Kung Pao Chicken

Where This Goes Wrong

Prep everything into bowls before you light the hob. Stir-frying is 90% preparation and 10% cooking.

Deseed the dried chillies unless you want serious heat; the seeds carry most of it.

Add the peanuts off the heat so they stay crunchy rather than going soft in the sauce.

Cooking Kung Pao Chicken

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1. Toss the chicken with the Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, cornflour and egg white until slick and coated. Cover and leave in the fridge for 20 minutes.

   Mark done Start 20 min timer

2. Whisk all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set it within reach of the hob. Once you start cooking there is no time to measure.

   Mark done

3. Heat a wok over the highest heat until it smokes, then add 2 tablespoons of the oil and swirl.

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4. Add the chicken in a single layer and leave it undisturbed for 60 seconds to sear, then stir-fry 2 minutes more until just cooked. Remove to a plate.

   Mark done Start 60 sec timer

5. Lower the heat to medium and add the remaining oil, the dried chillies and Sichuan peppercorns. Fry for 30 to 45 seconds until the chillies darken a shade and the oil smells intensely fragrant — burnt chillies will ruin the dish.

   Mark done Start 30 sec timer

6. Raise the heat again, add the garlic, ginger and the white parts of the spring onion and stir-fry 30 seconds.

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7. Return the chicken, give the sauce a stir and pour it around the edge of the wok. Toss constantly for 45 seconds until it thickens and coats every piece.

   Mark done Start 45 sec timer

8. Off the heat, fold in the peanuts and the green spring onion. Serve immediately with steamed rice.

   Mark done

Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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Why It Works

Velveting — coating the chicken in cornflour, egg white and rice wine — forms a protective film that keeps the meat juicy in a screaming-hot wok. The sauce is pre-mixed because stir-frying gives you no time to measure; it goes in at the last moment and thickens on contact with the hot pan.

Storage and Reheating

Refrigerate 3 days. Reheat in a hot wok for 2 minutes; the microwave makes the chicken rubbery and the peanuts soggy.

If You're Missing Something

• Out of spring onions? A small regular onion, finely sliced, or a few chives stirred in at the end both cover the job.
• Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the chillies. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.
• If you only have ground ginger, a quarter-teaspoon for each tablespoon of fresh is the ratio usually given; it tastes warmer and less bright than the fresh root.

What to Serve Alongside

• A cold lager or an off-dry Riesling
• Serve with plain steamed rice and stir-fried greens
• Finish with chilled lychees

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Vegan Fried Rice.

Common Questions About Kung Pao Chicken

Nutrition per Serving

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.

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