Kung Pao Chicken
Kung Pao Chicken is highly addictive stir-fried chicken with the perfect combination of salty, sweet and spicy flavour! Make it better than Chinese take out right at home! With crisp-tender chicken pieces and some crunchy veggies thrown in, this is one Kung Pao chicken recipe hard to pass up!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 28 ounces (800 g) boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon shaoxing wine or dry sherry
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch / corn flour
Sauce:
- ½ cup low-sodium chicken stock or broth -- water can be used
- 5 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar or substitute good-quality balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoon Chinese Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
- 2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar*
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch / corn flour
Stir Fry:
- 4 tablespoons cooking oil divided
- 1½ tablespoons garlic 4-6 cloves
- 1 tablespoon ginger
- ½ red bell pepper capsicum seeded and diced
- ½ green bell pepper capsicum seeded and diced
- 8-10 dried chilies cut into ½-inch pieces adjust to taste
- 1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns lightly toasted and ground**
- 4 green onion / scallion stems cut into 1-inch pieces
- ½ cup roasted/unsalted peanuts
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil optional
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients for the chicken in a shallow bowl; cover and marinate for 10 minutes (if time allows).
- Whisk sauce ingredients together until sugar dissolves; set aside.
- Heat a large skillet, pan or wok over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, allow to heat up, then add marinated chicken. Fry chicken for 3-4 minutes while occasionally stirring, until edges are browned. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Add remaining cooking oil into the same pan/wok. Stir in garlic, ginger, chili diced peppers (capsicums) and Sichuan peppercorns and stir fry for 1 minute.
- Give the prepared sauce a mix, then pour it into the pan and bring it to a boil while stirring.
- Once it begins to thicken slightly, add chicken back into the pan/wok and mix all of the ingredients through the sauce until the chicken is evenly coated and sauce has thickened, (about 2 minutes).
- Stir in green onions, peanuts and sesame oil. Toss well and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes to infuse all of the flavours together.
- Serve immediately with steamed/cooked rice or fried rice!
Notes
*Our kung pao sauce is not sweet for most of our readers and balances out the heat or spice-level. However, start with 1 teaspoon if you are hesitant or omit the sugar completely.
**If you are sensitive to spice or you'd like a mild sauce, start with 1 teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorns. Adjust accordingly to make it suitable to your taste.