Hunan Chicken was my favorite Chinese takeout back in the early 2000’s when I was working in San Francisco. I always got the soft chicken stir-fried with broccoli, carrots, and black fungus in a spicy Hunan sauce that made my mouth water.
The chicken breast pieces were always smooth, soft, and velvety, and the sauce was so good with steamed white rice that it was hard to stop eating it.
Fast forward many years later, I constantly miss the dish so I decided to develop a homemade Hunan Chicken recipe.
People love Chinese takeout dishes like Hunan chicken, which has tender chicken, crisp vegetables, and a spicy sauce. But what makes real Hunan chicken? Here are the main ingredients that give this stir-fry its unique flavor.
The Protein: Chicken Breast is Typically Used
Boneless, skinless chicken breast is the most common protein in Hunan chicken recipes. Chicken thigh or leg meat can also be used. The chicken is usually cut into thin strips or bite-sized pieces to enable quick, even cooking.
A velveting method is often used to keep the chicken moist and tender. Before it is cooked, the meat is tossed in a sauce made of egg white, cornstarch, and sometimes rice wine. This helps create a silky texture.
The Vegetables: A Mixed Medley Provides Texture
Part of Hunan chicken’s appeal is the variety of textures from the fresh vegetables. Typical stir-fry veggies include:
- Broccoli florets
- Carrots
- Bell peppers
- Onions
- Mushrooms
- Snap peas
- Water chestnuts
- Baby corn
Before adding the sauce, the vegetables are stir-fried until they are just crisp-tender. This keeps some of the crunch.
The Sauce: A Spicy, Savory Blend
The star of Hunan chicken is undoubtedly the sauce! It strikes a balance of sweet, salty, spicy, and savory flavors. Core ingredients include:
- Soy sauce – For saltiness
- Oyster sauce – Adds savory umami flavor
- Garlic and ginger – Provide aromatic punch
- Rice wine vinegar – Contributes acidity
- Chili bean sauce – Brings signature heat and spice
- Chicken broth – Thins out the sauce
- Cornstarch – Thickens and binds the sauce
- Sugar – Balances out spice and saltiness
The specific ratio of these components can be adjusted to control the desired spice level and flavor profile.
Regional and Personal Touches
While Hunan chicken has some standard ingredients, cooks often tweak recipes based on regional cuisine influences and personal preferences. Some variations include:
- Addition of sesame oil for nuttiness
- Extra chili peppers or pepper flakes for more heat
- Substituting chili garlic sauce for chili bean sauce
- Using brown sugar instead of white sugar
- Splash of rice wine for complexity
- Different thickening agents like arrowroot
So while Hunan chicken has a basic formula, there’s room for customization in each recipe!
Tips On How To Make Hunan Chicken
- To make sure every bite of the chicken is soft and tender, cut the chicken breasts into pieces and mix them with egg white and corn starch. In Chinese cooking, this step is called “velveting,” and it makes sure that the chicken is soft, just like in Chinese restaurants.
- Cut the vegetables in the recipe into uniform-sized pieces. This will ensure they cook evenly during stir-frying.
- Mix the Hunan sauce.
Hunan sauce consists of the following key ingredients with the secret ingredient being chili bean sauce or “Douban Jiang” (豆瓣酱), which is made from chili peppers and fermented soy bean paste.
- Bottled chili bean sauce or douban jiang
- Chicken broth
- Soy sauce
- Oyster sauce
- Ketchup
- Vinegar
The sauce should be savory with a nice heat from the chili bean sauce. It’s also slightly sour from the ketchup and vinegar. The Hunan sauce can be mixed and made ahead of time because it can be frozen and used whenever you want to make this dish.
Hunan Chicken Vs Szechuan Chicken
Many people are confused with the difference between Hunan Chicken and Szechuan (the correct spelling is “Sichuan”) chicken. Both dishes are completely different. Hunan and Sichuan are two different provinces in China. Hunan cuisine is vastly different from Sichuan food even though both are spicy.
Food in Hunan is spicy because of the chili bean sauce or douban jiang it comes in. Sichuan food uses a lot of dried red chilies and Sichuan peppercorns.
This is a healthy dish as there are a variety of vegetables.
This recipe is 499 calories per serving.
Hunan Chicken Recipe (Not your average brown sauce!)
FAQ
What is Hunan chicken made of?
Hunan chicken is a stir-fried chicken dish, typically made with boneless chicken, vegetables, and a spicy, savory sauce. The sauce often includes ingredients like soy sauce, garlic, ginger, chili peppers, and sometimes fermented black beans.
What is the difference between Hunan and Szechuan chicken?
What’s the difference between kung pao chicken and Hunan chicken?
Kung Pao Chicken is made with briefly marinated cubes of stir-fried chicken whereas Hunan Chicken is made with pan fried thinly sliced chicken lightly dusted in flour/cornstarch. Kung Pao sauce is savory and spicy like Hunan but it is sweeter and far less sour.
What are the ingredients in Hunan food?
People love Hunan food because it has strong, spicy flavors that come from things like garlic, fresh and dried chilies, and fermented black beans. Key components of Hunan dishes also include soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice vinegar, and often a touch of sweetness from honey or sugar.