Our air fryer Mongolian chicken recipe is a quick and easy chicken stir fry dish that takes less than 30 minutes to prepare at home. The stir-fried chicken strips are coated in a sweet and salty Mongolian sauce made with soy sauce, sugar, paprika, and sesame oil. Quick, simple, and totally delectable, each bite is bursting with flavor!
And best of all, this Chinese restaurant staple is far healthier, faster, and more delicious than takeaway.
What Is Mongolian Chicken?
Mongolian beef was the original recipe, which involved slicing flank steak and stir-frying it with scallions in a dark brown sauce made of soy sauce, dark brown sugar, and jalapeño peppers. It’s a popular take-out item in Asian-American eateries.
Mongolian chicken has a strong resemblance to Mongolian beef. Deep-fried boneless chicken strips are mixed in a dark brown sauce with scallions.
Typically, the sauce includes ginger, garlic, dark brown sugar, soy sauce or hoisin sauce, and dried red chilies.
Is This Air Fryer Mongolian Chicken Recipe Healthy?
The short answer is yes, our air fryer Mongolian chicken recipe is healthy.
First of all, compared to the deep-frying method, air-frying helps to reduce the amount of saturated fat and calories in the food.
Additionally, home-cooking the sauce allows you to manage the amount of sugar and salt added. Each serving of our air fryer Mongolian chicken recipe contains only 309 milligrams of sodium and 6.5 grams of sugar. This amounts to about 13% and 14% of the USDA’s recommended daily intake, respectively.
Finally, the recipe calls for extra vegetables (broccoli) for a boost to the fiber, vitamins, and mineral content. This makes our air fryer Mongolian chicken not only delicious but also nutritious.
Ingredients for Air Fryer Mongolian Chicken
- Chicken: You’ll need boneless chicken sliced into thin strips so that they can be cooked quickly in the stir fry pan. Chicken breasts work wonderfully in this recipe, but we recommend using boneless chicken thighs. Chicken thigh is such a forgiving cut to cook with. You could theoretically overcook this chicken, and your meat will still be tender and delicious.
- Sesame Oil: A dash of sesame oil in any Asian stir fry meal will bring authenticity and a delectable flavor.
- Vegetables: This is one of the most effective methods of varying the Mongolian chicken recipe. Although the dish was originally served without, it pairs wonderfully with veggies. Broccoli, mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini, carrots, water chestnuts, and green beans are all excellent choices.
- Aromatics: Utilize high-quality ingredients, particularly your aromatics, such as green onions, garlic, and red chiles. This is a recipe that relies heavily on fresh, high-quality aromatics to get its lovely gingery, spicy, garlicky flavor.
- Egg Noodles: This air fryer Mongolian chicken goes perfectly with rice or noodles.
Mongolian sauce
Sesame oil, ginger, garlic, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and brown sugar are mixed together and thickened to make a sweet and salty sauce.
Our Mongolian sauce recipe is really simple to prepare with ingredients that I’m sure you already have to hand. Dark brown sugar is added to the dish to give it a rich dark color and flavor.
Hoisin sauce is the only ingredient you may have to go out and buy (you can find it at most Asian grocers). Don’t skip this condiment; it has such a delicious, sweet, thick, syrupy taste.
Mongolian chicken has a flavor profile that is well-balanced between sweet and salty. It’s quite simple to prepare and tastes fantastic with shrimp, chicken, beef, or even mahi mahi.
How to Make Mongolian Chicken in an Air Fryer
When making any type of stir fry dish, you should always have your components ready to fry, or else you risk overcooking your meat. Prepare all of your ingredients, and here’s how we made Mongolian chicken in an air fryer:
Coat the chicken with olive oil, flour, and spice.
Air fry the chicken.
Make the sauce.
Boil the broccoli.
Cook the Mongolian sauce.
Stir the chicken in the sauce.
Garnish with scallions and chiles.
Serve the chicken over noodles and broccoli.
How to Store and Reheat Mongolian Chicken
When it comes to Mongolian chicken, doubling the recipe allows for leftovers that you can use for your next meal in a breeze.
- To Store: The storage time allows the chicken to mingle with the flavors, tasting just as good on the second day. Once the Mongolian chicken has cooled down completely, transfer it to an airtight container or freezer bag. Keep the dish in the refrigerator for up to 3 – 5 days and in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- To Reheat: Refrigerate the frozen Mongolian chicken overnight to defrost. Reheat it in the microwave or in a skillet or wok with a little olive oil or water. Stir fry until the dish is heated through.
What to Serve With Mongolian Chicken
Because the chicken absorbs the marinade and seals in all the moist goodness, it becomes extra juicy. You don’t even need any sauce or soup to pair with it.
To turn the Mongolian chicken into a balanced meal, we suggest serving the chicken with a simple salad, mashed potatoes, and lemon watermelon juice. The combination ensures a wholesome and satisfying eating experience.
Recipes Similar to This Air Fryer Mongolian Chicken
Here are some tasty, easy air fryer chicken meals that we just couldn’t help but fall in love with:
- Air Fryer Chicken Tacos Recipe
- Air Fryer Chicken Parmigiana Recipe
- Air Fryer Chicken Meatballs Recipe
- Air Fryer Chicken Burger Recipe
Air Fryer Mongolian Chicken Recipe
Tired of dry air-fried chicken? Give our air fryer Mongolian chicken recipe a try and you will find yourself making the dish again and again.
- cook TIME 20 mins
- prep TIME 15 mins
- total TIME 33 mins
- COURSE Main Course
- CUISINE Mongolian
- SERVINGS servings
- CALORIES 493 kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 22 ozskinless boneless chicken thighs (cubed)
- 2 tbspolive oil (divided)
- 4 tbspall-purpose flour
- 1 tsppaprika (divided)
- 2 tspcornstarch
- 2 fl ozwater
- 1 tspbrown sugar
- 2.5 tbspreduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tsphoisin sauce
- 0.5 tbspsesame oil
- 8 ozbroccoli florets
- 1 tbspgarlic (minced)
- 5 dried chilies
- 0.3 cupscallion
- 16 ozcooked egg noodles
INSTRUCTIONS
Coat 22 oz chicken thighs with 1 tbsp olive oil, 4 tbsp all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp paprika. Set aside.
Line the air fryer basket with foil and arrange the chicken in a single layer. Cook at 400℉ for 20 minutes.
Make the sauce: in a small bowl, combine 1/2 tsp paprika, 2 tsp cornstarch, 2 fl oz water, 1 tsp brown sugar, 2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp hoisin sauce, and 1/2 tbsp sesame oil. Whisk until well combined. Set aside.
Bring a pan of water to a boil. Boil 8 oz broccoli florets for 2 minutes. Transfer the broccoli to a bowl of cold water and ice.
Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp garlic. Sauté the spice for 30 seconds and add the prepared sauce to the skillet. Cook for 30 seconds and turn off the heat.
Add the air-fried chicken to the skillet. Gently stir to coat the sauce over the chicken.
Sprinkle 1/4 cup scallion and 5 dried chilies.
Serve the Mongolian chicken over 16 oz cooked egg noodles and boiled broccoli.
NUTRITION
Luna Regina
Founder
Natalie Butler, RD, LD
Nutrition Reviewer