Kung Pao Chicken
A classic dish in Szechuan cuisine
This is a spicy stir-fry dish made with chicken, peanuts, vegetables, and chili peppers. It is very tasty. My mom always cook this for me.
Ingredients:
- ½ boneless & skinless chicken breast (or 3 boneless & skinless chicken drumsticks)
- 3 tablespoons roasted peanuts
- 8-12 dried red chilies (deseeded and cut into halves)
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil
- 5 slices peeled fresh ginger
- 2 gloves garlic (sliced diagonally)
- 1 stalk scallion (chopped)
Marinate:
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 1 teaspoon oil
Sauce:
- 1 ½ tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon black vinegar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
Cut the chicken meat into small cubes, rinse in water, pat dry with paper towels and marinate with the ingredients above for 30 minutes. Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Heat up a wok with one tablespoon cooking oil and stir-fry the marinated chicken until they are 70% cook. Dish out and set aside.
Clean the wok and add in the remaining 2 tablespoons of cooking oil until it smokes. Add in the ginger and garlic slices and do a quick stir before adding in the dried red chilies. Stir fry the dried red chilies until aromatic and they smell spicy, then add in the chicken meat.
Do a quick stir before adding in the roasted peanuts and continue to stir a few times. Add in the sauce and stir continuously until the chicken meat is nicely coated with the sauce. Add in the scallions and stir evenly. Dish out and serve hot with steamed white rice.
Cooking Notes
From the cook: You can use the same recipe and substitute chicken with shrimp, scallops, or even vegetables for a vegetarian dish. As different soy sauce tastes differently and has different level of sodium so please adjust the saltiness accordingly. If the sauce tastes too salty, add some more sugar and water. If it’s not salty, add a little salt to taste.