Chinese garlic chicken is a stir fry made of chicken, peppers and a delicious sauce that’s savory and flavored with the heady fragrance of garlic. Serve it over rice or noodles for an Asian night special.

April says:
The best garlic chicken!!! Easily the best stir fry I’ve ever made. Years ago I used to go to a restaurant for garlic chicken that tasted just like this—then they sold and I never got the same dish again and was devastated.

Chicken cooked with this Chinese garlic sauce is a blend of flavors: spicy and savory. It is a quick and easy recipe in a wok or pan. The magic lies with the copious amounts of garlic and the delicious sauce. You may check out my other Asian garlic sauce recipe – crispy tofu with Chinese garlic sauce.

Chinese garlic chicken

This will be better than the Chinese takeout from your favorite restaurants, and the best part – you have made it at home using the freshest ingredients.

This stir-fried Chinese chicken dish has boneless chicken thighs, which I always prefer over breasts because it has more flavor. It also helps that the breast has to cook right and does not forgive overcooking. It becomes chewy and rubbery.

Read some of the recipes that I have shared. You will know that garlic is my favorite aromatic. I love its intense flavor and aroma and believe it lifts any dish that can have it.

A few of my favorite garlic-flavored recipes are – Creamy Garlic Shrimp, Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs, Sesame Garlic Ramen Noodles, and Baked Honey Garlic Chicken Wings.

Chicken cooked in Chinese sauce with flavors from garlic in a black skillet and tossed with a wooden spatula

Chinese garlic sauce

This Garlic sauce is a versatile one and goes well with any stir fries.You get the best flavor when the sauce and chicken are cooked with this copious amount of garlic.

The dark color comes from the dark soy sauce used, which has a hint of sweetness and salt to bring out all the other flavors. Brown sugar helps to balance the slaty sauces.

The hot sriracha sauce is a trick addition that provides heat and a tangy taste profile from the rice vinegar. Pepper is added for warmth, and cornstarch thickens the sauce.

You can substitute the dark soy sauce with an All-purpose or light soy sauce. Remember that light soy sauce can taste saltier, and you might need to increase the sugar to balance it.

Ingredients

Boneless chicken thighs – This can be done with chicken breast, but chicken thighs have more flavor and are forgiving to overcooking. For stir-fry recipes, boneless chicken works best.
Cornstarch – the coating helps the chicken become crispy when fried.
Dark Soy sauce – Dark soy has a characteristic dark color that gives this dish its color.
Garlic – minced garlic is used in very generous amounts and provides the characteristic flavor when the sauce is cooked with it.
Ginger – another aromatic that is often sauteed with garlic.
Red bell pepper – sliced bell peppers are commonly used in an Asian stir fry for their crunch and taste.
Green onion – chopped green onions add a hint of freshness.
Oil – for frying the chicken. I have used neutral cooking oil.

For the Chinese garlic sauce

Dark soy sauce – provides saltiness and umami to the dish. Its dark soy sauce provides that dark color to the sauce.
Chicken broth – has many flavors and helps build the sauce’s base.
Rice vinegar – also known as rice wine vinegar, adds a dry and tangy taste to the sauce.
Light brown sugar – for the tinge of sweetness to balance the saltiness from the soy sauce. You can substitute it with honey.
Sesame oil – is used for its flavor and fragrance in Asian dishes and is fine for high-heat cooking.
Sriracha – is a thick, spicy sauce made from chili peppers with a hint of garlic. It tastes spicy and sweet and adds a layer of flavor.
Water – to add volume to the sauce. It should be enough to coat the chicken.
Pepper – a slight heat from black pepper.

Ingredients required to make the Chinese chicken stir fry and Chinese soy-based sauce

How to make

The instructions here are simple. The cooking takes as little time as the prepping. Leave the chicken marinated in the sauce for at least 30 minutes for the best results.

Prepare the sauce

Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and set aside.

Coat and cook the chicken

Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and place in a mixing bowl. Add dark soy sauce and cornstarch to the chicken. Toss everything well to coat the chicken pieces.

On a hot large skillet, heat oil on medium heat. Add the marinated chicken and cook for up to 3 minutes; flip and cook for another couple of minutes.

We need the chicken to get crispy from the cornstarch coating without overcrowding. If needed, cook the chicken in batches.

Cook aromatics

Drain the oil from the skillet, leaving only one tablespoon behind. Add minced garlic and ginger and saute them until they turn aromatic. It will take a minute.

Add the cooked chicken, sliced bell pepper, and chopped green onion. Pour the prepared sauce and toss well until the sauce coats everything.

