do we make easy Chinese chicken recipes for dinner with few ingredients taste so good? Our marinade is so packed with flavor—it only needs 20 minutes in the fridge to flavor your chicken. Mix together light soy sauce, hoisin sauce, chili sauce, and minced ginger, coat your chicken, and let sit while you look through the mail or water your plants. Your lean, protein-rich chicken breasts only need a few minutes of cooking, and then you can add them to any whole grain you like for a complete and satisfying meal. We like to add a side of bok choy or broccoli for an extra dose of green!
6-Ingredient Chinese Chicken
This chicken dish is a perfect substitute for those unhealthy takeout options and with very few ingredients, dinner will be served in no time.
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Prep Time 25 minutes minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes minutes
Total Time 35 minutes minutes
Yield 4 people
Serving Size 0.75 cup
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Ingredients
Marinade
- 1 tablespoon ginger peeled and minced (about 1 inch ginger root)
- 1 tablespoon garlic chili sauce or chili paste
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon lite soy sauce
Chicken
- 1 pound boneless and skinless chicken breasts sliced horizontally and then into small cubes
- 1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
Instructions
Whisk together the marinade. Put the chicken pieces in a bowl and toss well to coat evenly with marinade. Cover and place in the fridge for about 20 minutes.
Add canola oil to a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot and shimmering (but not smoking) add the chicken pieces. Cook the chicken for 3- 5 minutes until cooked through and the juices run clear. If the chicken pieces are larger, cook longer.
Serve over brown rice, brown rice noodles, or quinoa. Garnish with chopped cilantro or chopped scallions, if desired.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 0.75cup | Calories: 190kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 255mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g |
SmartPoints (Freestyle): 4
Keywords Budget-Friendly, Diabetic-Friendly, Low-Carb, Paleo
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We love to make easy Chinese chicken recipes for dinner with few ingredients—they’re quick, healthy, and super satisfying—even when our strongest takeout cravings strike. The best thing about this 6-ingredient Chinese chicken recipe is that it’s easy to keep all of its ingredients stocked so that you’ll always have them on hand for busy weeknight dinners.
Enjoyed this post? Check out more:
- Easy 6-Ingredient Sesame Chicken
- 6-Ingredient Caprese Pasta Salad
- 6-Ingredient Greek Pasta Salad
- 6-Ingredient Mediterranean Salad
- Healthy Orange Chicken Crockpot Recipe
Make sure that you subscribe to our newsletter, so that you don’t miss out on anything Skinny Ms. For more tasty recipes, healthy lifestyle tips, and whole- body workouts, check out our Facebook page and follow us on Pinterest.
What are your favorite easy Chinese chicken recipes for dinner with few ingredients? We’d love to hear what you think of this post, or what you’d like to see on our site. Leave us a comment in the comments section below.
FAQs
General Tso's Chicken is a popular Chinese chicken dish that consists of deep-fried battered chicken pieces coated in a sweet and savory sauce. The dish is known for its bold flavors and crispy texture, making it a favorite among many Chinese food enthusiasts.
What makes Chinese chicken so soft? ›
You velvet chicken with baking soda, not baking powder. Baking soda works as a meat tenderizer on chicken because it changes the pH of the meat. This prevents the proteins from bonding tightly and gives it a soft and silky texture when stir-fried.
What is Chinese chicken and broccoli chicken made of? ›
Chinese restaurants almost always use chicken breast for chicken and broccoli because most Americans prefer white meat. However, if you prefer dark meat, you can use chicken thighs to make a delicious homemade dark meat chicken broccoli with brown sauce.
What is sweet and sour chicken made of Chinese food? ›
Sweet and sour chicken, one of the most popular Chinese takeout dishes, is made of puffy, golden brown pieces of fried chicken nuggets with pineapple chunks, onion, bell pepper, carrot, and a side of iconic red, sweet and sour sauce.
What is the most ordered Chinese meal? ›
Popular Chinese Dishes. General Tso Chicken – According to Grubhub, this sweet fried chicken dish is the most popular Chinese food in America. It's also unhealthy, considering that it is deep-fried and the recipe demands tons of sugar.
What ingredient makes chicken soft? ›
For every 250g/8oz chicken breast strips or pieces, toss with 3/4 tsp baking soda (bi-carb) Marinate for 20 minutes. Rinse well under running water, pat with paper towel to remove excess water. Cook per chosen recipe and marvel at the most tender chicken breast you've ever had, just like at Chinese restaurants!!!
What do Chinese soak their chicken in? ›
To marinate chicken for stir fries, we use a simple mixture of water, oil, cornstarch, and a flavor agent like soy sauce or oyster sauce. Other ingredients, like Shaoxing wine or sesame oil, may also be layered in.
How do Chinese restaurants get their meat so tender? ›
There are several ways to velvet, but at its most basic level, it involves marinating meat with at least one ingredient that will make it alkaline. This is what tenderizes the meat, especially cheaper, tougher cuts. “People go for either egg white or baking soda as they are both alkaline ingredients.
What is the brown sauce in Chinese food called? ›
Oyster sauce is commonly used in Chinese food and adds a savory, salty, umami flavor. Both can be found in most grocery stores. If you like, you can add grated or minced ginger or garlic. Serve your homemade brown sauce with a beef, chicken, or pork stir-fry or chow mein dish.
What sauce do Chinese restaurants use? ›
In this blog post, we'll explore some of the most popular types of Chinese sauces, including soy sauce, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, and more. From sweet and tangy to rich and savory, Chinese sauces are a crucial component of many dishes, and can completely transform the taste of a meal.
Ingredients. The key ingredient of hoisin sauce is fermented soybean paste. Some hoisin sauce ingredients include starches such as sweet potato, wheat and rice, and water, sugar, soybeans, sesame seeds, white distilled vinegar, salt, garlic, red chili peppers, and sometimes preservatives or coloring agents.
What is Chinese sweet and sour sauce made of? ›
In a medium saucepan, combine pineapple juice, rice vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup, and soy sauce and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir in cornstarch slurry and cook until thickened, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
What is the difference between orange and sweet and sour chicken? ›
Basically, the sauce is what distinguishes one flavor from the others, so when making orange chicken, the sauce base is orange juice, with lemon, lemonade, pineapple, pineapple juice, and sweet and sour is tomato sauce or juice and vinegar and sugar or honey.
What is Chinese crispy chicken called? ›
By:Nagi. Published:19 Oct '20 Updated:27 Nov '20. 347 Comments. General Tso's Chicken is that perfect combination of sweet, savoury, spicy and tangy with crispy Chinese chicken bites.
What is China's number one dish? ›
Hot pot, or hotpot (火锅 huǒguō), is one of the most popular dishes in China, especially in Sichuan Province or Chongqing. People cook in and eat from a simmering pot of soup stock (broth) on a gas/induction hob in the middle of the dining table with foodstuffs and condiments around the pot.
Which is the most popular chicken dish in the world? ›
Butter chicken, also known as Murgh Makhani, has recently claimed the top spot in the "Top 100 Chicken Dishes in the World" list by TasteAtlas, (an online guide for traditional food) solidifying its place as a global culinary sensation.
What is amazing chicken on a Chinese menu? ›
Chinese Amazing Chicken is usually prepared by marinating the chicken in a mixture of soy sauce, ginger, and garlic. The chicken is then stir-fried or pan-fried until it is cooked through. It is often garnished with green onions and sesame seeds for added flavor and presentation.
