Indulge in the delectable fakeaway dish of Chinese salt and pepper chicken, a healthier option to the popular takeout dish. This dish features succulent chicken thigh pieces coated in a homemade salt and pepper seasoning blend, paired with fresh vegetables, and is low in calories.

In this post, I share an easy and delicious recipe for Chinese salt and pepper chicken that you can cook in an air fryer or oven. Whether you're looking to maintain a healthy lifestyle or simply want to enjoy a guilt-free meal, this recipe is sure to become a new favorite in your household.

This recipe is also found in the Slimming Eats cookbook as one of the 15 bonus blog favourites. You can get it from all Major Retailers including Amazon
See here for a full list of recipes: Slimming Eats Cookbook
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Calories in Salt and Pepper Chicken
This delicious recipe serve 4 and are 320 calories per serving, which is perfect for a family friendly meal when paired with some additional sides.
There are lots more recipes around this calorie value in my 300-400 calories recipe section.
If you are using these recipes as part of a calorie controlled diet or healthy eating plan, you can calculate your daily calories by using a calorie calculator, as this will vary per individual depending on various factors.
Slimming Friendly Salt and Pepper Chicken Fakeaway
One recipe I get many requests for is Salt and Pepper Chicken, so this is my version on the ever so popular Chinese take away dish.
If you were to search salt and pepper chicken right now, the amount of hits you would get is unbelievable. There are so many variations out there, no two recipes are the same. Even if you were to order this dish from the local Chinese Take Away, and then try a different take away the next week, they probably wouldn't taste the same.
The majority of the recipes, use a salt and pepper mix that consists of Pepper, Salt, MSG, Chinese 5 spice and sugar. The salt is dry fried in a hot wok, before being mixed with the other ingredients.

Chinese Wok Cooking
Wok cooking is a amazing cooking technique and a hard one to learn. Most households nowadays cook on electric hobs, and electric hobs are just not designed for wok cooking. A wok cooker is a specialist piece of equipment - large gas burners with a water tap.
You may be wondering how on earth I know about these, well, my Dad used to own his own business designing, building and installing Wok Cookers for restaurants across the UK and Ireland. I often used to accompany him when he would go out to these restaurants to do an install or maintenance, so got to learn how they would work and get a sneak peak behind the scenes in the kitchens! Often sampling the food too - yum!!
Air Fryer Salt and Pepper Chicken
Unfortunately as much as I would love one, I don't own a wok cooker, or a gas hob for that matter (one thing I hope to upgrade to when the current electric cooker decides to stop working) and wok cooking just isn't great on an electric hob, as you do not get the same distribution of heat.
So I compromised for this dish and used my Tefal Actifry for the chicken and small wok for the vegetable part of this dish. An actifry is one of the many air fryers available, there are various different brands to be found.
This can also be done in a air fryer with a basket. I recently tested the recipe and it works perfectly.
(As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

Oven Salt and Pepper Chicken
If you don't have an actifry, I recommend placing the coated chicken on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, spray over the top with spray oil and bake in the oven at 180c fan, 200c or 400f for about 25-30 mins until lightly golden. Then follow the rest of the steps.
Vegetables for Salt and Pepper Chicken
Generally Salt and Pepper chicken doesn't have a great deal of vegetables. Mostly onion, chilli (red or green) and spring onion are the chosen ones, but I like to try and get as much speed foods as I can into a dish, and so I also added some finely chopped bell peppers and julienned carrot. I used my fantastic julienne peeler to shred the carrot - if you don't have one of those you can just finely slice into matchsticks.
I didn't dry fry the salt, like is authentically done for Salt and Pepper chicken. Instead, I premixed the salt and pepper mix and then added into the actifry onto the chicken just as it was almost done, before mixing it into the vegetables. This technique worked out really well. Plus because the actifry is constantly rotating that chicken it gets a beautiful golden colour.
Sides for Salt and Pepper Chicken
All that is then left to decide is what to serve with the Salt and Pepper chicken. I chose some plain steamed rice, but it would be equally good served with noodles, Egg Fried Rice or even Homemade Oven Chips or Roasted Cauliflower Rice or Egg Fried Cauliflower Rice for a lower carb option.

