Kung Pao Chicken

Takeout style spicy Kung Pao Chicken

For the most part, I prefer vegetarian food. But when you crave some spicy Chinese takeout, you can’t help but make some Kung Pao Chicke !

You will need:

1 lb of chicken tenders/ chicken breast/ thighs – boneless

1/2 tsp of onion powder

black pepper

1 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 egg white

2 tbsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

2-4 tbsp sriracha sauce

6-8 dried red dried chilies

1 tbsp of Sichuan peppercorns finely crushed

1 tsp finely crushed/ minced ginger

1 tsp finely crushed/ minced garlic.

2 tbsp brown sugar

chopped green onions – 1/2 cup

1/3 cup of roasted peanuts

oil for stir frying – i used sesame oil

Procedure:

Cut 1 lb of chicken tenders into small cubes – 1/2 inch and marinate it with 1/2 tsp of onion powder, some salt, pepper and soy sauce and rest for 10-15 minutes

Add 1/2-1 egg white and a tbsp of cornstarch to the chicken and mix it well with hands till the egg and cornstarch coats the chicken pieces well. Let marinate for another 10 minutes.
Take some sesame oil in a wok and shallow fry the chicken until golden on the outside and cooked through.
Remove the cooked chicken from the wok and add more oil to it and heat.

To the hot oil, add 4 tbsp of sriracha sauce, 1 tbsp of Sichuan peppercorns – crushed finely, 1 tbsp of ginger garlic paste garlic, 5-6 dried red chillies cut into 2-3 pieces each and sauté for a few seconds
Next add 1-2 tbsp of soy sauce and 2 tsp of brown sugar, sauté till homogenous and then add in the cooked chicken pieces – stir well till sauce coats the chicken evenly

Mix 1 tsp of cornstarch with about 1/2 cup of water and add it to the hot chicken. You can add more if this if you prefer the dish to be less dry
Once the corn starch cooks and the chicken looks glossy again, add 1/3 cup of toasted peanuts and mix
Turn off the heat and add some chopped green onions.