Kung pao chicken
Tender chicken thigh stir-fried with toasted dried chiles, garlic, scallions and crunchy peanuts in a glossy sweet, sour and savory sauce.
- Prep
- 7 min
- Cook
- 8 min
- Serves
- 2
- Per serve
- 870 kcal
Ingredients
Method
Toss the chicken with 1 tbsp soy sauce and 2 tsp cornstarch. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining soy sauce, black vinegar, Shaoxing wine, sugar, 1 tsp cornstarch and water. Prep the chiles, garlic, ginger and scallions and keep them by the stove.
Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Add the dried chiles and Sichuan peppercorns, if using, and stir until the chiles darken slightly and smell toasty. Don't let them turn black.
Turn the heat to high, add the chicken in a single layer and let it sear for a minute, then stir-fry until golden and cooked through with no pink inside. Meanwhile, heat the rice in the microwave according to the package.
Add the garlic, ginger and scallions and stir-fry for 30 seconds until fragrant.
Stir the sauce, pour it in and toss until it bubbles and turns glossy and thick, about 1 minute.
Take off the heat, toss through the peanuts and serve right away over the rice.
Tips
- The dried chiles are there for aroma, not for eating, though you can if you like the heat.
- Add the peanuts at the very end so they stay crunchy.
- For gluten-free, use tamari instead of soy sauce, dry sherry instead of Shaoxing wine and rice vinegar instead of black vinegar.
