Pictorial: Kung Pao Chicken

[hzrt8w]

Kung Pao Chicken (宮爆雞丁)

This is my interpretation of this popular Sichuan dish. Use as many or as few dry red peppers as you like to adjust for your heat level.

Picture of the finished dish:

Serving Suggestion: 3 to 4

Preparations:

Main ingredients: (From top right, clockwise) 3 pieces of chicken breasts, about 1 1/2 lb. 3 - 4 stalks of green onions. 5 - 6 cloves of garlic. About 20 small dry red pepper. 3 - 4 tsp of Sichuan peppercorn. About 4 - 6 oz of raw, shelled, unsalted peanuts. 1 red bell pepper. (Not shown: ginger - about 1 inch in length)

Trim chicken fat. Cut the chicken breasts into cubes, about 1 inch by 1 inch.

Note: Classical Kung Pao Chicken recpies call for using dark meat. You may use chicken thighs or drum sticks for this dish. Just remove the skin, bones and dice up the meat.

Marinate the chicken meat: Use 1/2 tsp ground white pepper, 2 tsp of ShaoHsing cooking wine, 2 tsp of corn starch, 1 - 2 tsp of sesame oil, 2 tsp of light soy sauce. Combine in a mixing bowl.

Mix and marinate for about 30 minutes before cooking.

Meanwhile, prepare other ingredients. Red bell pepper: remove stem and seeds. Cut into small dices. Green onions: trim ends and finely chop. Peel and minced the garlic. Grate some ginger, about 1 inch in length.

Cooking Instructions:

Use a pan/wok. Set stove at high. Wait until pan is hot. Dry-roast the peanuts until slightly darkened, about 3 minutes. Remove.

Add 3 tblsp of cooking oil. Wait until oil is hot. Velvet the chicken meat in oil until slighly undercooked (pink color has barely disappeared).

Like this. Remove and drain excess oil.

Start with a clean pan/wok. Set stove at high. Add Sichuan peppercorn. Dry-roast it for 30 seconds to a minute until it releases the fragrance.

Add 2 tblsp of cooking oil and 20 dry red peppers. Let the peppers roast until they turn dark brown, about 20 - 30 seconds.

Add the minced garlic, grated ginger, and the white portion of the chopped green onions. Add 1/2 tsp of salt (or to taste) and 2 tsp of chili bean sauce. Stir. Quickly dash in 2 tsp of ShaoHsing cooking wine and 1 tsp of white vinegar. (Let it induce a flame if your pan/wok is hot enough.) Cook for about 30 seconds.

Add 1/4 to 1/3 cup of chicken broth. (Adjust if you want the dish dryer or with more sauce.) Add 1 - 2 tsp of dark soy sauce. Add diced red bell pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil.

Add corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce (suggest: about 1 - 2 tsp of corn starch mixed in 2 tsp of water). Bring the sauce to the right consistency.

Return the peanuts and the chicken. Add the remaining portion of the green onions (the green portion). Continue to cook for a few minutes until chicken is heated up. Keep stirring.

Drizzle about 2 tsp of sesame oil on top at the end. Transfer to serving plate. Finished.

(Note: The quantity of food made in this recipe is about twice the portion shown in this picture.)

[WolfChef]

Wow, nice pictures and commentary. Thanks, looks like something I'll try next time I get the urge to stir fry. So how was it? After eating it, is there anything you'll do different the next time...like more or less garlic or roast the peanuts longer/shorter?

[jo-mel]

Looks wonderful, hzrt!! I was almost afraid to look. When I saw the nuts, I knew you weren't going to get into the middle of that fray between the chefs. I could smell the Sichuan pepper just from the picture. Mmmmmmmm!

[hzrt8w]

[...] So how was it?  After eating it, is there anything you'll do different the next time...like more or less garlic or roast the peanuts longer/shorter?

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Thank you, WolfChef. This recipe was a result of many iterations to the combinations that I like.

[hzrt8w]

[...] When I saw the nuts, I knew you weren't going to get into the middle of that fray between the chefs.[...]

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Thanks, jo-mel. I am afraid it would open that can of worms again. No this is not about the debate on the authenticity of King Pao Chicken. It is just a version of it that I happen to like.

[Pan]

I ordered Kung Pao Baby Shrimp and Chicken from my local branch of Grand Sichuan tonight. They don't use bell peppers in the dish. Is it common to get bell peppers in Kung Pao dishes, or is that mainly a personal preference of yours?

[hzrt8w]

[...] Is it common to get bell peppers in Kung Pao dishes, or is that mainly a personal preference of yours?

←

I have seen bell peppers mentioned in a few recipes (written in Chinese, posted in some .CN websites). Of the restaurants that I had visited or worked at in California, at least half of them used bell pepers in Kung Pao X.

[Spinner]

Round 3..fight!

I went into with mixed feelings. I have a HUGE aversion to nuts in any food that is designated as "dinner".

