Kung Pao Chicken
A quick stir-fry of tender chicken, crunchy peanuts and dried chilies in a sweet-savoury sauce. Ready faster than delivery. Kung pao is a Sichuan dish named after Ding Baozhen, a Qing dynasty official whose honorary title was Gong Bao, and done properly it is far more fragrant than it is fiery. The cooking itself takes about 5 minutes, so everything has to be chopped, measured and lined up before the wok goes on the heat.
Prep time15 min
Cook time10 min
Total time25 min
Servings4 servings
DifficultyEasy
Ingredients
- 400g chicken breast or thigh, cubed
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1/2 cup roasted peanuts
- 6 dried chilies, snipped
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 thumb ginger, sliced
- 2 tbsp oil
Instructions
- 1Cut the chicken into even 2cm cubes so every piece cooks at the same rate. Toss with the cornstarch and 1 tbsp of the light soy sauce and leave for 10 minutes.
- 2Mix the rice vinegar, sugar, dark soy and the remaining light soy in a small bowl with 1 tbsp of water to make the sauce.
- 3Snip the dried chilies into short sections and shake out some of the seeds if you want less heat. Have the garlic and ginger sliced and sitting within reach of the wok.
- 4Heat the oil in a wok over high heat until it shimmers. Lay the chicken in a single layer and leave it undisturbed for a minute so it can take on colour before you start moving it.
- 5Stir-fry for 4-5 minutes until the chicken is golden and cooked through, then tip it out onto a plate.
- 6In the same wok, fry the chilies, garlic and ginger for just 20-30 seconds until fragrant. Watch the garlic — the moment it browns it turns bitter.
- 7Return the chicken, pour in the sauce and toss for a minute until it thickens and coats every piece.
- 8Take the wok off the heat and stir in the peanuts, which stay crunchy only if they go in last. Serve with rice.
Tips
- Chicken thigh stays juicier than breast, but either works.
- Keep the chilies whole-ish so the dish is fragrant, not fiery.
- Prep everything before you start — stir-frying is fast.
- If the sauce tastes too sharp, add a pinch more sugar. If it is too sweet, a few drops of rice vinegar will pull it back.
- Raw peanuts need a minute in the dry wok first. Either way, add them at the very end or they lose their crunch in the sauce.
