Kung Pao chicken or Gong Bao chicken is a spicy stir-fry dish that tastes just like your favourite takeaway. Let's find out how to make this delicious, lip-tingling, highly addictive sauce.
This homemade, low-calorie Chinese chicken dish is amazing! Tender stir-fried chicken pieces bring together the perfect balance of salty, sweet, and delightfully spicy flavours.
Spicy chicken, bell peppers, onions, and peanuts stir-fried in a deliciously savoury Kung Pao sauce - just like your favourite Chinese takeaway!
What is kung pao chicken?
A spicy stir-fried chicken dish. Kung Pao chicken ingredients are chicken, vegetables, peanuts and chilli peppers. It really should come with a warning because it is highly addictive! 😋
There is so much flavour in this dish, it's crazy. Tongue and lip-tingling, I guarantee you'll want it again and again. 😋
I’ve visited Panda Express a few times while in New York, but unfortunately, there aren’t any here in the UK at the moment.
But the good news is, it's easier to make than you might think.
Is it healthy?
It's a nutritious option for most people, offering a range of vitamins, minerals, and complete protein. However, if you're watching your salt intake, keep in mind that soy sauce is quite high in sodium.
Ingredients for the chicken
- skinless chicken breasts
- whole dried red chillies - deseeded and cut into strips (best to use scissors)
- vegetable oil
- green bell pepper
- red bell pepper
- onion
- fresh ginger
- garlic
- spring onions (green onions/scallions)
- peanuts
All this is cooked in a tasty kung pao sauce that makes your lips tingle, mixed with peppers and onions that are still slightly crunchy.
What is kung pao sauce made of?
The spices in the chicken are balanced with soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar.
Ingredients for the sauce
- cornflour (cornstarch in the US)
- light soy sauce
- dark soy sauce
- sugar
- water
There are countless takes on Kung Pao, but after plenty of experimenting, I’m confident I’ve nailed it with this recipe.
I usually add a splash of Chinese black vinegar, but it’s become tricky to find here in the UK unless I order it from Amazon.
For the small amount, it's not really worth bothering with, as we're talking 1 teaspoon. 😀
If you’re not a fan of spicy food, this recipe might not be for you, as the whole dried red chillies are extremely hot!
When choosing the right chillies, here’s what they should look like.
I use 8 in my recipe, but I have seen in some recipes using as many as 12 and leaving the seeds in!
Seriously, we like a bit of heat here, but 12 with the seeds? For goodness' sake, that's mental! 😱
You’ll probably want to remove the seeds from the chillies, as even die-hard chilli fanatics might struggle to eat the dinner otherwise.😉
You can find the ingredients in any good Chinese/Oriental supermarket.
Whatever you do, don't leave out the Chinese Shaohsing Rice Wine in the marinade. Sainsbury's sells it along with Waitrose.
Shaoxing, also spelt Shaohsing, is a renowned type of huangjiu, a traditional Chinese rice wine made through fermentation.
It originates from the region of Shaoxing, in the Zhejiang province of eastern China. It is widely used as both a beverage and a cooking wine in Chinese cuisine.
Substitute for Shaoxing wine
One substitute for Shaoxing wine is pale dry sherry, which can also be used in place of other amber-coloured rice wines.
That being said, I've never actually attempted to replace it.
What is velveting?
To make the chicken tender and juicy, try using this meat-tenderising technique popular in Chinese restaurants.
Find out how to velvet chicken (or meat) in my Chinese chicken curry recipe. But if you do that, skip the marinade part of this recipe.
To find more Chinese recipes, type in the search bar at the top right of the homepage.
If you like spicy food, you will love my Mapo Tofu Recipe.
Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating in the recipe card below!
Authentic Kung Pao Chicken Recipe
Kung Pao chicken, also known as Gong Bao. A chicken stir-fry in a deliciously lip-tingling, highly addictive sauce.
Ingredients
- 2-3 skinless chicken breast fillets (depending on their size)
- 6-8 whole dried red chillies - deseeded and cut into strips
- vegetable oil
- ½ green bell (capsicum) pepper - cut into bite-sized cubes
- 1 red bell pepper (capsicum) - cut into bite-sized cubes
- 1 large brown onion - peeled and cut into bite-sized cubes
- fresh ginger - skin removed and chopped finely (enough to make 2 teaspoons)
- 4 cloves garlic - peeled and minced
- 2 spring onions (scallions) - sliced diagonally
- a small handful of roasted peanuts
- 1 tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch in the US)
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine)
- 1 tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch in the US)
- 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
- ½ a tablespoon of dark soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons of granulated (regular) white sugar
- 6 tablespoons of water
Instructions
- If you’re using the velveting technique, you can skip the marinade step. Cut the chicken into bite-sized cubes, place them in a small bowl with the marinade ingredients, and mix well. Let it rest for 30 minutes, but no longer, since the alcohol in the Shaoxing wine can start to break down the chicken.
- Meanwhile, mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and let it drain. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a wok and add the chicken. Stir-fry until it's almost cooked, then remove it from the wok and set it aside.
- Wipe the wok with kitchen paper and add another splash of oil and heat. Once hot, add the onion and peppers. Stir for a couple of minutes.
- Add the ginger and garlic, stir for another minute, then add the dried red chillies. Stir-fry until the chillies are fragrant and give off a spicy aroma.
- Return the chicken to the wok and stir for a few minutes, making sure it is thoroughly cooked.
- Stir the sauce thoroughly to mix the cornflour and sugar that may have settled at the bottom, then pour it into the wok and keep stirring until the chicken is evenly coated. Add the spring onions and peanuts, then give everything another stir.
- Serve immediately with egg-fried rice.
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