Experience the rich flavors of sweet bean sauce with our unique chicken recipe that stands out among the plethora of chicken dishes available. While Kung Pao Chicken may dominate the popularity charts in the Western world, those familiar with the culinary delights of Northern China, particularly Beijing, know that there’s another chicken dish worth savoring – Jiangbao Chicken (酱爆鸡丁 jiàng bào jī dīng). This dish masterfully combines the luscious taste of sweet bean sauce with succulent chicken, creating a flavor profile that is both delightful and memorable.

What is Jiangbao Chicken

Similar to Peking Duck (北京烤鸭 běi jīng kǎo yā) sauce and Jingjiang Pork (京酱肉丝 jīng jiàng ròu sī), this dish carries a distinct sweet flavour that’s hard to resist. It’s made with jiangbao sauce, a sweet bean paste flavouring that’s as iconic as it gets in the north of China.

Despite having the word “bean” in the name, it’s not primarily made out of soybeans. Rather, the central ingredient of this condiment is wheat. Some tend to liken jiangbao sauce to hoisin sauce but they’re completely different. Hoisin sauce is lighter, both in terms of flavour and colour. It’s also more heavily based on fermented soybeans than jiangbao sauce.

Origin of Jiangbao Chicken

The creator of this dish may be unknown, but people do believe this dish originated in Beijing. A similar dish was cooked with pork but, by chance, people discovered that juicy chicken thighs coated with sweet bean paste sauce plus refreshing cucumber cubes brought this dish to the next level. Right there was the birth of Jiangbao Chicken.

Jiangbao Chicken Ingredients

Sweet bean sauce chicken is a fairly simple dish to make and requires a few simple ingredients.

• Chicken thighs (duh!) – About 500g should be enough to feed 2-3 people
• Cucumber – It’s one of the best pairings for both jiangbao sauce and chicken
• Ginger, garlic and spring onion – These three are staples in Chinese cuisine so, naturally, they’re a part of what gives jiangbao chicken rich flavour
• Salt, Chinese cooking wine, corn starch, and water – These ingredients mixed together are used to make a simple marinate for the chicken thighs
• Sweet bean paste, oyster sauce, and Peking duck sauce – To make a full and authentic jiangbao sauce, you need these three ingredients

How to Make Jiangbao Chicken

Two of the key elements of this dish are marinating the chicken to create that juicy texture and mixing the sauce.

1. Dice the chicken into about 3cm sized cubes, then mix with the marinate ingredients and set aside for 15 minutes
2. Finely chop you garlic, ginger and spring onions, then dice the cucumber into about the same size as the chicken
3. Mix the sauce ingredients together in a container and set aside
4. Fire up a wok or pan with some vegetable oil and stir-fry the chicken until visibly cooked. Then remove from the chicken from the pan and drain the oil
5. Add another bit of oil to the pan and throw in the chopped onion, garlic, and ginger, and stir-fry for a couple of minutes
6. Reduce heat to low and mix in the jiangbao sauce. Keep stirring until thickened
7. Increase the heat to medium, put the cooked chicken in and mix well to ensure every piece is coated
8. Throw in the cucumber and stir-fry for about 20 seconds before serving with rice

Who Can Enjoy Jiangbao Chicken?

Jiangbao chicken is a great alternative for people who can’t eat any spicy food. Also if you are a fan of Jingjiang Pork and Peking Duck, this will most definitely be your jam too. Easy to cook and infused with Beijing flavour! Enjoy! (请慢用 qǐng màn yòng)

Try It Yourself!

And there you have it! This is how you can make authentic Chinese sweet bean sauce or jiangbao chicken. If you give the recipe a try, we’d love to see it on Instagram! Be sure to tag us at @linschinesekitchen.