Is Kung Pao Chicken an Americanized Chinese dish or a traditional Chinese dish? Kung Pao Chicken is a traditional Chinese dish. It’s a classic Sichuan dish. It’s named after Ding Baozhen, an Qing Dynasty official. It used to be his favorite dish. And it’s well known for being numbing spicy. Today we are going to show you how to do Kung Pao Chicken at home.
Kung Pao Chicken Recipe
8 ounces chicken breast, cut into cubes
4 tablespoons oil
3 pieces red dry chili
1/2 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
6 slices ginger
3 gloves garlic
3 stalks scallions, chopped
1/4 cup peanuts
Sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch mix with 1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon hot sesame oil
Marinade
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
Pinch of sugar
1/2 egg white
1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch mix with 1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons oil
To marinate the chicken: in a bowl, mix a pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper, a pinch of sugar, 1/2 of egg white, 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch mix with 1 tablespoon of water. (The egg white and the cornstarch water will soften the chicken and make it more tender. Yes, they are important ingredients in making restaurant quality stir-fry meat.) Then combine 8 ounces of chicken cubes in the mixture with a fork or chopsticks for about 1 minute. Then add 2 tablespoons of oil in the bowl and marinate for about 10 minutes.
To make the sauce: in a bowl, add 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce, 1/2 tablespoon of dark soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch mix with 1 tablespoon of water (the cornstarch is going to thicken the sauce), then add 1 tablespoon of oil (the oil is going to make the dish look more vibrate and glossy), and 1 teaspoon of hot sesame oil. Mix well.
In a hot pan, add 2 tablespoons of oil, add 8 ounces of marinated chicken cubes and stir-fry. Take them out and put aside. In the same pan, add 2 tablespoons of oil, 3 pieces of chopped red dry chili, 1/2 of a teaspoon of Sichuan peppercorns, and wait until the spicy aroma comes out. Then return the chicken cubes, 6 slices of ginger, 3 gloves of chopped garlic, 3 stalks of chopped scallion and cook until the aroma comes out. Pour in the sauce and mix well. Lastly add 1/4 cup of peanuts.
