Today, I am sharing with you a popular Chinese recipe that is well-loved by many in the United States and all over the world–the famous Chinese Kung Pao Chicken (宫保鸡丁).
Kung Pao is a cooking technique originated from the Sichuan province of China; the authentic Sichuan Kung Pao Chicken (宫保鸡丁) or Gong Bao Ji Ding calls for the staple Sichuan peppercorn for the numbing flavor, however, the version popular outside of Sichuan has since been adapted to many regional variations. For examples: in Malaysia, Kung Pao chicken is served without peanuts, but sometimes cashew nuts are used; in Thailand, fish sauce and sweet soy sauce are used to flavor a similar dish. However, the Kung Pao chicken we get in 90% of so-called Chinese restaurants in the United States is–sadly and unfortunately–the heavily Americanized version that appears gooey, greasy, and sweet. You will also find all kinds of vegetables in the dish such as carrots, water chestnuts, celery, zucchini, and even broccoli! Go figure…
I tried to keep my Kung Pao Chicken recipe as authentic as possible, but feel free to tone down the quantity of dried chilies as you wish. I wanted to share the secret ingredient of Kung Pao chicken, which is vinegar in the sauce. It gives that subtle yet characteristic touch to complete the Kung Pao flavor.
If you like Chinese recipes, you might also like the following recipes on Rasa Malaysia:
Sweet and Sour Pork
Cashew Chicken
Honey Walnut Shrimp
Fried Wonton
Ginger and Black Fungus Chicken
Restaurant-style Chinese Greens with Oyster Sauce
Chinese Jiaozi/Leeks and Pork Dumplings
Dragon Well Tea Shrimp (龙井虾仁)
Fried Vermicelli (Rice Sticks)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 boneless & skinless chicken breast (or 3 boneless & skinless chicken drumsticks)
3 tablespoons roasted peanuts
8-12 dried red chilies (deseeded and cut into halves)
3 tablespoons cooking oil
5 slices peeled fresh ginger
2 gloves garlic (sliced diagonally)
1 stalk scallion (chopped)
For the marinate:
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
1 teaspoon oil
For the sauce:
1 1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon black vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon corn starch
Method:
- Cut the chicken meat into small cubes, rinse in water, pat dry with water and marinate with the ingredients above for 30 minutes.
- Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
- Heat up a wok with one tablespoon cooking oil and stir-fry the marinated chicken until they are 70% cook. Dish out and set aside.
- Clean the wok and add in the remaining 2 tablespoons of cooking oil until it smokes.
- Add in the ginger and garlic slices and do a quick stir before adding in the dried red chilies.
- Stir fry the dried red chilies until aromatic and they smell spicy, then add in the chicken meat.
- Do a quick stir before adding in the roasted peanuts and continue to stir a few times.
- Add in the sauce and stir continuously until the chicken meat is nicely coated with the sauce.
- Add in the scallions and stir evenly.
- Dish out and serve hot with steamed white rice.
Cook’s Notes:
- You can use the same recipe and substitute chicken with shrimp, scallops, or even vegetables for a vegetarian dish.
- As different soy sauce tastes differently and has different level of sodium so please adjust the saltiness accordingly. If the sauce tastes too salty, add some more sugar and water. If it’s not salty, add a little salt to taste.
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{ 53 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve never tried this dish before, sounds really good and spicy :)
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Kung Pao Chicken is my absolutely favorite dish, and it’s the one that prompted me to learn a bit about Asian cooking and condiments. I will definitely try your recipe!
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I love the shape of your serving plate
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only tasted this in chinese restaurants here :) looks amazing. lovely pic
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i love this dish. i believe it is also popular with westerners :) i met an Irish guy over the weekend and he asked for kung pao ji ding!
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that i didnt know..famous among the westerners..i thought they all only eat sweet and sour pork and honey chicken..
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Which red chili? Cayenne? There’s a huge selection of chilies where I live =^)
Sherri
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I have to test this one, no way! Woaw, this picture is…no word ;-) bravo
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It’s hard to find an authentic version of this dish. Yours look yummy as always!
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I agree!!
i can never find the perfect Gung Bao Chicken in Australia. It’s either filled with ‘funky’ veges or it’s just too gooey like what u said above. I miss Malaysian’s Gung Bao Chicken/ Cuttlefish, goes so well with a nice bowl of steamed rice.
Pegs
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jimmy replied:
its Kung Pao
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I always wondered if Kung Pao chicken really was a chinese dish and not just a chinese dish invented stateside. Now your version holds a lot of appeal to me …it looks so yummy!
