Kung Pao Chicken (Chinese)

chinese-kungpaochicken2 Kung Pao Chicken is a highly addictive stir-fried chicken with the perfect combination of salty, sweet and spicy flavour. Make Kung Pao Chicken better than Chinese take out right at home. With crisp-tender, mouthwatering chicken pieces swimming in the most delicious silky Chinese sauce exploding with flavour, this is one Kung Pao chicken recipe hard to pass up. Traditionally, this Chinese chicken dish is a dry-stir fry - not a lot of sauce is added into Kung Pao chicken. However, with the amount of flavour explosions happening in this dish, you don’t miss OR want any more sauce. There’s so much flavour in this it’s crazy.

Chicken and Marinade:
28 oz chicken breast, boneless, skinless, cut into 1" cubes (800 g)
1 Tbsp. shaoxing wine or dry sherry
1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cornstarch

Sauce:
½ cup chicken stock or broth
5 Tbsp. light soy sauce
2 Tbsp. Chinese black vinegar or good-quality balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. Chinese Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
2 tsp. dark soy sauce
2 tsp. hoisin sauce
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. cornstarch

Stir Fry:
4 Tbsp. cooking oil, divided
1½ Tbsp. garlic (4-6 cloves)
1 Tbsp. ginger
½ red bell pepper (capsicum), seeded and diced
½ green bell pepper (capsicum), seeded and diced
8-10 dried chilies cut into ½" pieces (adjust to taste)
1 Tbsp. Sichuan peppercorns, lightly toasted and ground
4 green onion/scallion stems cut into 1"pieces
½ cup unsalted peanuts, roasted
2 tsp. sesame oil (optional)

Combine all ingredients for the chicken in a shallow bowl; cover and marinate for 10 minutes (if time allows).

Whisk sauce ingredients together until sugar dissolves; set aside.

Heat a large skillet, pan or wok over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, allow to heat up, then add marinated chicken. Fry chicken for 3-4 minutes while occasionally stirring, until edges are browned. Remove from heat and set aside.

Add remaining cooking oil into the same pan/wok. Stir in garlic, ginger, chili diced peppers (capsicums) and Sichuan peppercorns and stir fry for 1 minute.

Give the prepared sauce a mix, then pour it into the pan and bring it to a boil while stirring.

Once it begins to thicken slightly, add chicken back into the pan/wok and mix all of the ingredients through the sauce until the chicken is evenly coated and sauce has thickened, (about 2 minutes).

Stir in green onions, peanuts and sesame oil. Toss well and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes to infuse all of the flavours together.

Serve immediately with steamed/cooked rice or fried rice.

Makes 6 servings.

Cook's Notes:

This kung pao sauce may not seem like it needs sugar, but it balances out the heat or spice-level. However, start with 1 tsp. if you are hesitant or omit the sugar completely.
If you are sensitive to spice or you'd like a mild sauce, start with 1 tsp. ground Sichuan peppercorns. Adjust accordingly to make it suitable to your taste.