Kung pao chicken

Name: Kung pao chicken
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 28 min
Yield: 3 servings
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 450 g chicken thighs, boneless and skinless, cut into 1.5 cm cubes; 4 tsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp for the marinade, 1 tbsp for the sauce; 1 tsp dark soy sauce; 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine, 1 tsp for the marinade, 2 tsp for the sauce; 1 tbsp cornstarch, 2 tsp for the marinade, 1 tsp for the sauce; 1 pinch salt; 1 tbsp sugar; 1 tbsp Chinese black vinegar, or rice vinegar; 1 tsp sesame oil; 3 tbsp water; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 8 dried red chilies, snipped into 2 cm pieces, most seeds shaken out; 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns; 3 clove garlic, thinly sliced; 15 g fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced; 4 spring onions, white and pale green parts, cut into 2 cm lengths; 60 g roasted unsalted peanuts

28 min
Prep 20 min
Cook 8 min
Serves 3
medium

Start cooking

Diced chicken stir-fried with dried chilies, Sichuan pepper and peanuts in a glossy sauce that is sweet, sour and gently numbing.

Method

1
Toss the chicken with 1 tsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp wine, 2 tsp cornstarch and the salt, and leave it while you prepare everything else.
2
In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, vinegar, remaining light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, remaining wine and cornstarch, sesame oil and water.
3
Set the chilies, peppercorns, garlic, ginger, spring onions and peanuts next to the stove. The cooking moves quickly.
4
Heat the wok over high heat, add the oil, then turn the heat to medium and add the chilies and peppercorns. Stir until the chilies darken but do not blacken.
5
Turn the heat to high, add the chicken and spread it out. Stir-fry until it is pale all over and cooked through.
6
Add the garlic, ginger and spring onions and stir-fry until fragrant.
7
Stir the sauce, pour it in and toss until it thickens into a glossy coating.
8
Stir in the peanuts and serve straight away with steamed rice.

Notes

If the chilies turn black, start again with fresh oil. Burnt chilies make the whole dish bitter.
The chilies and peppercorns are for flavour. Most people eat around the chilies.

Equipment

Wok, Mixing bowl, Small bowl

Cook this step by step