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Kung Pao Chicken

Kung Pao Chicken from The Chinese Takeout Cookbook

Barely adapted from The Chinese Takeout Cookbook.
Course Entree
Cuisine Chinese American
Keyword kung pao chicken
Author TheSpicedLife

Ingredients

  • 1 lb skinless boneless chicken breast or thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 2 T peanut or vegetable oil
  • 5-10 dried red chilis
  • 5 scallions, sliced, white and green parts separated
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 t minced or grated ginger
  • ¼ cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts, I only had salted but next time I would get unsalted

Marinade:

  • 1 T Chinese light soy sauce
  • 2 t Chinese rice wine, Shaohsing or dry sherry
  • 1 ½ t cornstarch

Sauce

  • 1 T Chinese black vinegar, or substitute balsamic
  • 1 t Chinese light soy sauce
  • 1 t hoisin sauce
  • 1 t sesame oil
  • 2 t sugar
  • 1 t cornstarch
  • 1 t ground Sichuan pepper

Instructions

  1. Like all stir fried, this will move quickly once you get started, so make sure that everything is prepped before you actually heat the pan/wok.
  2. First marinate the chicken: In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, rice wine, and cornstarch until the cornstarch dissolves. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Let stand while you prepare everything else.
  3. Next prepare the sauce: Whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, sugar, cornstarch, and Sichuan pepper. Stir until the sugar and cornstarch dissolve and then set aside, close to your cooktop.
  4. You may need to turn on your stove’s exhaust fan, because stir-frying dried chilis on high heat can get a little smoky. Heat a wok or large skillet (NOT nonstick) over high heat until a bead of water sizzles and evaporates on contact. Add the peanut oil and swirl to coat the base. Add the chilis and stir-fry for about 30 seconds, until the chilis have just begun to blacken and the oil is slightly fragrant. Add the chicken and stir-fry until no longer pink, about 2 to 3 minutes.
  5. Add the scallion whites, garlic, and ginger, and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Pour in the sauce and mix to coat the other ingredients. Stir in the peanuts and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a serving plate, sprinkle the scallion greens on top, and serve with a sticky rice. I used Jasmine.