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Kung pao chicken in a large blue and white oriental serving bowl with a bowl of fried noodles with beansprouts in the background.

Kung Pao Chicken

By: Deborah
Full of flavour with a spicy hit from the chilli, and an additional kick of heat from the Szechuan peppercorns...enjoy!
PREP: 15 minutes
COOK: 30 minutes
TOTAL: 45 minutes
Course: Main
Cuisine: Chinese
Servings: 4 people
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Equipment

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • a handful of cashews (approx. 35g)
  • 500 g (1.1 lb) skinless chicken thigh fillets cut into bite-sized pieces
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 stick celery sliced
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • 2 peppers (any colours) deseeded and chopped into chunks
  • 3 cloves garlic sliced
  • a thumb sized piece of ginger (approx. 25g) finely chopped
  • 1 tsp Szechuan peppercorns crushed
  • 4 spring onions cut into 4cm pieces
  • 2 tsp cornflour
  • 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 200 ml (⅞ cup) water
  • 1 tsp caster sugar

To serve (optional):

Instructions

  • Heat the oil in a large wok over a medium heat and cook the cashews, stirring, for a about 1 minute until brown, then use a slotted spoon to scoop them out onto a plate and set aside.
  • Season the chicken, turn the heat up to high and cook for 5 to 7 minutes until well browned. Scoop out onto a plate and set aside. Cook the celery, chilli flakes and peppers for 5 minutes or until softening and browning at the edges. Add the garlic, ginger, crushed peppercorns and spring onions, and cook for 1 minute.
  • Mix together the cornflour, Shaoxing rice wine and soy sauce to form a paste, then gradually add 200ml of water while stirring, followed by the sugar. Tip into the wok along with the chicken and cashews, and simmer for 10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and everything is well coated. Serve with rice and some prawn crackers, if you like.

Notes

  • The original recipe used 2 fresh red chillis sliced, with extra to serve, instead of using dried chillis which is the traditional Szechuan version. I tried both ways and preferred the version using chilli flakes. 
  • This kung pao chicken recipe is easily adapted if you’re cooking for less or more people.

 

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Nutrition

Calories: 405kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 119mg | Sodium: 643mg | Potassium: 653mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 639IU | Vitamin C: 70mg | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

KEYWORDS kung pao chicken recipe
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