I do cook with nuts..quite often..but it is more a requisite of my job than anything else. Yes I taste..I hate it..but it's my job. Moving on..

I have made 2 of Hzrt's dishes before (Lemon Chicken and the Pork dish) and this..was the best.

In the process, I immediately noticed the comforting smell of the toasted peanuts and I knew why they were there and why they were being toasted. It adds a entirely new dimension to the flavor of the dish..it ties everything up and reminds you of real cooking.

Sichuan peppercorn = Yum and me wanting to die from sneezing. I dont know why that happens to me.

The dried red peppers were procured from a very good to great place near me.

This was great. You rule!

[hzrt8w]

Thank you, spinner. I am glad that you like this version. I really like the Sichuan peppercorns and the dry red chilies too. Ma La [Mandarin], describing the taste. It means numbing (from the Sichuan peppercorns), that's "Ma", and hot (from the dry red chili), that's "La". I love to eat those dry red chilies. By the time the dish is done, they are soft and typically soaked with a bit of the sauce. But I can only handle about 5 of them... and need to frequently drink iced water.

The toasted peanuts are wonderful... but eating them in the left over the next day is a different story...

Edited December 12, 2005 by hzrt8w (log)

[Dejah]

The way you made this dish, Ah Leung, I would say "Wah! Gum daw yook ah!"

The bell pepper is probably added as filler and colour in this dish. In my restaurant days, we added ( and I know I was laughed at by some eGulleteers for this previously) baby corn, waterchestnuts, diced onion, celery and green bell peppers. I used chicken tenders, peanuts, and toban sauce along with whole chilis. Most of my customers couldn't handle eating the actual chilis, but they could handle the heat... and loved the vegetables.The vegetables really are my favourite as I am not a big meat eater. The rest of my family would like the amount of meat you used.

[Grub]

That's a great pictorial, hzrt8w! It looked so good, I just had to try it myself...

Unfortunately, there were a few things I did not have, such as Sichuan peppercorns and ShaoHsing cooking wine, so I used regular white wine, and left the peppercorns out. Also, I didn't have the bean sauce, so I used Sichuan chili sauce instead -- and an onion in place of the bell pepper (which I added sooner than the bell pepper would have been). That's a fair list of substitutions, but it still turned out really nice.

Again, I'm reminded of how important it is to have some nice color contrasts... I bet carrots would work...

Great recipe -- and appologies for not following it completely (but the result was still very good). Thanks!

[hzrt8w]

That's very nice, Grub. Thanks for sharing your picture.

Many people have their own versions of "Kung Pao", using whatever available or convenient to them. The dry red chilies and Sichuan peppercorns seem to be the signature of the Sichuan style cookings. I have seen onions and green bell peppers used before.

If you have Saki wine, you may use that instead of ShaoHsing. They taste similar.

[jhirshon]

All - here is my recipe for Kung Pao Chicken.

The Hirshon Kung Pao Chicken

Chicken and Marinade Ingredients:

3 boneless Chicken breasts, partially frozen to allow for easy cutting

2 Tbsp Cornstarch

2 Tbsp Soy sauce

3 Tbsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry

1 egg white

1 Tbsp oyster flavored sauce (Hop Sing Lung brand preferred)

1 t. Szechuan peppercorns

Sauce:

1/4 cup Chinese sweetened black vinegar (Koon Chun brand preferred) or balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup chicken broth

3 Tbsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry (Pagoda Blue label preferred)

2 Tbsp hoisin sauce (Koon Chun brand preferred)

1 Tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil (Kadoya brand preferred)

2 tsp chili garlic sauce (Fu Chi brand preferred)

2 tsp brown sugar

Other:

2 1/2 Tbsp peanut oil

8-10 small dried red chiles de arbol

4-5 large cloves garlic, halved, with any green shoot removed

1 Tbsp Fresh Ginger,minced

1 rib celery, destringed and finely diced

1 orange bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares

3 Green Onions, white and light green parts only, cut in 1" lengths

1/2 cup quartered whole water chestnuts

2 tsp cornstarch, dissolved in 1 Tbsp water

1/2 cup unsalted roasted cashews (JH preference) or unsalted roasted peanuts

Cut chicken into 1-inch cubes. Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add chicken and stir to coat. Let this marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Toast Szechuan peppercorns until fragrant in dry wok. Grind or crush and set aside.

Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl; set aside.

Place a wok over high heat until hot. Add 2 Tbsp oil, swirling to coat sides. Add chiles and cook, stirring, until fragrant and starting to blacken - then remove chiles from wok. Add drained chicken and nuts and stir fry for 2 minutes. Remove the chicken and nuts from the wok and add to chiles. Add remaining 1/2 Tbsp oil, swirling to coat sides. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add celery, bell pepper, scallions and water chestnuts; stir-fry for 1 1/2 minutes. Return chicken and chiles to wok + ground sichuan peppercorns; stir-fry for 1 minute. Add sauce and bring to a boil. Add cornstarch solution and cook, stirring, until sauce boils and thickens. Serve immediately.

