Kung Pao Chicken

 Kung Pao Chicken is a favorite in Chinese restaurants. Why not make it at home so you can control the ingredients and the amount of oil. This is an easy recipe that takes a little prep and comes together in less than 15 minutes.

 The key to Chinese cooking is high heat and speed so get all your ingredients ready before you start to cook. Before you know it, you will be sitting down to a meal better than regular Chinese take out for a fraction of the cost.

Here is the recipe for the Kung Pao Sauce:

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup wine or juice
1/4 rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tbs of brown sugar
1 tsp of sesame oil
1 tbs of cornstarch
1/4 cup of water

Combine all of the above ingredients in a bowl and set aside. You will add this as the last step in the stir fry.

 

Step one: Marinate the Chicken

You will need 2lbs boneless skinless chicken breast sliced into small pieces.

** here is a tip to cut chicken easily. Partially freeze it or if it's already frozen don't defrost it all the way. The semi-frozen chicken is less slippery and cuts easily with a sharp knife.**

Then combine:
1 tablespoon wine or apple juice. (I actually used some cranberry juice)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tablespoon grated ginger
2 cloves garlic grated

Toss chicken and Marinade to coat. Cover dish and place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Then cut up any vegetables you want to put into the stir fry. I simply cut two small yellow onions, some spring onion and 3-4 stalks of celery. I also grated 2 more tablespoons of ginger and 2-3 cloves of garlic for the stir fry and set it aside.

 Step 2:  Now it's time to start the Stir Frying.

Get your burner on high. Put 1 tablespoon of oil (canola or peanut) into the wok and get it hot. You want it to get to the point the oil starts to ripple.

Add 1/2 cup of dry unsalted peanuts and some whole dry chilies. Toss in oil until the peanuts become fragrant. The oil is hot so this should take less than a minute and you don't want to burn the peanuts. Take the peanuts and chilies out of the wok and place in a separate bowl until later.

Put 1 more tablespoon of oil into the wok and add your veggies. Toss in the oil until tender crisp (about 2-3 minutes).

Put the veggies into the same bowl as the peanuts/chilies until later.

 Now add 2 more tablespoons of oil into the wok. Get it hot and add the marinated chicken. Add the 2 tablespoons of grated ginger and 2-3 cloves of grated garlic that you prepared earlier for the stir fry. Stir fry the chicken for 5 minutes until it is cooked through.

Now add the sauce and bring to a boil. You will see the sauce start to become shiny. That's the gloss the cornstarch gives to the sauce.

Now add all the veggies, peanuts and chilies back and stir fry for another minute.

Serves 4-6 people. Serve with desired rice. I had it with brown rice. Enjoy.

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