My first job when I was 16 was being a dishwasher at a local family-run Chinese Szechuan and Cantonese restaurant. Not only were they a lovely family to work for, but they definitely owned and ran the best Chinese restaurant in the city of Windsor. Whether you wanted spicy Chinese vegetable dishes or greasy hangover food – they made it best. While working there I managed to pick up a few restaurant secrets to stir fries, and I couldn’t be more thankful! You’ll see some of that knowledge in the directions.
A lot of different food blogs have their own version of Three pepper chicken – and it’s so understandable. It’s definitely a stir fry where the flavours can vary from one household to the next. It usually holds a numbing flavour of Szechuan Peppercorn, but I usually omit it because I enjoy the flavour of the peppers more for this dish.
I also like to have colour in my stir-fry, so I add in an orange bell pepper which also adds in a little sweetness.The heat in this dish really only comes from the Long Hot Green Pepper and the Thai Chili (both of which are a staple in my weekly grocery list). You can usually get these at your generic grocery store and they hold a really great heat which is very different compared to the jalapeno pepper or habanero (I wouldn’t substitute with those).
This is also a dish where it can be converted to be vegetarian by substituting the chicken with tofu and the oyster sauce with a vegetarian mushroom “oyster” sauce!This stir fry is ultimately very very agile, you can move the flavours around to suit your needs, but I will warn you, if you follow my instructions directly – this IS a spicy dish!
I encourage you to eat with white rice.Here’s everything you need!
INGREDIENTS & COSTS
Ingredients – for the marinated Chicken
1 Chicken breast ($2.33)
1 Tsp Corn Starch ($0.01)
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda ($0.01)
1/2 Tsp Dark Soya Sauce ($0.005)
1 Tsp Oyster Sauce ($0.01)
1/2 Tsp Sesame Oil ($0.035)
1/2 Tbs of Rice Vinegar ($0.06)
Ingredients – for the Stir Fry
1 Long Hot Green Pepper ($0.34)
1/2 Bell Pepper (could be either Red or Orange) ($0.52)
1/3 Zucchini ($0.31)
1 Cloves of Garlic ($0.02)
1 Scallion ($0.09)
1 Tsp Ginger ($0.01)
1 Red Hot Thai Chili Pepper (Bird Eye Pepper) ($0.05)
1 1/2 Tbs Canola Oil ($0.075)
Ingredients – Finishing sauce
1 Tbs water
1/2 Tsp Dark Soya Sauce ($0.005)
1/2 Tsp Oyster Sauce ($0.01)
1/2 Tsp Sugar ($0.002)
1/2 Tsp Chili oil (optional)
Takes 25 min
serves 2.
Total Cost = $3.89!*
Compared to the $12-$16 at restaurants!
*Depending the cost of the ingredients in your area, the cost may be more or less. I live in a fairly inflated part of town, so chances are your cost will be less.
Need the proof? Head down to the bottom of this page!
DIRECTIONS
First dice up the peppers, green onions, and zucchini, then mince the ginger, garlic, and Thai chili.
Dice up your chicken next. Add in the soy sauce, sesame oil, corn starch, rice vinegar, oyster sauce, and baking soda. If you’re confused about the baking soda, this is something I picked up while working at a Chinese restaurant. Baking soda is a fantastic meat tenderizer and gives you that restaurant-meat-consistency.
Mix it all together and let it sit in the fridge for about 10 minutes. While you wait you can make your finishing sauce by combining soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and water in a small bowl.
Pour the canola oil in a wok and set it on the stove at medium-high heat. Once it starts to slightly bubble, toss in your ginger. The second the ginger gets golden, add in the chicken. The chicken will get caramelized due to the sugar content in the oyster sauce, which will give it a nice crispy outer shell.
After stirring for about 3 minutes and waiting for the chicken to cook evenly through, toss in the zucchini and bell pepper. Saute for about 1 minute.
Add in the long hot green pepper.
As soon as the spice of the long hot green peppers become fragrant (and I promise it will within 45 seconds), add in the finishing sauce, garlic, Thai chili, and green onions.
Stir quickly for about 30 seconds and you’ll notice that the stir fry has taken on a whole new aroma of garlic and sweet peppers.
Take it off the heat and onto a separate plate. Serve immediately with rice!
Delicious stir fry for two in under 25 minutes!
Enjoy with write or an accompanying stir fry like the Spicy & Sour Shredded Potato Stir Fry! Any comments or feedback on the recipe is 100% appreciated! 🙂
INGREDIENT COSTS
I’m referring to a Loblaws (a generic grocery chain in Canada) weekly flyer and their website, and a local Chinese grocery store
Pack of 4 Chicken Breasts – $9.33
355 ml Seasoned Rice Vinegar ($3.29) – $0.93/100ml
500 ml Rooster Superior Dark Soy Sauce ($1.99) – $0.40/100ml
430 ml Rooster Oyster Sauce ($2.49) – $0.58/100ml
4 kg of Labtic Granulated Sugar ($5.69) – $0.14/100g
946 ml No Name Brand Canola Oil ($4.19) – $0.44/100ml
250 g Arm & Hammer Baking Soda ($0.99) – $0.40/g
1 Orange Bell Pepper ($1.02)
1 Zucchini ($0.94)
Garlic – $0.88/100g
Ginger – $0.43/100g
1 bunch of green onions ($0.79)
Green Long Hot Green Peppers – ($0.34) – $4.39/kg
75 g Red Hot Thai Chili Peppers ($3.99)
Let's Dine In 
This is getting added to our “make againer” list. Just excellent! Added mushrooms (because had ’em) and doubled the recipe (because yum) which worked just fine. The new techniques nailed my stir-fry struggles I’ve had forever!
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So happy to hear Janet!! 🙂
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