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Kung Pao Chicken isn't just some greasy dish you get with Chinese take-out. It's actually one of the easier Chinese home-cooked dishes you can use to feed yourself or that special someone. Here's a brief guide on how to use it to anchor a weekday dinner for two:
Ingredients
meat
1/2 chicken breast, diced into ~1cm-sized cubes (you only really need half)
marinade
1/2 cup rice wine
1 chopped scallion
2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
Some grated ginger, to taste
1 tsp soy sauce (although I sometimes halve this portion or skip it entirely--pretty much here to give a darker color to the meat)
veggies
Chili, to taste (If you can find them, Facing heaven peppers, if not, dried red pepper flakes or fresh/dried birds-eye chili will do)
1/3 cup raw peanuts (available at your local Asian grocery store)
2 medium bell peppers, chopped or torn into inch-sized chunks
misc
cooking oil (canola is preferable because of the higher smoke point, although peanut oil is awesome if you can find it. try not to use olive oil--it's expensive and won't work well with the cooking temperature of this dish)
some pretty veggies to garnish with
sesame oil (again, for garnish)
accompaniments
steamed rice
egg-drop soup (I use this recipe with the addition of a single roma tomato, chopped)
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Directions
Dice the chicken. Mix the marinade and soak the meat in it for about 20-30 minutes. Save the other half of the chicken for later (or you can just double the marinade portions, chop and marinate the other half, and freeze it for later, like I did with the stuff in the picture below.) You can use this time to get the rice going and wash/chop the bell peppers and chilis.
Once the meat is ready, get out the pan/pot/wok and pour in enough cooking oil to coat the bottom (~1 tablespoon), then fry the peanuts over high heat until they turn golden brown. usually takes about 45 seconds to a minute--you want to be careful here not to burn the peanuts.
Take the peanuts out of the wok and set aside. Try and keep as much of the peanut-infused oil in the wok as possible.
Now turn the heat to medium-low, and stir fry the bell peppers for a minute to a minute and a half. Basically, you want them to shrivel slightly, then remove them from the wok. They should have soaked up the majority of the oil in the pot now. Remove them and place with the cooked peanuts.
Now put in another tablespoon of cooking oil, and stir fry the chicken over medium heat with all of the marinade included. Pour the chili peppers into the oil. When the chicken is no longer pink, lower the heat, pour in the bell peppers and peanuts, and mix/stir fry for about 10-20 seconds more while seasoning with salt or soy sauce to taste. Turn off the heat and serve. You might also drizzle lightly with sesame oil or garnish with veggies at this point.
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Tips
The trick here is to stir fry everything separately and at different temperatures. This ensures that your peanuts are crispy, your bell peppers are still fresh, and your chicken is cooked through. This also lets the three primary ingredients all have slightly different flavors--most importantly, the bell peppers will not have soaked up all the salt in the wok.
Don't burn the peanuts. Do not, do not burn the peanuts. Getting the peanut timing right is the key to this dish.
Here are some variations:
--Fry the scallions and garlic separately from the chicken (don't put them in the marinade): no noticeable change in overall flavor but the chicken was noticeably less tasty.
--Use raw almonds instead of peanuts (a slightly different aroma--not better, not worse, just different. You'll need to cut the almonds in two and it's a lot more expensive though)
--Use 1/2 cup dry red wine (like Shiraz) with a pinch (1/4 tsp) of salt instead of 1/2 cup rice wine--this works like a charm. perfect substitute
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Stats
Prep time: 20-30 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Cost: ~3-5$, including gas/electricity/depr on the stove
 
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While I am not a big fan of Kung Pao myself, I could not help but admire your collection of Aldi wine. Here's to you Winking Owl.
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On October 12 2012 03:44 farvacola wrote:
While I am not a big fan of Kung Pao myself, I could not help but admire your collection of Aldi wine. Here's to you Winking Owl.
=) 3$ wine ftw.
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Had to double check to see if the name really read shady sands p_p, youre branching into food now too? Dis guy..
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I spy Lee Kum Kee sauces. Singapore brand. Approved.
What the heck are those long phallic objects at the side of your dish? Your garnishing looks really weird O.o
Food blogs seem to get featured frequently. Since you're already featured, your food blogs get featured too. That settles it, I'm gonna make a food blog cooking awesome Singaporean food. Fuck yeah Singaporean food is the best food.
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On October 12 2012 04:19 Heh_ wrote:
I spy Lee Kum Kee sauces. Singapore brand. Approved.
What the heck are those long phallic objects at the side of your dish? Your garnishing looks really weird O.o
Food blogs seem to get featured frequently. Since you're already featured, your food blogs get featured too. That settles it, I'm gonna make a food blog cooking awesome Singaporean food. Fuck yeah Singaporean food is the best food.
haha those are cucumber slices. and yes I know, I'm a pretty pisspoor artist no matter what the medium (food, pencil, or pixels.)
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I think it looks really nice and tasty! Gonna have to try it this weekend, cheers man!
