Kung Pao Chicken Recipe

What is Kung Pao Chicken?

Kung Pao Chicken (Gong Bao or Kung Po) – this is a spicy chicken stir fry made with boneless chicken breast cut into cubes, vegetables, chili peppers, and roasted peanuts. This easy and spicy Chinese chicken recipe is commonly sold by Panda express and Pf Chang’s and in many other Chinese-American restaurants. The western version of Kung Po is also called chicken chili and garlic. In this recipe and the video  shown, I will be showing you how to make Kung Pao chicken at home that will be better than take-out.

Ingredients

• 500 grams of Boneless chicken breast cut into cubes
• 1/4 cup of roasted Peanuts
• 1/4 cup of low sodium Chicken Broth
• 1/4 cup of chopped Spring onions
• 4 tbsp of light Soy Sauce and 2 tsp of Dark Soy Sauce
• 2 tbsp of Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 tsp of Hoisin Sauce
• 6 Red Chili Pepper (dried)
• 3/4 tbsp of Sesame oil
• 1 tsp of grated Ginger
• 3 tbsp of Shaoxing wine
• 1 tsp of Baking soda
• 2 tsp of Cornstarch
• 1 Red Bell pepper (chopped)
• 3 minced Garlic Cloves
• 2 tbsp of chopped Celery sticks
• 1 Green Bell Pepper (chopped)

How to Make Kung Pao Chicken from Scratch

• Marinate the chicken with 1 tbsp of Shaoxing wine, 1 tbsp of light soy sauce, 1 tsp of baking soda, and 1 tsp of cornstarch. Shaoxing wine helps enhances the flavor of this spicy chicken recipe. The process of adding cornstarch, wine, and egg white to meat is called Velvetting; it helps to tenderize the meat and keep it moist. It is a common Chinese cooking technique.
• Mix everything together and keep aside for about 20 minutes.

Making Kung Pao Sauce

• To a mixing bowl, add 2 tbsp of 3 tbsp of light soy sauce, 2 tsp of dark soy sauce, and 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar (the Kung Pao chicken recipe calls for Chinese Black Vinegar but it can be substituted with Balsamic vinegar). Also, add 2 tbsp of Shaoxing wine, 1 tbsp of sugar, 1/4 cup of low sodium chicken broth, 1 tsp of Hoison sauce, and 1 tsp of cornstarch.
• Mix everything together to combine and keep aside.

Making the Chicken Stir Fry

• Add 1/2 tbsp of sesame oil to a pan on the stovetop and allow the oil to heat up.
• Go in with the boneless chicken breast cubes and stir fry for about 8 minutes until they are golden brown.
• Remove from the stir-fried chicken and keep aside.
• Add 1 tbsp of sesame oil and go in with the garlic, ginger, and red chili peppers. Stir fry for 30 seconds.
• Next, add 2 tbsp of chopped celery and chopped capsicums; stir fry for 2 minutes until the peppers are soft.
• Go in with the Kung Pao Sauce and simmer for 4 minutes until it is slightly thickened.
• Also, bring the fried chicken into the Kung Pao Chicken Sauce and then mix everything to combine.
• Add 1/4 cup of roasted peanuts and 1/4 cup of chopped spring onions. Mix to combine and cook for 2 minutes on medium heat.
• Turn off the heat after 2 minutes and your easy homemade Kung Pao Chicken recipe is ready. You can eat this with fried rice or cooked white rice.

 

Kung Pao chicken vs Szechuan chicken

The only difference between Kung Pao chicken and Szechuan chicken lies in the fact that Szechuan chicken requires the use of Sichuan peppercorns as a necessary ingredient but Kung Pao chicken most often does not use Sichuan peppercorns unless it is the Sichuan version of Kung Pao chicken. What this means is that Szechuan chicken would have a strong flavor and numbing heat as a result of the Sichuan peppercorns used in it.

Kung Pao vs General Tso 

• Kung pao has peanuts added but General Tso does not have peanuts in it.
• Eggs are used in coating the chicken with the cornstarch in General Tso while eggs are absent in Kung Pao.
• Kung Pao is a spicy and savory chicken recipe whereas General Tso’s chicken is sweet and spicy.
• Kung Pao is spicier than General Tso.
• General Tso has a thicker and heavier batter or sauce coating it while the sauce for Kung Po is lighter.
• The chicken in Kung Pao is stir-fried while that of General Tso is deep-fried.

What is kung pao sauce made of?

Kung pao sauce is made of light and dark soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar, Shaoxing wine, sugar, chicken broth, Hoison sauce, and cornstarch.