Easy Empress Chicken Recipe

Why You Will Love Empress Chicken

• QUICK AND EASY – Using just a few, simple ingredients and couple minutes to prepare. In fact, you can have this ready to eat faster than you could order it pick it up from your local restaurant. 
• HEALTHIER THAN TAKEOUT – When you make your own homemade version of takeout recipes, you know exactly what you are putting in your body. 
• BOLD, TASTY FLAVORS – The chicken is so tender inside and slightly crispy outside. And that sauce has the perfect combination of sweet and spicy to invigorate your taste buds!

Empress Chicken

Empress Chicken is a staple in classic Chinese Takeout Cuisine. It consists of dredging chicken in cornstarch and pan frying it so it’s crispy on the outside. Then it’s tossed in a sweet and spicy sauce and usually served over rice. It’s SO easy to make! For step-by-step instructions, check out the printable recipe card below. But here is what you’ll need to get started:

Sauce Ingredients: 

• CHICKEN BROTH
• GRANULATED SUGAR
• CORNSTARCH
• SOY SAUCE
• VINEGAR
• MINCE GARLIC
• GROUND GINGER

Chicken Ingredients: 

• VEGETABLE OIL
• CHICKEN BREAST
• SOY SAUCE
• EGG
• CORNSTARCH
• GREEN ONIONS
• JALAPENO PEPPERS
• WHITE RICE FOR SERVING 

Storage and Leftovers

Store leftovers in an airtight container in your refrigerator. They should be good for up to 4 days. It’s best to reheat Empress Chicken in a hot skillet for a couple minutes. But you can use your microwave if needed. 

You can freeze Empress Chicken. Put it in a freezer safe container, label it and it will be good in your freezer for up to 4 months. Thaw out overnight in your fridge. 

Notes, Tips and FAQs

• DO YOU NEED TO USE A WOK? – This dish is best made in a traditional Wok. But it will work just fine in a large skillet. You do want to make sure you use a skillet large enough so that the chicken isn’t crowded while it is frying. Otherwise they won’t be equally crispy on each side. 
• MAKE AN EXTRA BATCH OF CHICKEN – Double the chicken and freeze half of it. Then you can use it for whatever dish you’d like in the future. There are so great store bought General Tso’s Chicken and Orange Chicken Sauces that would make a quick meal!
• SERVE OVER NOODLES – We serve this over white rice. But you can also use brown rice or even serve over noodles if you’d like.
• GARNISHES AND TOPPINGS –  Top with sesame seeds, green onions, scallions, sliced almonds or sriracha sauce. 
• TOO SPICY? – If you are worried this is too spicy, you can always reduce the amount of jalapenos. Also, be aware that the seeds of the peppers are the hottest part of the pepper. 
• DO YOU HAVE TO USE CHICKEN? – Nope! You can also use pork or steak for this recipe!

We hope you enjoy this Empress Chicken Recipe! We’d love to hear how it turned out in the comment section below! 

LOOKING FOR MORE HOMEMADE VERSIONS OF TAKEOUT CLASSICS? CHECK OUT:

• SHRIMP MEI FUN
• BEE LO MEIN
• CHEESECAKE FACTORY PASTA DA VINCI
• CHEDDER’S BROCCOLI AND CHEESE CASSEROLE