Kung Pao Chicken

Kung Pao Chicken

Kung Pao, Kung Po or Gung Po Chicken is a popular Chinese Sichuan dish which consists of small chicken cubes, mixed vegetables, peanuts, Chinese cooking wine and the key ingredient Sichuan peppercorns and you need to use lots of them.  Coming from the Sichuan province which is known for their spicy dishes because of their peppercorns, this dish is prepared in such a way it’s not just hot and spicy but it will leave you that numbing sensation.

Kung Pao was named after Ding Baozhen which is an official of the Qing Dynasty which became the governor of the Sichuan province around the mid 1800’s.  Kung Pao was his title which is translated as palatial guardian.

Now for this recipe I will not use the Sichuan peppercorns as I don’t know where to find them, instead will be using cayenne pepper to achieve the spiciness we are after.  So if you love spicy dishes you should try this out.

Ingredients:

700g boneless chicken thighs, cubed
3 tsp soy sauce
1/2 cup Chinese cooking wine
3 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp cornstarch
3 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 spring onions, chopped
1 carrot, julienned
peanut oil
1 tbsp cayenne pepper (use less if you don’t want it to spicy)
1/2 cup roasted peanuts

Method

1. Marinate chicken in 3 tsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine, 2 tsp sesame oil and 2 tsp cornstarch for at least an hour.
2. Heat the wok then add peanut oil, add chicken and quickly stir fry in high heat for a minute.  Remove chicken then set aside.
3. Using the same wok add more peanut oil if needed then sauté garlic and cayenne pepper, put in high heat then add the carrots and chicken.
4. Add the remaining Chinese wine, dark soy sauce, brown sugar and peanuts.  Bring to a rapid boil then stir in spring onions.
5. Remove from heat then drizzle sesame oil on top.