[tejon]

I was looking for something good to make last night and realized that I had every single thing needed for this recipe. Gave it a try, and it was absolutely delicious! I added a bit more red bell pepper since I had more on hand, but otherwise made it as described above. I do think next time I will grind the Szechuan peppercorns, as I didn't like the crunchy bits here and there (though I dearly love that flavor).

Steamed some broccoli to go along with it which was a great foil to the heat of the chicken. Here it is, still steaming hot

[hzrt8w]

That looks fabulous, Kathy! The crunchiness of the broccoli would be a good contrast to the diced chicken. Good for taming down the heat too.

[shoutsandmurmurs]

okay, i'm going to try and make this tonight but i don't have sichuan peppercorns. should i leave them out or try to replace them with something else?

[ChryZ]

AFAIR this thread inspired me to cook Kung Pao Chicken. I would like to share my version:

main ingredients

3 X chicken breasts

1 X red bell pepper

1/3 X cucumber

3 X celery

5 X green onion

1 X red onion

1/2 CUP unsalted/unroasted cashew nuts

(preferable fresh peanuts, but they are not available at the moment, so I had to substitute)

chicken marinate ingredients

1 TBSP peanut oil

1 TBSP corn starch

1 TBSP rice wine

1 TBSP light soy sauce

sauce ingredients

3 TBSP hoisin sauce

4 TBSP light soy sauce

3 TBSP rice wine

2 TBSP rice wine vinegar

3 TBSP fish or oyster sauce

2 TBSP sugar or honey

2 TBSP chicken stock

1 TBSP peanut oil

2 TS sesame oil

1 X ginger

2 X garlic clover

6 X dried chili peppers

1 TBSP wild sichuan pepper

cubed the chicken and combined it with the marinate ingredients,

30 min of marinating is enough, all the other prep work can be

done in the meantime

cubed the veggies with my trusty veg knife, saved some green onions' green for topping

the sauce next, first I roasted the dried chili pepper and the sichuan pepper,

they shouldn't get black, they are done when it's starting to smell aromatic

grabbed a mortar and ground the roasted stuff for even more flavour

and combined all the other sauce ingredients

blended until smooth

after those prep steps, it was time to cook, first I roasted the

cashew nuts a little, then the chicken ... the chicken must be

cooked completely, when done move to a "parking" bowl

hint: the wok or in my case the pan-frying should happen at oil-smoking heat,

peanut oil is highly recommandable for this kind of cooking

parked the cooked chicken and moved on to the veggies, again high heat

stir-frying, do not overcook the veggie, it should be somewhat crunchy

cleared the pan/wok and poured in the sauce at high heat, stired for a second

while boiling, lowered the heat and simmered it to a syrup-like thickness

moved the other stuff back into the pan in order to glaze all the goodness

stirred it well, ready to serve

served with green onion topping and a drizzle of sesame oil

Enjoy.

[hzrt8w]

Thanks for sharing your version, ChryZ! Looks so colorful! I have not cooked this dish with cucumber and celery. But I have seen many Chinese restaurants in the US added a variety of vegetables to their Kung Pao dishes.

Edited October 6, 2006 by hzrt8w (log)

[ChryZ]

Thanks for sharing your version, ChryZ!  Looks so colorful!  I have not cooked this dish with cucumber and celery.  But I have seen many Chinese restaurants in the US added a variety of vegetables to their Kung Pao dishes.

←

The idea of adding all those veggies actually came from a picture that was taken by a blogger at a restaurant in Beijing. As a standalone dish it's a bit more wholesome. For a bigger dinner with other vegetable side or main dishes I also like to keep this dish more simple.

[Dejah]

The flavouring agents in Kung Pao are dominant. I don't think the addition of vegetables will detract from it. They add only texture and eye appeal for "some" of us.

Restaurants add vegetables not only for presentation but also to bolster the serving size without the extra costs of additional chicken.

[Pan]

Grand Sichuan St. Marks puts cucumber and celery but no bell peppers in its Kung Pao Chicken, and it's quite good.

[AdrianB]

Thank you hzrt8w, your post encourage me to choose Kung Pao Chicken as the first Chinese food I've ever cooked!

I fogot to add sesame oil at the very end and added some extra dried chillies but otherwise followed your instructions exactly.

Your instructions were clear and easy to follow. The outcome was delicious!

Next time I'll add a bit more sichaun peppercorn and a few less nuts. I'm also thinking adding diced celery instead of the capsicum/bell pepper might be delicious!

Where I live in Australia the Chinese food we have is more Cantonese and Hong Kong influenced and it was nice to get some real authentic spice and numb tingling back into the dish!

I'll have to make this again soon!

[hzrt8w]

Thanks for your kind words and am glad you like this Adrian. You are right. While "Kung Pao Chicken" is offered in most Cantonese style restaurants now, the Cantonese version is typically whimppy on the chili and the sichuan peppercorn (hua jiu).