Saucy Kung Pao Chicken

Kung Pao Chicken served over rice in a bowl with peanuts on the side

This Kung Pao Chicken recipe has big, bold flavours from chillies added three ways. There's lots of sauce so that the rice can soak up some of that spice and this can turn into a main dish.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American Chinese

Diet Halal

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings people

Calories 309kcal

Author Richa

Ingredients

Chicken Marinade

1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
1 ½ Tablespoon Cornflour
1 ½ Tablespoon All Purpose Flour

Red Chilli Paste

8 Dried Red Chillies
1 Cup Hot Water

Sauce

1 Teaspoon Red Chilli Sauce or any other hot sauce
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Vinegar
1 Teaspoon Tomato Ketchup
1 Tablespoon Chicken Stock or water
½ Teaspoon Sesame Oil
½ Teaspoon Sugar
1 Tablespoon Cornflour
¼ Cup Water

Stir Fry

250 Grams Chicken Breast or Thighs deboned and cut into cubes
¼ Cup Oil divided
6 Dried Red Chillies
1 Teaspoon finely chopped Garlic
2 inch pieces Ginger sliced
2 Tablespoons finely chopped Celery
½ Cup Bell Pepper chunks
½ Cup sliced Mushroom
1 - 1 ½ Cup Water or Chicken Stock
¼ Cup Roasted Peanuts
2 Teaspoons Sichuan Peppercorn
½ - 1 Teaspoon Salt
2 Teaspoons Spring Onions chopped for garnish

Instructions

Chicken Marinade

Mix together red chilli powder, corn flour and all purpose flour in a bowl. Add the chicken and coat it well with the dry mix.
Heat oil in a wok. Once hot, add the chicken pieces in batches and shallow fry for 1 - 2 minutes on each side or until the edges have browned. Stir only occasionally. Remove chicken from wok and keep aside. Don't discard the oil

Red Chilli Paste

Soak the dry red chillies in 1 cup of hot water for 25-30 minutes or until the chillies have softened. Once softened, discard ¾th cup of water.
Add the chillies and a little bit of the remaining water to a food processor and blend to a coarse paste. Use more water, little by little if necessary.

Sauce

Mix all the ingredients for the sauce to combine. Ensure the cornflour has dissolved. Set aside.

Stir Fry

Heat the oil remaining in the wok. Add garlic, ginger and red chilli and sauté for a minute. Next add the celery, bell pepper, red chilli paste and sauté for another minute.
Add mushroom and sauté for 2 minutes, ensuring it browns slightly on the edges. Add the sichuan peppercorn, roasted peanuts and fried chicken and lightly sauté for 30 seconds.
Now give the sauce a stir and add it to the wok while stirring continuously. Add the remaining water in parts while continuing to stir. Season with salt, garnish with spring onion and serve hot!

Video

Notes

Stir Fry happens quick and over high heat. Be sure to keep everything prepped and ready before you begin.
Wok: A well seasoned wok adds an intense smoky flavour to the dish. I would suggest using a wok for Asian dishes in general. If you do not have one you can use a pan or a kadai.
You can substitute the chilli garlic paste with 1.5 tbsp store bought chilli sauce but I highly recommend making it yourself. I used Kashmiri Red Chillies for this recipe which have more colour than heat
Once you add the chilli paste to the wok, be sure to fry it until almost all of the raw aroma goes. This will help you avoid the raw chilli taste and smell in the dish.

Nutrition