About Kung Pao Chicken
The Kung Pao Chicken recipe originated in the Sichuan province of China, well-known for its hot peppers. It is also known as Chicken Gong Bao. It is a sweet and spicy chicken dish widely popular in restaurants and takeout joints worldwide. Kung Pao is the best thing that can happen on a Friday night. Or for, say, on any night when you are planning a fun family dinner. After testing many Kung Pao recipes, I conclude that you cannot simultaneously think of healthy and takeaway-style chicken. It is the kind of dish that requires a bit of frying and involves cornstarch. Without these two, I doubt there can be any good Kung Pao. Hence, I am sharing a truly restaurant-style Chicken Kung Pao recipe that is delicious and easy to follow at home.
Is this an authentic recipe?
The authentic Gong Bao recipe requires Sichuan peppers and other local ingredients. I have tweaked the authentic recipe to make it more practical or workable for everybody.
Is this a tried and tested tasty recipe?
This might not be an authentic Chinese family recipe, but it is guaranteed delicious. Follow the recipe measurements and instructions to the tee, and you will always end up with a finger-licking good Chicken Kung Pao.
Can I make vegetarian kung pao?
Yes, absolutely. Use paneer (cottage cheese), tofu, cauliflower, broccoli, or mushroom instead of chicken. Keep the sauce and other ingredients the same. You will end up with a delicious bowl of vegetarian or vegan kung pao.
My Tried & True Tips
Start with the sauce mixture. If you like it fierce, add more chilli sauce or if you prefer it a little sweeter, be generous with the brown sugar. Use bite-size pieces of chicken. This helps in the quick cooking and frying of the chicken pieces. The large pieces of chicken usually take a longer time to get cooked. Can I skip cornstarch? Cornstarch makes the sauce gooey and finger-licking good. You can use potato starch or rice flour to thicken the sauce. If you do not care about the consistency of the sauce, then go ahead and skip adding starch. Is frying chicken necessary? Yes absolutely. Those crispy bits of chicken dunked in sweet and spicy sauce is the soul of this chicken recipe. To save a few calories, you can air-fry the marinated chicken till crisp.
Watch Kung Pao Video
Serving Suggestion
Kung Pao Chicken is an Asian-style main course dish. Serve it with – Chilli Garlic Noodles, Pineapple Fried Rice, plain white rice, or fried rice of your choice. A few side dishes that taste great with chicken kung pao are – smashed cucumber salad, and stir-fried broccoli.
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