Mongolian chicken is a Chinese-American dish that is often found on the menu of Chinese restaurants in the United States. It is a stir-fry dish that typically consists of sliced chicken breast, bell peppers, onions, and scallions, all cooked in a sweet and savory sauce made with soy sauce, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger.
The recipe below uses an instant pot but this can easily be made on a stove top. See my instructions and tips below above the recipe to make this dish on a stove.
If you like Instant Pot recipes try Instant Pot French Dip Sandwiches, Instant Pot French Onion Soup, or Instant Pot Mac and Cheese.
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Ingredients Needed for Mongolian Chicken
- Chicken breasts, cut into thin strips - They’re lean and quick-cooking and always come out juicy and tender. Use an instant-read thermometer to make sure that the chicken is not over cooked. When reading labels for chicken breasts try to find ones that say Organic or Free Range.
- Cornstarch
- Sesame oil is a popular cooking oil that is derived from sesame seeds. It is commonly used in Asian cuisine and has a distinct nutty flavor that adds depth to a variety of dishes. Sesame oil is rich in healthy fats and antioxidants, making it a great addition to a balanced diet.
- Soy sauce Use a Low Sodium or if you don’t have that on hand go for Tamari or Coconut Amino Acids
- Brown sugar - Is made by combining granulated white sugar with molasses, which gives it a brown color and a slightly different taste than regular
- Rice vinegar - some good substitutes for this type of vinegar is White Wine, Apple Cider, or Sherry Vinegar
- Chopped fresh garlic can take some time to chop so I often always use the freshly minced garlic that comes already made in a jar.
- Ginger - just like the prechopped minced garlic I like to get the grated ginger in the tubes that you can just squeeze out.
- Red pepper flakes - are small pieces of dried hot peppers, typically made from cayenne, that are crushed or ground into small flakes.
- Green Onions, sliced Sesame seeds (optional). for garnish
Rice
Make some rice ahead of time in your Instant Pot for this dish. The recipe for Instant Pot rice is equal parts white rice and water. Stir the rice in the water so that it is all submerged in there and set the timer to 5 minutes with a quick release at the end of cooking.
How to make Mongolian Chicken
Step 1: For Chicken: Cut chicken into thin slices. Cut longer slices in half so that they are bite-sized.Place chicken slices in a medium bowl and add cornstarch. Stir until evenly coated. Let sit 10 minutes.
Step 2: For the sauce: In a medium bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes. Set aside.
Step 3: Turn your Instant Pot on to “Saute" mode. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and when hot, sear flank steak until browned on both sides. Add more oil if needed. Push the “Cancel" button on the Instant Pot. Pour sauce over chicken. Place lid on and set to Manual (High Pressure) for 10 minutes. Be sure the valve is in sealing position.
Step 4: Slow Cooker Setting. Dump the chicken in the slow cooker and pour over the sauce. Mix well to combine. Let it cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
When time is up, do a quick pressure release.
Stir in green onions. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with rice.
Stove top instructions
Here are the stove top instructions for those of you that would like to make this that do not have an Instant Pot. Same ingredients as listed below.
Coat the chicken in cornstarch.
Mix ingredients for sauce in a bowl.
Heat a pan over medium heat. Once the pan is hot enough add the oil, and then add the chicken. Cook the chicken 3 to 4 minutes per side or until the chicken is golden brown.
Add sauce to the pan with the chicken and let the sauce come to a simmer until it has thickened. If the sauce hasn’t thickened, you might need to add a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch.
Other Instant Pot Recipes
If you tried this Instant Pot Mongolian Chicken any other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you! Follow along on Tiktok @jennarecipediaries
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Instant Pot Mongolian Chicken
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 5 min
- Total Time: 20 min
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Easy
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Asian
Description
Mongolian chicken is a dish served in Chinese restaurants with a tangy sauce and rice. Usually, steak is the protein of choice but since steak is high in points on WW, I subbed in chicken to help lower the points.
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ lb of chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
- 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
Sauce:
- ½ cup of soy sauce
- ½ cup of brown sugar
- ⅓ cup water
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ tsp of minced ginger
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- Green Onions, sliced Sesame seeds (optional)
Instructions
For Chicken: Cut chicken into thin slices. Cut longer slices in half so that they are bite-sized. Place chicken slices in a medium bowl and add cornstarch. Stir until evenly coated. Let sit 10 minutes.
For the sauce: In a medium bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes. Set aside.
Turn your Instant Pot on to “Saute" mode. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and when hot, sear chicken until browned on both sides. Add more oil if needed. Push the “Cancel" button on the Instant Pot.
Pour sauce over chicken. Place lid on and set to Manual (High Pressure) for 10 minutes. Be sure the valve is in sealing position. When time is up, do a quick pressure release. Stir in green onions. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with rice.
Serving size: ½ cup of rice plus ½ cup of chicken
Notes
myWW points: Blue: 6; Green: 9; Purple: 6 (just chicken)
Can sub your favorite brown sugar substitute to help lower points. (Look up substitution conversions)
Points are calculated with the WW recipe builder app and not using the nutrition info.
Nutrition
- Calories: 275
- Sugar: 26.9g
- Fat: 6.2g
- Carbohydrates: 32.9g
- Fiber: .3g
- Protein: 21.6g
Jessie H says
This is great. We always double the sauce for the rice. Yummm!!!
Nakia says
My entire family loved it! I sent this recipe to my other WW friends and family! Thanks so much!
Jenna says
Thanks Corey!
Corey Anderson says
LOVED this recipe!! It was easier than ordering Chinese Take-away, much more delicious than Chinese Take-away, and I appreciate having another Instant Pot recipe to add to my repertoire. Even my MIL, who doesn't like Chinese food, tried it and actually enjoyed it.