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This Mongolian hen is a kind of recipes that quietly earns its place on the common dinner rota. Tender strips of hen cooked in a shiny garlic-ginger soy sauce, completed with spring onions and spooned over scorching rice — it’s fast (prepared in 25 minutes!), comforting and filled with flavour with out being heavy. And simply have a look at how that sauce soaks into the rice 😋.
Nicky’s Notes
This Mongolian hen is all about tender hen and a shiny, well-balanced sauce. A light-weight coating of cornflour helps maintain the hen juicy whereas giving the sauce one thing to cling to.
Cooking the hen first and setting it apart means it stays tender. It additionally provides you management over the sauce, so it has time to thicken correctly earlier than the hen goes again in.
The sauce itself is easy however fastidiously balanced. Garlic and ginger are cooked briefly so that they keep aromatic, then the sauce is simmered for a few minutes to create that wealthy, shiny end.
That is a kind of dishes the place soy sauce alternative actually issues. I have a tendency to achieve for a reduced-salt possibility at dwelling, because it provides loads of savoury depth with out overpowering the remainder of the flavours.
📋 Substances for Mongolian Hen
***Full recipe with detailed portions within the recipe card under***
Word on the Hen
I’m utilizing hen breast fillets sliced into skinny strips as it really works very well and jogs my memory of that takeout fashion Mongolian hen. When you needed you might swap it out for boneless hen thigh fillets, they’d work simply high quality too.
Word on the sugar
I favor to make use of Muscovado sugar for this because it has a ravishing roasted molasses flavour. So it’s preferable that you simply use it. However in case you completely can’t discover it any gentle brown or darkish brown sugar will work.
Word on the Soy Sauce
I’ve examined this recipe with varied totally different soy sauces, I initially used common darkish soy sauce on this recipe, however the salt quantity can fluctuate a lot between manufacturers that some readers have been discovering it too salty. For instance Amoy darkish is 15.8g of salt per 100ml, in comparison with Pearl River Bridge which is 23.5g salt per 100ml.
A low sodium soy sauce is now my favorite alternative (Amoy decreased salt, Kikkoman inexperienced cap) or I’ll use common Amoy darkish, because it’s naturally a bit decrease in salt.
![Sticky Mongolian Hen [Ready in 25 mins!]](https://www.kitchensanctuary.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Mongolian-Chicken-Wide-SEO.jpg "Sticky Mongolian Hen [Ready in 25 mins!]")
Abbreviated Recipe
***Full recipe with detailed steps within the recipe card under***
Flippantly coat the hen strips and pan-fry till simply cooked by way of, then put aside.
Simmer garlic, ginger, soy sauce and sugar till thick and shiny.
Return the hen to the pan, toss to coat, then serve over rice.
Recipe Suggestions
- Let the sauce simmer till it seems shiny and frivolously coats the spoon — that’s your signal it’s prepared for the hen.
- Add the hen again proper on the finish and solely cook dinner lengthy sufficient to heat it by way of, so it stays tender.
Deeply savoury with a mild sweetness, heat garlic and aromatic ginger, all wrapped in a shiny sauce that brings all the pieces collectively — and it’s prepared surprisingly rapidly.
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🍽️ What to serve it with
I really like serving this Mongolian hen over plain boiled rice, completed with a light-weight sprinkling of sesame seeds or chilli flakes in case you fancy just a little additional kick.
- Egg Fried Rice – good for absorbing that shiny sauce
- Stir-Fried Greens (equivalent to broccoli, pak choi or inexperienced beans) for a recent distinction
- Easy Noodles with beansprouts additionally work
Bought Leftovers?
- This sticky hen stir fry tastes greatest when made proper earlier than serving as that’s when the meat will likely be most tender.
- Nonetheless, you possibly can rapidly cool, cowl and refrigerate leftovers for as much as a day within the fridge.
- Reheat within the microwave till piping scorching.
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Warmth the oil in a wok or massive frying pan till very popular.
3 tbsp oil
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Combine the cornflour with a superb pinch of salt and pepper and toss the hen strips within the seasoned cornflour.
2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch), pinch salt and black pepper, 550 g (1.1lb) Skinless boneless hen breasts
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Prepare dinner the hen strips within the oil (turning often) till cooked by way of and barely golden. You are able to do this in two batches, however I often handle this in a single.
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Use a slotted spoon to take away the hen from the pan. Place it in a bowl while you make the sauce.
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Pour out all however 1 tbsp of oil from the pan, flip the warmth right down to medium/low and permit the oil to chill just a little. Add the sesame oil, ginger and garlic to the pan and cook dinner for 30 seconds – stirring usually to keep away from burning the garlic.
1 tbsp minced ginger, 3 cloves garlic, 1 tsp sesame oil
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Combine collectively the water and cornflour then add it into the wok together with the soy sauce, pepper and sugar.
120 ml (1/2 cup) decreased sodium soy sauce, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 6 packed tbsp gentle brown muscavado sugar, 90 ml (1/3 cup) water, 1 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)
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Give it a superb combine and switch up the warmth and produce to the boil. Simmer for 2-3 minutes.
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Then add the hen again to the wok and cook dinner for an extra 2 minutes.
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Stir within the spring onions (scallions) and cook dinner for one more minute.
8 spring onions (scallions)
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Flip off the pinnacle and serve over boiled rice.
boiled rice, or egg fried rice
Soy Sauce
I’ve examined this recipe with varied totally different soy sauces, I initially used common darkish soy sauce on this recipe, however the salt quantity can fluctuate a lot between manufacturers that some readers have been discovering it too salty. For instance Amoy darkish is 15.8g of salt per 100ml, in comparison with Pearl River Bridge which is 23.5g salt per 100ml.
A low sodium soy sauce is now my favorite alternative (Amoy decreased salt, Kikkoman inexperienced cap) or I’ll use common Amoy darkish, because it’s naturally a bit decrease in salt.
Can I make it forward?
This stir fry tastes greatest when made proper earlier than serving as that’s when the hen will likely be most tender.
Nonetheless, you possibly can rapidly cool, cowl and refrigerate leftovers for as much as a day within the fridge.
Reheat within the microwave till piping scorching.
I can’t discover muscovado sugar. Can I exploit one thing else as a substitute?
Muscovado sugar has a ravishing roasted flavour. So it’s preferable that you simply use it. However in case you completely can’t discover it any gentle brown or darkish brown sugar will work.
Dietary Data is per serving, with out the serving suggestion of boiled rice.
Energy: 314kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 33g | Fats: 15g | Saturated Fats: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 4g | Monounsaturated Fats: 8g | Trans Fats: 0.1g | Ldl cholesterol: 88mg | Sodium: 1331mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g
Diet info is mechanically calculated, so ought to solely be used as an approximation.
This Mongolian Hen Recipe was first posted in Jan 2026. Up to date since with recipe enhancements and for housekeeping causes.
🥡 Extra Sticky Hen recipes
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