Panda Express Pepper Chicken

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Recreate the discontinued Panda Express Pepper Chicken at home with juicy chicken, crisp vegetables, a savory black pepper sauce, and the key ingredient that makes it taste like the original.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Chinese

Keyword: Panda Express Pepper Chicken Recipe

Servings:

Calories: 331kcal

Ingredients

Sauce

½ cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce, low-sodium
2 tablespoons seasoned rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 ¼ teaspoons coarse ground black pepper (10 to 12 mesh - see tips)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon chili powder

Chicken and Vegetables

3 tablespoons canola oil, divided (2 tablespoons to cook the chicken and 1 tablespoon to cook the vegetables)
1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, excess fat trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup sweet yellow onion, cut into 1 inch pieces (such as Vidalia)
1 cup celery stalks, cut into ½ inch slices on the bias (angled)

Instructions

To make the sauce, add to a small mixing bowl the chicken broth, oyster sauce, low-sodium soy sauce, seasoned rice wine vinegar, cornstarch, black pepper, ground ginger, garlic powder, and chili powder. Whisk until smooth and set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons of canola oil in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken pieces in a single layer. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and lightly golden. Transfer to a clean plate and set aside.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the skillet. Add the onion and celery, cooking for 3-4 minutes until tender but still slightly crisp, stirring occasionally.
Return the chicken to the skillet with the vegetables. Stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium, give the sauce a quick stir to recombine the cornstarch, then add it to the skillet. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring continuously, until the sauce thickens and coats the chicken and vegetables. Remove from the heat and serve.

Notes

Coarse ground black pepper with a mesh of 10-12 is often labeled as “culinary” or “butcher style” when searching online, or in-stores, to purchase. It is a more uniform grind than what you will get when grinding from a pepper mill at home.
It is best to reduce the amount of standard ground black pepper, if using, to 1 teaspoon. Using 2 ¼ teaspoons of finer ground black pepper will be too overpowering in this recipe.
The original Panda Express black pepper chicken was made using chicken thigh meat however, you can substitute the boneless skinless chicken breast as a substitute if you prefer white meat over dark meat. You can also use a combination of both white and dark chicken.
Seasoned rice vinegar is a lightly sweetened Asian vinegar. You can substitute standard rice vinegar and add 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar.

Nutrition