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Kung Pao Chicken

You can find this dish at almost any Chinese restaurant, but it is easy to make at home—and usually better, too. Some people deep-fry the chicken first, but stir-frying is much quicker and less complicated, and the results are still great. Serve with plain rice.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1

/2 teaspoon cornstarch

1

tablespoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry

1

1/2 to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

3

tablespoons corn, grapeseed, or other neutral oil

5

small dried chiles

2

garlic cloves, minced

One 1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1

teaspoon sugar

3

tablespoons soy sauce

1

teaspoon dark sesame oil

1

scallion, trimmed and chopped

1

/2 cup roasted peanuts, chopped, for garnish

Need to make a substitution?

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Whisk the cornstarch into the wine until it dissolves, then coat the chicken pieces with the mixture. Marinate while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

    Step 2

    Heat the oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chiles and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly blackened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 10 seconds, then stir in the chicken. Cook the chicken, stirring constantly, until it loses its pinkness, about 5 minutes.

    Step 3

    Turn the heat to low, then sprinkle the sugar over the chicken; stir in the soy sauce and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, then stir in the sesame oil and scallion. Garnish with peanuts and serve.

  2. Kung Pao Shrimp

    Step 4

    Substitute 2 pounds peeled shrimp for the chicken. Cooking time will be about the same.

  3. Thai Spicy Chicken

    Step 5

    Omit the wine and cornstarch. Substitute nam pla (Thai fish sauce) for the soy sauce and chopped fresh cilantro leaves for the peanuts.

The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved. MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.
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