Kung Pao Chicken

May 17, 2012

Author: KatieChin

Put the WOW in Kung Pao with this super simple recipe. You can make everyone’s favorite stir-fry dish and have dinner on the table in minutes with this method. I used red bell pepper in this recipe but it’s fun to use a variety of bell pepper colors. Feel free to turn the heat level up a notch and double or triple the amount of crushed red pepper flakes. You can easily substitute the chicken with beef, pork or shrimp.

Ingredients

stir-fry sauce

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoons dry cooking sherry

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar or white vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon white pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small red pepper, diced

2 finely chopped green onions plus more for garnish

1 cup dry roasted peanuts, plus more for garnish

Instructions

Combine stir-fry sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
Toss chicken with cornstarch, salt and white pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Heat a wok or large frying pan until hot over medium-high heat. Add garlic and stir-fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add reserved chicken and and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the red bell pepper and stir-fry 2 minutes. Add the stir-fry sauce and cook for 1 minute, tossing to coat. Add the peanuts and green onion and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Garnish with more green onions and peanuts and serve immediately with hot, steaming jasmine rice.