PEPPER CHICKEN

Ingredients

For the Chicken

  • 1.09 lbs / 497 g boneless skinless chicken thighs, sliced into strips

  • ½ onion, sliced into thin strips

  • ½ red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips

  • ½ green bell pepper, sliced into thin strips

  • 3 green onions, whites and greens separated

For the Marinade

  • ½ tsp / 2 ml olive oil

  • ¼ tsp black pepper

  • ½ tsp / 2 g garlic powder

  • ½ tsp / 2 g onion powder

  • ½ tbsp / 8 g chicken bouillon

  • ½ tsp garlic paste

  • ½ tsp ginger paste

  • 1½ tbsp / 22 ml soy sauce

  • ½ tsp / 2 g sugar

  • ½ tbsp / 8 ml Worcestershire sauce

For the Sauce

  • ⅓ cup / 80 ml chicken stock

  • ½ tbsp / 8 ml dark soy sauce

  • ¼ tbsp / 4 ml rice vinegar

  • ½ tbsp / 8 ml oyster sauce

  • ¼ tsp black pepper

  • ½ tsp MSG

  • ¼ tbsp / 4 g sugar

For Cooking

  • ½ tbsp / 4 g cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp / 15 ml cold water

  • Splash of chicken stock, for deglazing

Method

1. Marinate: Slice the chicken into strips and combine with all marinade ingredients until fully coated. Marinate for at least 30 minutes — an hour or overnight in the fridge is better.

2. Prep the Sauce & Vegetables: While the chicken marinates, whisk together all sauce ingredients until the sugar is dissolved and set aside. Slice the onion and bell peppers into thin strips. Separate the green onion whites from the greens — they go in at different times.

3. Sear the Chicken: Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken strips in batches, getting a good crust on each side. Do not overcrowd the pan. Pull the chicken at about ¾ done — it will finish cooking later. Set aside.

4. Sauté the Vegetables: In the same pan, add the onion, bell peppers, and green onion whites. Cook until softened and translucent, scraping up the fond from the bottom as you go. Add a splash of chicken stock to deglaze and loosen anything stuck to the pan.

5. Build & Reduce: Add the chicken back into the pan and pour in the sauce. Bring to a simmer and let the sauce reduce by half before adding the cornstarch slurry.

6. Thicken: Pour in the cornstarch slurry and stir well. Add the green onion greens and allow the sauce to thicken until it coats the chicken and the back of a spoon.

7. Serve: Serve over white rice with extra green onions and pepper sauce on the side.

Additional Notes

Color: I added a bit more dark soy sauce and oyster sauce than what the recipe calls for to get a darker color — it still didn't come out as dark as I wanted, but it was better. Just be careful with this because the saltiness adds up fast. The recipe above reflects the original amounts, not the extra I added.

Overall: Simple, quick, and super flavorful. A perfect weeknight dinner.