Saucy Kung Pao Chicken

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

5 from 7 votes

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.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American Chinese

Diet: Halal

Servings: people

Author: Richa

Ingredients

Marinade

500 gms chicken thigh boneless, cut into ½ inch cubes
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
½ teaspoon vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons oil
½ teaspoon crushed pepper
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon cornflour
1 egg white

Kung pao sauce

2 teaspoons vinegar
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon cornflour
¾ cup water

Kung pao stir fry

2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
4 dried red chillies broken into 2
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger
4 spring onion whites thinly sliced
½ teaspoon black pepper crushed
¼ cup groundnuts roasted and de-skinned
¼ cup spring onion greens finely chopped

other

1 ½ tablespoons cooking oil additional 2 ½ tablespoons cooking oil if deep frying

Instructions

Marinating chicken

take chicken in a bowl, add all ingredients listed under marinade, give it a good toss and set aside.
500 gms chicken thigh, 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, ½ teaspoon vinegar, 2 teaspoons honey, 2 teaspoons oil, ½ teaspoon crushed pepper, ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon cornflour, 1 egg white

Air frying chicken

pre-heat air fryer at 180 C. brush the airfryer basket with oil. Place the marinated chicken with some gap between each other and air fry at 180C for 5 minutes, brush oil, DO NOT FLIP and air fry at 180 C for 5 minutes. Air fry at 200C for 1 minute. Air fry them in batches and set aside. Its important to wait for 4-5 minutes until the fried chicken cools a bit to remove them easily from the basket. They stick to the basket when they are too hot.

Deep Frying chicken

heat ¼ cup oil in a wok or deep kadai and once it's medium hot, drop the marinated chicken into the oil & fry on medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until they turn golden and crisp. Fry them in batches and set aside.
1 ½ tablespoons cooking oil

Kung pao sauce

take all the ingredients mentioned under kung pao sauce in a bowl & mix to combine well. Set aside.
2 teaspoons vinegar, 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon sugar, 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce, 2 teaspoons oyster sauce, 1 teaspoon cornflour, ¾ cup water

Kung pao stir fry

heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in a wok, add toasted sesame oil, red chillies and saute for 30-40 seconds only till they turn deep red but not black. Add chopped garlic and ginger and saute on high for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add spring onion whites and saute for a few seconds. Add pepper, groundnuts and toss them well. stir the kung pao sauce and add while stirring continuously. cook for 2 minutes on low. Add the fried chicken, spring onion greens and toss to combine well. Serve.
2 tablespoons cooking oil, 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, 4 dried red chillies, 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic, 2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger, 4 spring onion whites, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ¼ cup groundnuts roasted and de-skinned, ¼ cup spring onion greens finely chopped

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