Chicken Kung Pao
A home-style recipe for Chicken Kung Pao. Serves 4, ready in about 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 500 g boneless chicken, in 2 cm cubes
- For the coating: 2 tbsp cornflour, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, 1 tsp soy sauce
- 4 tbsp oil
- 6–8 dried red chillies, broken in half
- 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1 capsicum (shimla mirch), in 2 cm squares
- For the sauce: 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp cornflour, 4 tbsp water
- ½ cup (75 g) roasted peanuts
Missing something?
- No chicken? Use mutton or beef (cook longer), or soya chunks.
- No peanuts? Use cashews or almonds, or skip.
- No capsicum? Use extra cabbage or onion.
- No soy sauce? Use a little vinegar with pepper and extra salt (taste will differ).
- No cornflour? Use rice flour or plain flour (slightly less crisp).
Method
- Mix the chicken with the coating ingredients. Mix the sauce ingredients in a cup.
- Heat 3 tbsp oil in a wok on high heat and stir-fry the chicken for 6–7 minutes, until golden and cooked. Lift it out.
- Add the remaining 1 tbsp oil and the dried chillies and stir for 20–30 seconds, until they darken. Add the ginger-garlic paste for 30 seconds.
- Add the capsicum and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
- Stir the sauce and pour it in. Stir until it thickens and turns glossy, about 1 minute.
- Add the chicken and peanuts and toss for 1 minute. Serve with plain rice.
Tip: Don't let the dried chillies turn black; they go bitter.