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You say 1/2 chicken breast, but in the picture it looks more like 2 full chicken breasts. Must have some large chickens in your neck of the woods.
For ppl who don't feel like gathering all the ingredients and/or don't have 20-30m prep time, the waichai ferry (I believe its called, the brand that had the panda in the commericials) BOXED kung pao chicken dinner is delicious and I wasn't even a fan of kung pao chicken myself either. I say BOXED because they also make it in the frozen food section and it is totally different and not all that good. Now it feels wrong posting this in a real cooking thread, but pf chang frozen dinners are good frozen chinese meals, general tso's and beef and broccoli are some of our favs and the best part is how easy they are to make, you literally open the bag and pour it into a pot over the stove and you're done.
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Stop muscling in on kierpanda's territory!
Looks delicious!
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lol at home my family eats this like once a month
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If you want it to taste more like take-out add more sesame oil than you normally would.
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big fan of kung pao chicken here. also a big fan of recipes where i can get all the ingredients easily
just for clarification,
light soy or dark soy sauce? (im guessing dark) and
what size cup do you use for the 1/2 cup rice wine (if you can give in millilitres, or link to a picture comparison)
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dis is not teaching me how to conquer world T_T
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No sugar added ? I like when the sauce is slightly caramelized.
On October 12 2012 04:19 Heh_ wrote:
I spy Lee Kum Kee sauces. Singapore brand. Approved.
It's a Hong Kong brand.
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Waiting for Wax to hit this blog with his food porn picture rating ...
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Hey cool, so that's what your apartment's kitchen table looks like :D lol
I don't like kung pao chicken, but whatever, good job. =P
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I've been looking for some simple but delicious recipes to use chicken breast in. I'll have to try this!
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On October 12 2012 03:44 farvacola wrote:
While I am not a big fan of Kung Pao myself, I could not help but admire your collection of Aldi wine. Here's to you Winking Owl.
Wait, so you have Aldi in the US too? You just blew my mind, friend.
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I'm slowly building up a bookmark stash of these food blogs. One day, I will eat like a king.
On October 12 2012 13:59 surfinbird1 wrote:Show nested quote +On October 12 2012 03:44 farvacola wrote:
While I am not a big fan of Kung Pao myself, I could not help but admire your collection of Aldi wine. Here's to you Winking Owl. Wait, so you have Aldi in the US too? You just blew my mind, friend.
Your signature. Thank you for showing me that amazing thread.
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On October 12 2012 09:34 saltywet wrote:
big fan of kung pao chicken here. also a big fan of recipes where i can get all the ingredients easily
just for clarification,
light soy or dark soy sauce? (im guessing dark) and
what size cup do you use for the 1/2 cup rice wine (if you can give in millilitres, or link to a picture comparison)
I actually used light soy sauce because I'm out of dark soy sauce. Also, 1/2 cup wine is 4 fl. oz, which is about 120 mL.
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On October 12 2012 09:51 endy wrote:No sugar added ? I like when the sauce is slightly caramelized. Show nested quote +On October 12 2012 04:19 Heh_ wrote:
I spy Lee Kum Kee sauces. Singapore brand. Approved.
It's a Hong Kong brand.
actually this is a variation i'll be trying when i cook this again. my gf likes it caramelized too, but i'm not such a big fan of it.
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Oh man this look delicious ^_^ I can soon turn to TL for all my recipes.
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On October 12 2012 03:44 farvacola wrote:
While I am not a big fan of Kung Pao myself, I could not help but admire your collection of Aldi wine. Here's to you Winking Owl.
Hahaha I was going to make this exact same comment.
I think I will try this for dinner tomorrow. Need to swing by Aldi's to restock 
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Nice blog! Would tallow/lard be just as good as canola oil?
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You're making me hungry. ;-;
Bookmarked. I'll wanna make this someday. Soon™. 
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On October 12 2012 23:01 AoN.DimSum wrote:
Nice blog! Would tallow/lard be just as good as canola oil?
I've never cooked with tallow/lard, but based on the following charts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lard#Culinary_use
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke_point
it seems that lard is a better tasting oil (due to more saturated fats) but a harder oil to cook with (due to lower smoke point).
You can get nearly 60 degrees C hotter with canola than you can with lard before the oil begins to give off smoke. Also, canola does not need to be pre-melted. Consequently that makes canola a lot more forgiving of mistakes or overheating than lard will.
Finally, canola is (marginally) healthier than lard, due to its higher unsaturated fat content.
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er I only skimmed through the comments but your 宫保鸡 looks weirdly white........
Over here it's reddish. If I get this in a restaurant I'd ask the waiter if it's really Gong bao lol.
Regional difference? Or is it your version?
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On October 13 2012 02:39 JieXian wrote:
er I only skimmed through the comments but your 宫保鸡 looks weirdly white........
Over here it's reddish. If I get this in a restaurant I'd ask the waiter if it's really Gong bao lol.
Regional difference? Or is it your version?
He used light soy sauce and didn't add sugar which explains the color.
