Best Kung Pao Chicken

This is the Best Kung Pao Chicken recipe that I’ve tried! The chicken is tender and sautéed with bell peppers, chiles and peanuts. The star in my opinion is the kung pao chicken sauce that tastes smoky from the red chiles and high heat cooking (wok hei!).

My parents opened a Chinese-American restaurant when I was younger and this was a popular dish that was served to customers. My dad’s version of kung pao chicken is more americanized and is less spicy than the authentic Chinese version.

In China, this dish is made with more red chiles and sichuan peppercorns, which makes the dish taste numby and extra spicy! Don’t worry, this version is still very fragrant that you won’t get chinese takeout for kung pao chicken ever again!

Kung Pao Sauce

The Kung Pao Sauce is created with oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, salt, cornstarch and water. A cornstarch slurry is used to thicken the sauce, which coats the chicken and bell peppers very well.

I recommend to make this sauce after slicing the vegetables so you can add it in the pan or wok quickly. I swear I can just eat this savory and slightly spicy sauce on it’s own with hot white rice!

Ingredients you need for your kung pao chicken:

Chicken Marinade

• 4 chicken thighs (0.75 to 1 pound), cut in 1 inch pieces
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ tablespoon ginger, minced
• 1 green onion, sliced
• ½ tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• ½ tablespoon oyster sauce
• ½ tablespoon shaoxing cooking wine (can sub with white wine or sake) – helps bring sweetness to the chicken and takes out the gaminess as well
• pinch of white pepper
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon chicken bouillon
• ½ tablespoon oil light olive or vegetable oil – keeps the chicken moist and soft

Kung Pao Sauce

• ½ tablespoon sugar
• ½ tablespoon soy sauce
• ½ tablespoon oyster sauce
• pinch of salt
• ½ tablespoon corn starch
• ¼ cup water

Stir-Fry

• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• marinated chicken
• 10-12 dried red pepper
• 1 garlic clove smashed
• ½ tablespoon ginger
• ¼ large onion chopped
• 3 celery stalks chopped
• 1 bell pepper chopped
• 1 cup water – most of this water will be evaporated when it hits the pan; some of this water will help soften the veggies and create a sauce for the kung pao chicken.
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon – add this at the end for more savoriness and sweetness
• sauce – cornstarch slurry that will help thicken the sauce in the overall dish!

Garnish

• ¼ cup roasted peanuts

Steps to make the kung pao chicken:

Chicken Marinade

Step 1: Cut the chicken thigh in 1 inch pieces and place in a bowl. Mince 2 garlic cloves, ½ tablespoon ginger and slice 1 green onion.

Step 2. To marinate the chicken thigh, add minced garlic, minced ginger, sliced green onions, ½ tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon corn starch, ½ tablespoon shaoxing cooking wine, a pinch of white pepper, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon chicken bouillon, and ½ tablespoon oil. Mix well and marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes to overnight in the refrigerator.

Prepare Sauce (Corn Starch Slurry)

Step 3. Prepare the sauce before stir frying. Mix ½ tablespoon sugar, ½ tablespoon soy sauce, ½ tablespoon oyster sauce, pinch of salt, ½ tablespoon corn starch, and ¼ cup water. Make sure that the corn starch is mixed in and there are no clumps. Tip: Before you add the sauce in the stir fry, give it a good mix because the corn starch settles at the bottom after a few minutes of mixing.

Stir-Fry

Step 4. Prepare the stir fry ingredients. Chop 1 garlic, ½ tablespoon ginger, ¼ onion, 3 celery stalks, and ½ bell pepper. Set these ingredients aside and prepare for the stir-fry. The reason to chop these beforehand is because the stir fry process is quite fast and you want to have these ingredients ready to add in the pan quickly.

Step 5. Heat pan or wok on high heat. After the pan is hot (see smoke), add 1 tablespoon oil. Then add your marinated chicken and fry until golden brown and make sure the chicken is cooked through (takes 3-4 minutes). Cover the pan when the chicken is cooking to prevent oil splatter. After chicken is golden brown, take the chicken out of the pan and set aside.

Step 6. The pan should still be hot (on med-high heat) and have some leftover oil from the chicken. Add an additional 1 tbs oil to the pan. Fry the red chilis, chopped onion, garlic, and ginger until the red chilis turn dark red (1 minute). Keep mixing the ingredients to ensure the garlic doesn’t burn. Next, add celery and bell pepper, then stir fry the veggies for 2 minutes.

Step 7. Add 1 cup water and 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon to the pan, which helps soften the veggies. Stir well and cook for one minute. Give a good stir to the sauce (from step 3) and add to the pan. Mix together.

Step 8. After the sauce starts to thicken, add the peanuts and stir. Then turn off the heat.

Step 9. Serve on a plate with some jasmine rice and top with some more peanuts if you like. Hope you enjoy!

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Looking for more Chinese takeout dishes?

Here are some popular recipes from my parents’ Chinese restaurant:

• chicken chow mein noodles
• general chicken
• chinese chicken and broccoli