More Chinese Fakeaway Recipes
Looking for some other Chinese Slimming Friendly Fakeaway Recipes? Check out these:
- GINGER CHICKEN WITH MUSHROOMS AND NOODLES
- ACTIFRY SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN BITES
- CHICKEN CHOP SUEY
- BEEF WITH MUSHROOMS IN OYSTER SAUCE
- BEEF CHOW MEIN
- CHICKEN SINGAPORE NOODLES CHILLI BEEF (STOVE TOP AND ACTIFRY)
- CHICKEN FRIED RICE
- GINGER BEEF AND BROCCOLI
- CHINESE PORK
- EGG FRIED RICE
- SPRING ROLLS
- CHINESE BLACK PEPPER BEEF
or if you would like more recipe ideas or sides to make with this recipe - head on over to the FULL RECIPE INDEX where you will find over 900 delicious recipes with calories and you can search by meal type, ingredients, course, diet and more..
All recipes on Slimming Eats have estimated nutritional information for your convenience.

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This is the ONLY air fryer cookbook you need in your life. Let me show you all the Amazing meals you can make in your air fryer.

Recipe Card
Chinese Salt and Pepper Chicken - Slimming Friendly
Salt and Pepper Chicken – create this popular Chinese dish in your own home, perfectly delicious and Slimming friendly
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs (approx 650g/23oz) , trimmed of all visible fat and cut into chunks
- 4 tablespoons of cornstarch (or tapioca or arrowroot powder)
- salt and black pepper to season
- 1 egg
- spray oil
For the vegetables:
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 red chilli, sliced
- ½ red pepper
- ½ green pepper
- 1 small carrot, julienned (or sliced into thin matchsticks
- ¼ cup (60ml) of chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar
- 2 spring onions, sliced
For the salt and pepper mix:
- 2 teaspoons of fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons of black pepper
- 2 teaspoons of Chinese five spice
- 2 teaspoons of granulated sweetener (I use Erythritol)
Instructions
ActiFry Method
For the Salt and Pepper Mix:
- Mix all the salt and pepper seasoning ingredients in a bowl.
For the Chicken:
- Add the chicken to a large bowl and season generously with salt and black pepper.
- Whisk the egg in a separate bowl, pour it over the chicken, and toss well to coat. Drain off any excess egg.
- Gradually sprinkle in the cornstarch, tossing as you go, until the chicken is evenly coated.
- Place the chicken in the ActiFry, spray well with cooking oil, and set the timer for 30 minutes, or until golden and cooked through. (It may take slightly more or less time, depending on your ActiFry.)
For the Vegetables:
- Heat a frying pan or wok over medium-high heat and spray with cooking oil.
- Add the onion and garlic, frying for 1 minute until softened.
- Add the peppers and chilli, then gradually add a little stock at a time, tossing continuously, until it’s fully absorbed.
- Stir in the carrots, soy sauce, and rice vinegar, cooking until the liquid evaporates.
To Finish:
- When the chicken is cooked, sprinkle some of the salt and pepper mix into the ActiFry and turn it back on for a couple of minutes to coat the chicken. Continue adding the seasoning gradually, tossing as you go, until it’s seasoned to your liking—avoid adding it all at once, as you may prefer less.
- Once the seasoning is to your taste, transfer the chicken to the frying pan with the vegetables and toss everything together.
- Sprinkle with chopped spring onions and serve with your choice of sides.
Air Fryer Method
For the Salt and Pepper Mix:
- Mix all the salt and pepper seasoning ingredients in a bowl.
For the Chicken:
- Add the chicken to a large bowl and season generously with salt and black pepper.
- Whisk the egg in a separate bowl, pour it over the chicken, and toss well to coat. Drain off any excess egg.
- Gradually sprinkle in the cornstarch, tossing as you go, until the chicken is evenly coated.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400°F (200°C) for a couple of minutes.
- Line the air fryer basket with parchment paper and place the chicken pieces inside, ensuring they are spaced apart. (If your air fryer has a smaller capacity, cook in two batches.)