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No Sichuan peppercorns? Kung Pao is pretty popular here in the US but I don't think I've seen a real one with it.
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$3-5? Whaaaaa! So cheap!
Looks pretty good. Well done. :D
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On October 13 2012 00:26 Shady Sands wrote:Show nested quote +On October 12 2012 23:01 AoN.DimSum wrote:
Nice blog! Would tallow/lard be just as good as canola oil? I've never cooked with tallow/lard, but based on the following charts http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lard#Culinary_usehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke_pointit seems that lard is a better tasting oil (due to more saturated fats) but a harder oil to cook with (due to lower smoke point). You can get nearly 60 degrees C hotter with canola than you can with lard before the oil begins to give off smoke. Also, canola does not need to be pre-melted. Consequently that makes canola a lot more forgiving of mistakes or overheating than lard will. Finally, canola is (marginally) healthier than lard, due to its higher unsaturated fat content.
I consume a lot of saturated fat for my diet(it's healthy!). Thanks for the chart, I will use coconut or palm oil instead since their smoking point is high.
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Ooooh now I know what Shady Sands' kitchen looks like. Its so tantalizing, trying to imagine what your house is like. Looks like an expensive condo, maybe with a great view?? My dream home
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On October 13 2012 03:03 endy wrote:Show nested quote +On October 13 2012 02:39 JieXian wrote:
er I only skimmed through the comments but your 宫保鸡 looks weirdly white........
Over here it's reddish. If I get this in a restaurant I'd ask the waiter if it's really Gong bao lol.
Regional difference? Or is it your version? He used light soy sauce and didn't add sugar which explains the color.
"White" gong bao chicken is quite standard in the USA as far as I know. I'm crazy for gong bao chicken and order it nearly every time I try a new Chinese restaurant, and now that I live in the Bay Area I've been really disappointed because every time it comes in this "white" flavor and I really prefer the heavy, sticky, dark, sweet flavor you usually get in China. Visibly some people (like the OP) prefer it that way, I'm just sad they didn't give it a different name or something so I can still have my "true" gong bao chicken even here in the USA. :D
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Winking Owl is an excellent choice. Kung Pao Chicken looks yummy!
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Yeah I have to agree with the past few posts; I like my 宫保鸡丁 exactly as Matoo- described: heavy, sticky, dark and sweet.
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On October 14 2012 14:17 Matoo- wrote:Show nested quote +On October 13 2012 03:03 endy wrote:On October 13 2012 02:39 JieXian wrote:
er I only skimmed through the comments but your 宫保鸡 looks weirdly white........
Over here it's reddish. If I get this in a restaurant I'd ask the waiter if it's really Gong bao lol.
Regional difference? Or is it your version? He used light soy sauce and didn't add sugar which explains the color. "White" gong bao chicken is quite standard in the USA as far as I know. I'm crazy for gong bao chicken and order it nearly every time I try a new Chinese restaurant, and now that I live in the Bay Area I've been really disappointed because every time it comes in this "white" flavor and I really prefer the heavy, sticky, dark, sweet flavor you usually get in China. Visibly some people (like the OP) prefer it that way, I'm just sad they didn't give it a different name or something so I can still have my "true" gong bao chicken even here in the USA. :D
restaurant style you use cornstarch to coat the chicken, gives you a more fried flavor over the bare chicken, gives you that more darker coloring when frying, and helps to thicken the sauce when you throw everything together.
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On October 16 2012 10:26 a176 wrote:Show nested quote +On October 14 2012 14:17 Matoo- wrote:On October 13 2012 03:03 endy wrote:On October 13 2012 02:39 JieXian wrote:
er I only skimmed through the comments but your 宫保鸡 looks weirdly white........
Over here it's reddish. If I get this in a restaurant I'd ask the waiter if it's really Gong bao lol.
Regional difference? Or is it your version? He used light soy sauce and didn't add sugar which explains the color. "White" gong bao chicken is quite standard in the USA as far as I know. I'm crazy for gong bao chicken and order it nearly every time I try a new Chinese restaurant, and now that I live in the Bay Area I've been really disappointed because every time it comes in this "white" flavor and I really prefer the heavy, sticky, dark, sweet flavor you usually get in China. Visibly some people (like the OP) prefer it that way, I'm just sad they didn't give it a different name or something so I can still have my "true" gong bao chicken even here in the USA. :D restaurant style you use cornstarch to coat the chicken, gives you a more fried flavor over the bare chicken, gives you that more darker coloring when frying, and helps to thicken the sauce when you throw everything together.
Good idea =) You can use a 1:3 ratio of flour to cornstarch if you want an even darker color.
Also, I realize this variant is completely unorthodox--this is what I ate growing up (learned this recipe off my mom)--so it's pretty no-frills...
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Here in the backwards parts of the world we don't have easy access to rice wine (I presume it's Shaoxing and not sake), I've found that many recommend sherry as a substitute, can anyone weigh in on this? Amontillado is what I've gotten recommended.
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