My sister-in-law, Laura, made Kung Pao Chicken for my father-in-law’s birthday dinner. She pointed me to an AllRecipes.com Kung Pao Chicken recipe and from there I created my own rendition of Kung Pao Chicken – and it is delicious!
Served with your favourite rice, this recipe makes enough for 4 to 6 people, depending on the portion sizes and the side dishes that accompany it.
Ingredients for Easy Kung Pao Chicken
- 3 chicken breasts (skinless, boneless), cut into bite size, or a bit larger, chunks (pork works too)
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 to 6 garlic cloves, crushed (how much do you love garlic?)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch, dissolved in 3 tablespoons of chicken stock or water
- 1 to 3 tablespoons Nando’s hot sauce
- about 1 cups chicken stock or water
- 6 green onions, sliced
- 1 (8 ounce) can of water chestnuts, sliced
- 1 cup peanuts, salted or unsalted (not chopped)
How to prepare Kung Pao Chicken:
- Cut chicken (or pork) into chunks.
- Mix white wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, brown sugar and corn starch together in a dish suitable for marinading chicken.
- Add chicken to marinade and mix to ensure chicken is covered in marinade. Set aside in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or, better yet, 3 to 4 hours. Stir a few times while marinading to ensure meat is well coated.
- Remove chicken from marinade and saute in a large fying pan until meat is just about done, but not over done. Reserve marinade for sauce.
- In a separate frying pan, while chicken cooks in another pan, mix together chile paste, brown sugar and chicken stock (or water). Then, add in reserved marinade, green onions, water chestnuts and peanuts. Heat sauce through until it thickens to the right consistency – slightly thick but not too thick – like gravy.
- When sauce is ready, add it to the pan with the chicken and allow it to simmer on low until chicken is cooked and tender.
- Serve over rice with veggies on the side.
Serves 4+