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This seems to be perfect. I love the pictures. Thanx for yet another simple chicken recipe. Sure to try. Are you sendign this to Sunitha as an entry for Think spice ginger?
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Your recipes are always so mouth-watering…not to mention your pictures! I have saved this recipe, thanks! :)
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WOW! This looks soo scrumptious. I am now craving for a spoonful!
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IMO,if it’s not spicy a bit, then it will not be delicious.
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You said it right, well loved by many and I’m one of them!!! Hehehe…
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you’re absolutely right… I’m sure the Chinese Take-outs (there’s seriously one in every single corner in the city) have managed to butcher this dish - so, I can’t wait to try your version!
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I’m so glad you posted this recipe - it’s a great dish that’s been butchered by so many take-out joints. Your recipe sound delicious!
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Great photos! This Kung Pao Chicken recipe sounds really tasty. I will have to see if I can find some black vinegar.
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this’s my favourite dish! we usually order this in esquire kitchen but over here, it’s called “koong pou kai ting” lol..
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That looks delicious and wonderfully non-American-Chinese restaurant-ish :) Lovely.
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I love eating this dish when I’m at chinese restaurants have never cooked it though…I think I’ll have to try it!
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Rasa thanks for visiting mime. You can find the food blog event details for the Think spice - Ginger event here.
http://sunitabhuyan.blogspot.com
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Wonderful Photography as Well as the Recipes
Thank You !
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u’re right! i’ve only ever eaten msian goongbao chicken n it was a big surprise to eat it in Chengdu, Sichuan & find tt it is completely different! now i never order it in msia.it’s the same thing with mapo tofu. our version is so WRONG, so tasteless w/o the sichuan peppercorn n douban paste. it’s like eating hotdogs with oyster sauce, totally unauthentic.
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I definitely like your version - not-so-greasy, not-so-gooey-starchy and authentic. :D
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K&S - you have never tried them…do try it, I bet you will like it. :)
Lydia - yes, this is a very friendly dish so anyone can easily fall in love with the dish and be intrigued by the cooking method behind it. Good to hear that you are going to try my recipe!
Andaliman - hehe, I like it too.
Nags - well, I wonder how’s the one served at the restaurants in your place…;)
Tracy - yep…many people like Kung Pao.
Joe - well, other than sweet and sour, orange chicken, etc. Kung Pao is also one of the favorites at Chinese restaurants.
Sherri - yeah, dried Holland chiles or cayenne should be fine.
Claude - I bet you would love this recipe…can’t wait to see your version. :)
Piggy - I actually like the Kung Pao in Malaysia, it’s not bad. But the US ones, bleh. :P
Pegs - Funky veggie, correct… all kinds of veggies imaginable are in Kung Pao…tell me about it. LOL.
Veron - yep, it’s a real Chinese dish that has been slaughtered to an unrecognizable state! :P
Rina - thanks for telling me about the event, I just entered. :)
Joey - you are ever so sweet. Thanks. Your pictures are real masterpiece!
Meeta - OK, go ahead, dig in with two spoons please. ;)
Nicholas - yeah, I love it spicy too, if not too spicy, there is no kick.
WMW - Me too!
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Marichelle - I can’t agree more with you. I “despise” those takeout places…they are the ones that give Chinese food very bad names in the US. They should really cook responsibly. ;)
Holy Basil - yep, again, I can’t agree more. They slaughtered the dish. Period.
Kevin - black vinegar is a keeper in your pantry…will have to share dumplings recipe that calls for black vinegar. YUM!
Meiyen - correct, you pronounced it in Cantonese…:)
Jen Yu - LOL, I wonder where are my water chesnuts, carrots, and celery? :P
Alex - some Chinese restaurants do a good job with this…despite being a little Americanized. ;)
Rina - thanks again for the Sunitas blog. :)
Outdoors2 - Thank you. You are too nice. :)
Terri - actually the Kung Pao in Malaysia is not bad, I have no complaints really…but the American takeout versions…don’t even get me started. :P
Tiga - some versions we get here (even in California) are too sweet and taste really bad…gross!
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Love that yummy dish…thanks for sending it over…
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ohman rasa, i can just TELL thats how its done! looks beautiful and i’m so jealous i do not have a plate in front of me now!!
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Nice one!
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Yes, Yummy!
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Used to order this from the local chinese restaurant food in NY. now i’m back in Malaysia,I can cook it at home. thanks.
