Kung Pao Chicken

 Kung Pao Chicken is a classic Chinese takeout with spicy chicken, peanuts, vegetables in a mouthwatering Kung Pao sauce. This easy homemade recipe is healthy, low in calories and much better than takeout.

What Is Kung Pao Chicken?

Kung Pao Chicken is from the Sichuan province in China. The Chinese name is 宫保鸡丁 (gong bao ji ding) but some restaurants spell it as Gong Bao Chicken or Kung Po Chicken.

This is a spicy chicken dish with a mouthwatering Kung Pao Sauce. It is popular at Chinese takeouts or restaurants here in the United States.

Is Kung Pao Chicken Authentic?

Authentic recipe calls for Sichuan peppercorn for the numbing flavor and loads of dried red chilies for the “mala” (spicy and numbing) flavors.

The Americanized version we get here is not authentic but delicious.

Vegetables such as carrots, water chestnuts, celery, zucchini and broccoli are part of the dish.

Kung Pao Sauce

Kung Pao Sauce is the soul of Kung Pao Chicken. The sauce is brown in color, mildly spicy and dangerously addictive. It tastes salty, sweet and vinegary.

The secret ingredient is Chinese black (dark) vinegar and below is the list of ingredients of the sauce:

• Soy sauce
• Dark soy sauce
• Sugar
• Water
• Corn Starch

The spiciness of Kung Pao Chicken comes from the dried red chilies in the stir-fry and not from the sauce. You may use rice vinegar, red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar for equally delicious results.

How Do You Make Kung Pao Chicken

This is a stir-fry chicken dish in a work or skillet. First, you cook the ginger and garlic with heated oil, then you add the dried red chilies to bring out the spiciness.

Add the chicken, peanuts and the Kung Pao Sauce and cook until the chicken is done.

Tips on How to Stir-fry Kung Pao Chicken

• Heat the wok or skillet before stir-frying.
• Cut the chicken into uniform pieces so they cook evenly.
• Prepare the Kung Pao Sauce in advance by mixing all the ingredients together.
• The spatula plays an active role in stir-frying so use it to continuously stir and toss the ingredients in a back and forth, circular, turning and flipping motions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the Meaning of Kung Pao?

Kung Pao or Gong Bao derived from Chinese words 宫保。According to Baike, a Chinese online encyclopedia, the dish was invented by a Sichuan General Ding Baozhen.

He loved chicken and peanut in a spicy sauce, and hence he created the recipe.

The name Kung Pao came from his honorary title and hence the name origin of this famous dish.