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
A sweet, slightly spicy, deep-fried chicken dish that is popularly served in North American Chinese restaurants.
What makes Chinese chicken so soft? ›
Kaitlin Leung of The Woks of Life, a blog dedicated to Chinese cooking, shares that a standard velveting mixture could include egg white and cornstarch, plus a few tablespoons of water – to help coat the meat yes, but also to make the meat extra tender and juicy.
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 Chinese old chicken? ›
The ideal old hen is at least 2 years old, preferably 3-4 years old—more time to develop the intense chicken flavor old hen is known for. Its older, stronger bones concentrate the savoriness and stand up better to stewing. The matured fat aromatizes into something altogether more… chickeny.
What is the most popular Chinese dish ordered? ›
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? ›
Step 1: Make the Marinade
Marinades must contain an acid to be effective. Some of our favorites are yogurt, buttermilk, citrus juices, wine or even store bought salad dressings. We love this recipe for Marinated Chicken Breast (pictured above) that calls for any vinegar you have in the pantry.
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.
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? ›
Soy sauce (jiàng yóu, 酱油), the most common of Chinese sauces, sounds simple, and for the most part, it is. However, there are many types, each unique to different Asian cuisines (Chinese, Japanese, Thai, etc.).
Traditionally, oysters are slowly simmered in water until the liquid caramelizes into a viscous, dark black-brown sauce. But to speed up the process, some commercialized versions are instead made with oyster extracts, plus salt, sugar, corn starch and caramel coloring.
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 kung bo? ›
Kung Pao chicken (Chinese: 宮保雞丁; pinyin: Gōngbǎo jīdīng; Wade–Giles: Kung1-pao3 chi1-ting1; Zhuyin Fuhao: ㄍㄨㄥ ㄅㄠˇ ㄐㄧ ㄉㄧㄥ), also transcribed Gong Bao or Kung Po, is a spicy, stir-fried Chinese dish made with cubes of chicken, peanuts, vegetables and chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns.
What is the difference between orange and sweet and sour chicken? ›
Orange Chicken is crispy and light due to its thin glaze. Meanwhile, Sweet and Sour Chicken is crispy with a thicker and more indulgent sauce. Their different textures make them both a delicious choice when you are craving Chinese food.
What are the 3 most popular dishes in China? ›
The Top 5 Most Popular Dishes In China
- Ma Po Tofu is a major staple dish in Chinese meals. ...
- Hot Pot is the go-to dish to share on cold evenings with friends and family. ...
- Peking Duck is one of the most popular dishes served for special occasions in China.
Butter chicken (Murgh makhani)
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.
What is the difference between General Tso's chicken and sesame chicken? ›
General Tso's chicken is a spicy and tangy dish made with a mix of chicken breast and thighs, while sesame chicken is a sweeter option made with succulent chicken thighs. Whether you're in the mood for something spicy or sweet, both dishes offer a delicious and crispy meal that's sure to satisfy your cravings.”
