Scrambled Eggs, Cheese, and Avocado Tortilla Bowl Recipe
September 16, 2025
Kung Pao Chicken
Take out model Kung Pao Chicken with marinated chicken, the signature sweet-sour-salty Kung Pao sauce with the addictive tingling warmth from sichuan pepper.
It’s an explosion of massive, BIG flavours – and it’s a extremely fast and straightforward recipe.
Kung Pao Chicken
Kung Pao Chicken is a Chinese language takeout favorite that’s mouthwateringly good and extremely addictive – so it’s an excellent factor it’s simple to make at residence so we don’t must order takeout each time we crave it!! We love the sturdy flavoured sweet-sour-savoury sauce with the signature tingle of numbing warmth from the Sichuan pepper!
In case you’re questioning whether or not Kung Pao Chicken is genuine Chinese language, the dish as we all know it outdoors of China is a barely westernised model of an genuine Chinese language Sichuan dish.
Historically in China, Kung Pao Chicken is a dry stir fry. Which implies, in contrast to 99% of different Asian stir fries on my web site like Chop Suey and Cashew Chicken, it’s not swimming in a great deal of sauce.
However with Kung Pao Chicken, the sauce may be very intense flavoured so that you don’t want a great deal of it. When it mixes in with the rice, only a little bit of sauce goes a great distance.
What goes in Kung Pao Chicken
Most of those components are fairly mainstream Asian cooking components. I’ve supplied substitutes for the Chinese language cooking wine within the recipe.
The components I describe in a bit extra element beneath are:
-
Sichuan pepper
-
Chinese language vinegar
-
Dried chillies
I like to make use of chicken thigh as a result of it’s juicier than breast and tenderloin. If I make this with chicken breast, I at all times tenderise it utilizing a Chinese language restaurant method utilizing baking soda (bi-carb). It’s tremendous easy, see instructions right here: The best way to Velvet Chicken.
Sichuan Pepper
That is the ingredient in Kung Pao sauce that makes it Kung Pao and never simply any kind of stir fry sauce. I describe it as a bit bit lemony with a numbing spiciness, quite than sizzling spiciness like nearly each different chilli.
I used to make use of complete peppercorns however these days I are inclined to use pre floor each for the comfort and in addition as a result of it’s finely floor. In distinction, if you happen to grind your personal, there tends to be little gritty bits in it – albeit the flavour is a bit higher.
Finest substitute for Sichuan pepper is white pepper.
Dried Chillies
Not all dried chillies are created equal and actually, the identical kind of chillies can fluctuate in spiciness all year long. So for dried chillies, at all times style them and make a judgement name on how a lot you may deal with! A lot of the warmth is within the seeds that are eliminated.
In case you actually don’t assume you may deal with any chilli in any respect, use them when cooking however don’t eat them. The chillies add flavour to to sauce so don’t skip them.
What does Kung Pao Sauce style like?
Kung Pao sauce has a robust flavour that’s candy, bitter, savoury and with the signature tingle of warmth from Sichuan pepper. It’s shiny and thickened with cornstarch / cornflour, and since it has such a robust flavour, this stir fry has much less sauce than different Chinese language favourites like Cashew Chicken and Beef and Broccoli.
Right here’s what goes in Kung Pao Sauce:
-
Sichuan Pepper – described above
-
Chinese language Black Vinegar – described beneath
-
Cornstarch / cornflour – to thicken the sauce
-
– subs out there
-
Soy sauce, sugar and water
Chinese language Black Vinegar
Appears to be like like balsamic vinegar and, surprisingly, tastes vaguely prefer it. Obtainable in Asian shops and prices solely a few {dollars} for an enormous bottle. Make certain to not get Taiwanese or one other Asian black vinegar (some style utterly totally different), ensure you get Chinese language black vinegar (learn the label!).
In case you can’t discover it, don’t fear, you should use rice wine vinegar, plain white vinegar and even balsamic vinegar. I’ve made Kung Pao Sauce so many instances and tried it with every of those, and it’s truly fairly comparable.
Fast to prepare dinner
As with most stir fries, when you begin cooking, issues transfer shortly! It takes about 6 minutes to prepare dinner. So ensure you have all components ready and able to toss in.
Key Tip: Prepare dinner the Kung Pao sauce down till it reduces to a syrupy consistency with fairly an intense flavour. That’s the Kung Pao manner!!
Extra Chinese language takeout favourites
-
Chow Mein
-
Normal Tso’s Chicken
-
Candy and Bitter Pork
-
Crispy Honey Chicken
-
Cashew Chicken
-
Beef & Broccoli
-
Chop Suey (Chicken Stir Fry)
-
Spring Rolls
-
Chinese language BBQ Pork (Char Siu)
-
See all Chinese language recipes
