Kung Pao Chicken
Tags: bell peppers, chicken, peanuts, rice
A Little Personal History:
When I go out for Asian or Chinese, my “go to” dish is Kung Pao Chicken. So it only made sense to come up with my own home cooked version. After a lot of trial and error, here’s the end result.
Description:
“Kung Pao Chicken (Chinese: 宫保鸡丁), also transcribed as Gong Bao or Kung Po, is a spicy stir-fry dish made with chicken, peanuts, vegetables, and chili peppers.” Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung_Pao_chicken
Prep Time | 10 minutes |
Cook Time | 15 minutes |
Passive Time | 30 minutes |
Servings |
people
|
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoon cornstarch
Kung Pao Sauce
- 2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoon cornstarch
Chicken and Vegetables
- 1 pound chicken breasts cut into cube size pieces
- 2 tablespoon peanut oil or vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes adjust to taste
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger or 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1/2 green bell pepper chopped
- 1/2 red bell pepper chopped
- 1/4 cup roasted peanuts
Topping
- 4 green onions chopped
Side Dish
- 4 cups white rice steamed
Ingredients
Marinade
Kung Pao Sauce
Chicken and Vegetables
Topping
Side Dish
|
Instructions
Marinade
- In a medium bowl, using chopsticks, whisk or wooden spoon, stir in the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, sesame oil, and cornstarch until the cornstarch is dissolved.
- Add the cubed chicken and toss to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Kung Pao Sauce
- In a small bowl, combine the balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, and cornstarch. Stir until the cornstarch is dissolved. Set aside.
Stir-Fry Chicken and Vegetables
- If not already done, steam rice as you would normally.
- In a wok or large skillet, over medium-high heat, add peanut or vegetable oil. Stir in red pepper flakes. Add chopped red and green bell peppers. Cook for 3 - 4 minutes until bell peppers are slightly softened. Add minced garlic, grated ginger and continue stirring for another 1 minute.
- Transfer marinated cubed chicken to wok or skillet and stir the chicken and veggies for 4 or 5 minutes or until chicken pieces are no longer pink.
- Fold in Kung Pao sauce till chicken and veggies are thoroughly coated. Stir in roasted peanuts and cook for another 1 - 2 minutes.
- Transfer Kung Pao Chicken and veggies to a serving plate, sprinkle chopped green onions on top. Serve over steamed white rice.
Recipe Notes
Advanced Preparation:
- Kung Pao Chicken leftovers are great too! Just re-heat in the microwave. As such, everything can be done in advance and refrigerated till ready to re-heat.
Tips, Notes, and Variations:
- While you can use boiled rice, steamed rice is the way to go for all things oriental. Just one of many reasons I love my 7 in 1 Instant Pot cooker for perfectly steamed rice every time 🙂
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