Description
Easy kung pao chicken brings together tender chicken, roasted peanuts, and a tangy-spicy sauce that you toss together in one pan for a weeknight dinner that tastes like takeout. Bell peppers and green onions add crunch while the sauce coats everything in that savory-sweet flavor you crave without needing a wok or complicated techniques.
Ingredients
Scale
Protein:
- 1 pound boneless chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
Marinade and Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar
- 2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes
Main Ingredients and Garnish:
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 10 dried red chilies
- 2 fresh chili peppers, chopped
- 4 scallions, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup roasted peanuts
- 1/2 cup extra roasted peanuts
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1 teaspoon spicy chili flakes
Instructions
- Combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, and 2 teaspoons cornstarch in a bowl, then toss your 1 pound of bite-sized chicken pieces in this mixture and let them sit while you prep everything else.
- Whisk together 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar, 2 teaspoons hoisin sauce, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon honey, 1/2 teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorns, and 1 teaspoon chili flakes in a separate bowl and set this aside.
- Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in your wok or large pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then add 10 dried red chilies and 2-3 chopped fresh chili peppers.
- Let those chilies toast for about 1 minute until the kitchen smells fragrant and toasty.
- Add your marinated chicken to the pan and cook for 3 minutes at medium-high heat, stirring often so each piece cooks evenly.
- Once the chicken is nearly cooked through, stir in 4 chopped scallions and 3 minced garlic cloves and keep cooking for 1 minute more until the garlic becomes aromatic.
- Pour your prepared sauce over everything and add 1/2 cup roasted peanuts, then stir and cook for 2 minutes at medium-high heat until the sauce coats all the pieces and thickens slightly.
- Transfer to your serving dish and top with extra roasted peanuts, more chopped scallions, and a sprinkle of chili flakes before serving over rice or noodles.
Notes
- The cornstarch in your marinade helps create a light coating that keeps the chicken tender and gives it a subtle texture when it hits the hot pan.
- Toasting your dried chilies for that first minute releases their natural oils and deepens the flavor, so don’t skip this step even though it seems quick.
- Cook your chicken just until it’s nearly done before adding the sauce, since it continues cooking as everything simmers together and you don’t want it to dry out.
- If heat isn’t your thing, reduce the chili flakes and fresh peppers to suit your taste, or remove the seeds from the peppers for milder spice while keeping the flavor intact.
- For a gluten-free version, swap the soy sauces for tamari and make sure your hoisin sauce is certified gluten-free.
- Serve this over jasmine rice or with simple noodles to soak up the extra sauce, since that’s where a lot of the good flavor lives.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Category: Stir-Fried Chicken
- Method: Stir-Frying
- Cuisine: Chinese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 800 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 12 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 28 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg