Looking for the perfect date night recipe, but definitely don’t want to order takeout? Then try this easy salt and pepper chicken recipe – it’s incredible! This Chinese inspired salt and pepper chicken dish smells incredible and tastes even better!
Easy salt and pepper chicken recipe
You only need a few ingredients to make this easy salt and pepper chicken recipe:
- Chicken
- Peppers
- Onions
- Garlic
- Cornflour
- Oil
- Salt
- Chilli flakes
- Chinese 5 spice
- Rice to serve
It’s never going to be the healthiest dish on the menu with it using over a tablespoon of salt, plus tons of oil, but everything in moderation, right?
Use fresh ingredients if you can
I’ve tried making this dish with frozen peppers and onion, and suite honestly, it doesn’t taste as good.
A lovely fresh red pepper will bring crunch to the recipe and onions add so much flavour to a dish when you use fresh ones.
I also like to throw in a few fresh birds eye chillis when sauteing the onion and pepper to being extra heat. Try this if you dare – it can make this easy salt and pepper chicken recipe pretty spicy!
Is this Chinese Salt and Pepper chicken suitable for kids?
I very much believe that everything is fine for kids as long as it’s offered in moderation, but this dish does contain a heck of a lot of salt. I would therefore recommend not offering this to very young children and limit their portion size if possible.
What’s the best type of oil to use in this recipe?
I use sunflower oil when making this recipe as it’s one of the best oils to use for shallow frying. Sunflower oil contains vitamin E but on the other hand it also contains omega-6 fatty acid which can be bad for you if consumed regularly. This is definitely a dish to eat in moderation – but you knew that right?
Easy Salt and Pepper Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1 cup cornflour
- 2 peppers
- 1 onion
- 2 tsp Chinese 5 Spice
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp chilli flakes
- 3 cups + 1 tbsp oil
- finely sliced birds eye chilli flakes (optional)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add cornflour, salt, chilli flakes and Chinese 5 Spice and combine.
- Slice the chicken into chunks and add to the bowl of flour. Combine thoroughly until all chicken pieces are coated.
- Meanwhile in a large, deep frying pan, add 3 cups of oil and heat carefully on the hob on medium heat.
- In a separate wok, add sliced onion, 1 tbsp oil and pepper and stir fry on very low heat. (You can also add in birds eye chilli flakes if you like extra heat)
- When the oil in the first frying pan has heated, add the coated chicken. You may need to do this in batches depending on how big your pan is.
- Fry the chicken on each side for 4 minutes before transferring to kitchen roll which will soak up the excess oil. (However the longer you leave it, the crispier it will get)
- Once all the chicken is cooked, add to the pan of peppers and onions and stir to mix.
- Serve the salt and pepper chicken alongside fried or boiled rice and top with heaps of Sriracha sauce if you like it extra spicy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 525Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 206mgSodium: 3702mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 3gSugar: 5gProtein: 77g
Author: Nicola Hughes
Nicola has weaned both of her boys using the baby led weaning method. She loves nothing better than creating simple recipes that anyone can recreate, using as few ingredients as possible. All of her recipes have been tried and tested by both Dexter and Felix and have their seal of approval!