Kung Pao Chicken

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5 from 1 vote

Kung Pao Chicken is spicy chicken stir fried with chiles, onions, bell peppers and celery.

Prep Time1

Cook Time15

Total Time1 15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese

Servings: people

Calories: 453kcal

Author: Dana

Ingredients

Chicken Marinade

2 chicken thighs (0.75 to 1 pound) cut in 1 inch pieces
2 garlic cloves minced
½ tablespoon ginger minced
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 teaspoon shaoxing cooking wine can sub with white wine or sake
pinch of white pepper
½ teaspoon chicken bouillon

Sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
½ tablespoon oyster sauce
½ tablespoon corn starch
1 cup water

Stir-Fry

2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 garlic minced
½ tablespoon ginger
marinated chicken
10-12 dried chili red pepper
¼ large onion chopped
3 celery stalks chopped
1 bell pepper chopped
sauce

Garnish

¼ cup roasted peanuts

Instructions

Marinate Chicken

Cut the chicken thigh in 1 inch pieces and place in a bowl. Mince 3 (2 for chicken marinade and 1 for stir-fry) garlic cloves and 1 tablespoon ginger (save half for the stir-fry).
To marinate the chicken thigh, add minced garlic, minced ginger, salt, soy sauce, corn starch, cooking wine, white pepper and chicken bouillon.

Make Sauce

Prepare the sauce before stir frying. Mix soy sauce, sugar, oyster sauce, cornstarch and water. Make sure that the corn starch is mixed in and there are no clumps.
Make Stir-Fry
Prepare the stir fry ingredients. Chop onion, celery and bell pepper. Set these ingredients aside and prepare for the stir-fry.
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.
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.
Add sauce, 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.
After the sauce starts to thicken, add the peanuts and stir. Then turn off the heat.
Serve on a plate with some jasmine rice and top with some more peanuts if you like. Hope you enjoy!

Video

@cookwithdana
this chicken is so fragrant and delicious! full recipe on cookwithdana.com ❤️ #foodontiktok #homecook #chinesefood #asianfood #chickenrecipe
♬ original sound - darcy stokes

Notes

EXPERT TIPS

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.
Chop up your ingredients before cooking. The stir fry process is quite fast and you want to have these ingredients ready to add in the pan quickly.

Nutrition