I have grown up eating Kung Pao Chicken at the local Chinese restaurant, and it was a favorite for my family. We would enjoy it with some egg fried rice. It’s a quick dish to put together with so much flavor and crunch from peanuts. There are many styles out there to prepare this dish but the main ingredients that are in all of them are chicken, peanuts, vegetables, and chilli peppers.  I have many preparations for this dish and this is one of them!

Time: 

• Prep time – 15 minutes
• Cook time – 25 minutes

Ingredients: 

• To roast the peanuts:
  • Raw Peanuts (Without Skin) – 1/4 cup 
  • Oil – 1 tbsp
• To marinate the chicken:
  • Chicken Thighs (Boneless and cut into small chunks) – 500 g
  • Olive Oil – 1 tsp
  • Shaoxing wine (substitute with dry sherry) – 1 tsp
  • Cornstarch – 1 tsp
  • Salt – 1/8 tsp
  •  White Pepper (Ground) – a pinch
• To prepare the sauce:
  • Water – 3 tbsp
  • Low sodium soy sauce – 1 tbsp
  • Thick Dark Soy Sauce – 1/2 tsp
  • Rice Vinegar – 1 tbsp
  • Sugar – 1 tsp
  • Cornstarch – 1 tsp
• Remaining ingredients:
  • Oil – 3 tbsp
  • Minced Garlic – 1.5 tsp
  • Minced Ginger – 1.5 tsp
  • Sichuan Peppercorns – 1/2 tsp (Optional)
  • Dried Red Chilli (Slit and deseeded) – 1
  • Scallions (Chopped) – 2 stalks

Method: 

1. Marinate the chicken in the ingredients mentioned above and set aside for 20 minutes
2. Heat a wok and roast the peanuts with the oil on medium heat. Keep mixing so that the peanuts don’t burn. After 2 minutes, set aside to let it cool
3. Mix all the sauce ingredients and set aside
4. In a wok, add 2 tbsp of oil (from remaining ingredients) and heat over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 12 minutes, mixing every few seconds. Once done, scoop the chicken out and set aside
5. Add the last tbsp of oil to the wok and turn the heat to medium-low. Add the garlic, ginger, dried red chilli, and Sichuan peppercorns. Cook for a minute or two until fragrant.
6. Add the chicken and scallions to the wok and stir-fry over medium-high heat for 2 minutes
7. Add the prepared sauce (give it a mix before adding). The sauce should thicken very quickly
8. Lastly, add the peanuts. Give it a final mix and serve warm with fried rice