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i like the way you only use a small amount of black vinegar.. i have cooked this dish many times and all of the recipes i followed used way too much .. it overpowered the dish.. i ended up using only a few drops also
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can the corn starch in your various recipes be substituted with plain flour? i don’t want to have to buy a big tin when i don’t use much
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Thank you for this recipe - I made it tonight - it was delish!
I have of course put a link to your site on my blog!
Thanks again.
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Pegs,
Try Dainty Sichuan Food in Melbourne’s chinatown for an authentic australian gang bao experience.
Gilly
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Tried this yesturday and it was FANTASTIC!!!!!!!! Thank you so much for the recipe
Pete
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I always buy kung pao chicken when i go to chinese restaurant wince its the most spicy dish. Now thanks to your kung pao chicken recipe, i can make this myself.
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I will never forget the time I tasted the kung pao chicken pasty from KFC.so that’s what lead me to discovering the Kung Pao chicken, he real one.This is really great!
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Thanks for sharing the wonderful recipe. I’ve made it with success many times here:
http://cookingquinn.blogspot.com/2009/02/kung-pao-chicken.html
I’ve also followed your cashew chicken recipe style of marinating the chicken with baking sods first before proceeding with marinating with sauces.
It turned out perfectly, very tender diced chicken. Just exactly like the one I had in Esquire Kitchen ages back.
Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
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I used to eat Kung Pao chicken in a little hole in the wall in Santa Barbara California. Its always has been my favorite chinese dish (along with asian greens). I moved to Australia ten years ago and could never find a replacement. I always asked every restaurant if they could make a version of it for me and it was never even close. It was such a disappointment that I stopped eating Chinese food altogether.
I was so excited to see this recipe and use it. I followed the recipe exactly except for the sugar part where I used brown and slightly less. Its a stunning dish.And such a gift!
It was rather spicey….I love that though…..but in thinking of making it for guests….I thought maybe more scallions and maybe water chestnuts?
5 out 5 on the yummy score.
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try this.
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I have been chasing the taste I had when I first ate Kung Pao in an authentic (??) fine Chinese restaurant in Chicago decades ago. (I think the name was Abacus; not sure it still exists.) I loved the numbing hot taste that brought tears to my eyes (of joy). In reading the prelude to your recipe you mention Sichuan peppercorns as an ingredient, but your recipe only calls for chili peppers. Now, after reading up on the former in Wikipedia, I’m thinking that my first luscious dish contained BOTH Sichuan and chili peppers and the Sichuan are the secret ingredient that sets stage for the latter. Otherwise, your ingredients seem to match exactly what I think of as authentic (ONLY water chestnuts and scallions; NEVER carrots, green peppers, BROCCOLI, ugh). So, I’m wondering why you didn’t include Sichuan peppers in your recipe???
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I just tried this recipe. I did not have any black vinegar around so I used half a lemon instead. It still taste absolutely wonderful. I only wished mine looked as dark at the photo. Maybe the black vinegar. :( And finally, I will have to double the recipe next time since I would love to take some for work the next day. Thanks a whole lot. I loved it.
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Angela - I am glad you love this Kung Pao chicken recipe. It makes my day when someone enjoy and appreciate any of my recipe. Thank you.
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This recipe looks delicious, but I do not have cornstarch right now. I wonder if I can use arrowroot powder or sticky rice flour instead for the thickening?
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Yumamum - I think so, but just use a little bit.
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Hi! I made this recipe and it was really good! I will definitely be making it again. I wrote about it on my website. Thanks for the great recipe!
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Glad you enjoyed the kung pao chicken :)
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What’s a westerner? If I live in Hawaii, anyone West of me is a Westerner?
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Why not? The world is round, plus I think it would be a nice ice breaker :P
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i made this tonight. It was delicious! I added fried tofu into the dish.
i’ll put a lot less chili next time, because it was crazy hot!!!! maybe it was the chili i used….but definitely try little by little if you are unsure!
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I tried this dish last week and it was absolutely fantastic! Thank you for the recipe.
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I’ve grown three large kung pao pepper plants, and they each have about 20-30 peppers on them, still green. This looks like the best Kung Pao recipe on the web. I’d like to reproduce the Kung Pao taste I love in San Francisco restaurants. Yum! I can hardly wait for my peppers to ripen. (P.S. Can I use green Kung Pao peppers if I can’t wait?)
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I like to eat cheese.
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Thank you for this recipe. I have bookmarked it and will make it soon. We had great success growing kung pao peppers and have dried a great number of them. This is the first recipe on line that actually called for the use of the peppers. Thank you!
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