- Spray the chicken well with low-calorie cooking spray and air fry for about 15 minutes, turning the pieces after 8 minutes and spraying again.
For the Vegetables:
- Heat a frying pan or wok over medium-high heat and spray with cooking oil.
- Add the onion and garlic and fry for 1 minute until softened.
- Add the peppers and chilli, and gradually pour in the stock a little at a time, tossing as you go, until it’s fully absorbed.
- Add the carrots, soy sauce, and rice vinegar, cooking until the liquid evaporates.
To Finish:
- When the chicken is cooked, sprinkle some of the salt and pepper mix directly into the air fryer basket.
- Add the vegetable mixture to the air fryer and toss everything together to coat evenly. Air fry for a couple of minutes to warm through.
- Gradually add more seasoning to taste—avoid adding it all at once, as you may prefer less.
- Sprinkle with chopped spring onions and serve with your choice of sides.
Oven Method
For the Salt and Pepper Mix:
- Mix all the salt and pepper seasoning ingredients in a bowl.
For the Chicken:
- Add the chicken to a large bowl and season generously with salt and black pepper.
- Whisk the egg in a separate bowl, pour it over the chicken, and toss well to coat. Drain off any excess egg.
- Gradually sprinkle in the cornstarch, tossing as you go, until the chicken is evenly coated.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C fan / 200°C / 400°F / Gas Mark 6.
- Line a large baking tray with parchment paper and spray it with low-calorie cooking spray.
- Place the chicken pieces on the tray, ensuring they are not touching. Spray the tops with olive oil spray.
- Bake for 25–30 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through and spraying the chicken again with low-calorie spray.
For the Vegetables:
- Heat a frying pan or wok over medium-high heat and spray with cooking oil.
- Add the onion and garlic, frying for 1 minute until softened.
- Add the peppers and chilli, then gradually add a little stock at a time, tossing continuously, until it’s fully absorbed.
- Stir in the carrots, soy sauce, and rice vinegar, cooking until the liquid evaporates.
To Finish:
- When the chicken is cooked, transfer it to the pan with the vegetables.
- Add some of the salt and pepper mix and toss to coat. Continue adding the seasoning gradually, tossing as you go, until the chicken is seasoned to your liking—avoid adding it all at once, as you may prefer less.
Notes
Please see below for full nutritional info and additional details about recipe:
- Calories - scroll down to nutritional info box
- WW Points and other Slimming or Weight Loss programs - due to plans regularly changing and updating, we recommend calculating with the official tools you get as a member to those plans to ensure accuracy of values.
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Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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Salter Digital Kitchen Weighing Scales -
All-Clad Essentials Nonstick Skillet set, 4-Piece, Grey -
Wüsthof CLASSIC Santoku Knife -
TOMORAL Measuring Cups and Spoons -
ZeZaZu Parchment Paper Sheets for Baking (100 Sheets), Precut 12 x 16 inches - Exact Fit for Half-Sheet Baking Pans, Unbleached, Dual-Sided Coating, Siliconized, Non-Stick, RECLOSABLE Pack -
Baking Tray Set of 4, HaWare Stainless Steel Baking Sheet –Rimmed Pan Baking Sets -Healthy & Non Toxic, Easy Clean & Dishwasher Safe (Large Size) -
Tefal AH960840 Actifry Genius XL (8 Portions), Healthy Air Fryer, 1.7 Kilograms, Black
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1 servingAmount Per Serving Calories 320Total Fat 10.1gSaturated Fat 2.9gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 20gCholesterol 345mgSodium 2366mgCarbohydrates 22.3gFiber 3.1gSugar 7gProtein 33.4g
Nutritional information, values, points etc are an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only. Ingredients can vary greatly from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information. It is always advised that you calculate by the ingredients you use.

























































































