Let it cook until the sauce thickens further. You are ready to serve.

Tips to improve the flavor and get the best garlic chicken

Since garlic is the hero of the dish, make sure to use fresh minced garlic.
Marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours for the flavors to seep in. The salt in the soy sauce and cornstarch helps tenderize the chicken.
Use a large skillet or wok for stir-frying and tossing the ingredients.
The dish calls for cooking on high heat to make the chicken crispy.
Add vegetables at the end, along with the already-cooked chicken. It must be tossed along with the sauce for a few minutes. We need the veggies to retain their crunch and not become soft.
You can replace dark soy sauce with All-purpose or light soy versions. This will be slightly saltier and hence increase the sugar a little. The dish color will become a bit lighter as a result.

Chicken and bell pepper cooked in Chinese sauce with garlic and served in a bowl on a bed of rice. It was garnished with chopped green onion.

Store

Chinese garlic chicken, like other stir-fries, can be refrigerated, in an airtight container, for up to 4 days. This contains onions and garlic, which does not allow it to store longer.

You can safely freeze this, by double-wrapping the container and marking the date, for months. When it’s time to have this, move it to the refrigerator the previous night to thaw.

You can stir the contents well and reheat them in the microwave. Otherwise, you may stir fry it a few times while tossing the contents.

What to serve with

This dish is flavorful, has protein and fiber from veggies, and goes very well with various sides.

Rice – plain steamed rice is the classic pairing with Chinese stir-fry dishes like chicken with garlic sauce. Rice soaks up the delicious sauce and makes the whole dish fulfilling. You can also pair it with fried rice.
Noodles – Plain noodles or noodles with other flavors apart from garlic work well with this saucy dish by absorbing the flavors and making it a hearty meal.
Stir-fried veggies – Veggies stir-fried offer a crunch and extra fiber, which makes for a satiating meal. To serve with this, you can stir-fry broccoli and green leaves like bokchoy, cabbage, etc..

Asian Ground Beef Bowl – An Asian-inspired tasty bowl of juicy ground beef stir fry served with rice.
Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry – made with a delicious Asian sauce, is an easy stir-fry recipe with juicy chicken, crispy broccoli, and stir-fry sauce.
Thai Cashew Chicken Stir Fry – this chicken recipe is packed with thai flavors with the added crunch of perfectly roasted Cashews.
Sweet Chili Shrimp Stir Fry – Quick and easy Shrimp stir fry with zucchini, pepper, and tossed in Thai Sweet chili Sauce.
Sesame Chicken – Crispy chicken tossed in an aromatic honey sesame sauce.
Ginger Chicken

11 Comments

Chris says:

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This was very good! I added broccoli and water chestnuts as well and used chicken breasts.

DJC says:

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DJC- This recipe was very good, i didnt have time to marinade it at all, but it was still very good. Leftovers were even better after sitting in the fridge overnight. Will definitely make again.

Alan says:

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Terribly written but I bet it tastes great. It. Says at the top to marinate the chicken in the sauce. In the step by step instructions it leaves marinating out and say to add the sauce to the cooked chicken. Adding sauce that was used to marinate raw chicken is a no no. I am marinating in the sauce then making another batch of sauce to eat with

1. Subhasmita says:
  
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  I don’t understand the confusion here. The list of sauces for the stir fry is mentioned in separate section in the recipe. And to marinate chicken it is clearly written add dark soy sauce and cornstarch. Its written clearly in both step-by-step and recipe section.
  
2. Kendra says:
  
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  If you’re cooking the sauce, there is no danger of using it after marinating in it. It states in the recipe that you cook it, so there isn’t any problem with that!
  
April says:

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The best garlic chicken!!! Easily the best stir fry I’ve ever made. Years ago I used to go to a restaurant for garlic chicken that tasted just like this—then they sold and I never got the same dish again and was devastated.

1. Subhasmita says:
  
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  The joy of recreating your favourite dish at home 🙂 Thank you for dropping a comment and let us know.
  
Jack says:

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Why is there no garlic in the garlic sauce? Am I missing something?

1. Subhasmita says:
  
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  Garlic is listed in the recipe. it’s 1.5 tablespoons .
  
Matt says:

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This looks really nice I’m going to try it tonight with chicken breast which I will velvet 1st. Question, when you marinated the chicken for 2 hours was that in the soy sauce and corn starch mixture?

tam50 says:

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This recipe was fantastic! I had taken out chicken thighs rather than chicken breasts from the freezer and looked online to see what I could do with them and found your recipe and am so glad I did. This is going in the permanent rotation at our house. Thank you so much!