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Kung Pao Chicken (宮保雞丁) was named after the Qing Dynasty governor of Sichuan, Ding Baozhen, whose official title was Kung Pao. It is probably one of the most popular dishes in Chinese takeaways in the UK. I have seen people marinating the meat with sodium bicarbonate, and adding tomato sauce or hoisin sauce. These will surely ruin the dish. There is really no secret apart from using the best quality chicken meat which should be just cooked. In Sichuan, peanuts are traditionally used for this dish, although these are sometimes substituted by cashew nuts.
Ingredients
- 300 g organic or free range chicken breast, skinned, cut into 1.5mm cubes
- 2 tbsp groundnut oil
- 10 whole dried chillies, cut into halves
- 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2 cm ginger, thinly sliced
- 3 spring onions, the white parts cut into 1.5cm sections, and the green parts thinly diced
- 50 g roasted peanuts
For the marinade:
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp Shaoxing wine
- 2 tsp water
- 1 tsp groundnut oil
- A pinch of salt and white pepper
- 1/2 tsp cornstarch
For the sauce:
- 1 tbsp Chinkiang or aged black vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tsp roasted sesame oil
- 2 tbsp chicken stock or water
- 0.5 tsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Mix the chicken with the marinade ingredients. Set aside to marinate for 15 minutes.
- Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
- Preheat a wok or frying pan over high heat, and add the oil. Then add the dried chillies and Sichuan peppercorns. Stir fry very briefly until fragrant. Add the chicken and cook until it just turns white.
- Add the garlic, ginger and the white spring onion. Stir fry for a few mins until the meat is cooked.
- Mix in the sauce and cook until it thickens. Finally add the peanuts and the green spring onions. Adjust the seasoning with salt.
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Tag us on Instagram at @coquendum, or share a photo with the hashtag #coquendum.