Kung Pao Chicken
Diced chicken stir-fried with dried chillies, Sichuan peppercorn and peanuts in a sweet-savoury-sour sauce — a fast, balanced Sichuan classic with real depth.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Serves
- 3 to 4
- Level
- Medium
By Maya Chen
Method
- 01
Toss the diced chicken with the Shaoxing wine, light soy and 1 tbsp cornstarch. Let it sit for 15 minutes — this velveting step keeps the chicken tender over high heat.
- 02
Mix the sauce in a small bowl: black vinegar, dark soy, sugar and the cornstarch-water slurry. Stir until the sugar dissolves and set aside.
- 03
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wok over high heat. Add the chicken in a single layer and let it sear before tossing, cooking until just done and lightly golden. Remove and set aside.
- 04
Lower the heat to medium and add the remaining oil. Add the dried chillies and Sichuan peppercorns and fry gently for 30 seconds until fragrant — do not let them blacken or they turn bitter.
- 05
Add the garlic, ginger and the white spring onion pieces and stir for 30 seconds until aromatic.
- 06
Return the chicken to the wok and toss to combine with the aromatics.
- 07
Give the sauce a final stir and pour it in. Toss constantly for about a minute until it thickens and coats everything in a glossy sheen.
- 08
Stir through the peanuts and the green spring onion tops. Serve immediately with steamed rice.
Kung pao chicken is a Sichuan classic that has travelled the world, often in a sweeter, gloopier form than the original. The home version restores the balance: tender diced chicken, the warm aroma of dried chillies and Sichuan peppercorn, the crunch of peanuts, and a sauce that hits sweet, savoury and sour all at once. It is a fast stir-fry, but one with real layers.
Two techniques make it sing. The first is velveting — tossing the chicken with cornstarch, soy and Shaoxing wine before cooking so it stays silky and juicy over the fierce heat of the wok. The second is the careful frying of the aromatics, especially the dried chillies and peppercorns, which release their fragrance in oil but turn acrid if they scorch.
Prep everything first
Like all stir-fries, this one moves quickly once the wok is hot, so mise en place is non-negotiable. Have the chicken marinated, the sauce mixed in its bowl, and the aromatics chopped and within reach before you light the burner. From there the cooking takes well under ten minutes.
Balancing the sauce
The signature flavour is the interplay of black rice vinegar, sugar and soy. Black Chinkiang vinegar is worth seeking out for its malty depth; it is what gives the sauce its rounded, slightly fruity tang. Taste as you go and adjust the sweet-sour balance to your liking before the final toss.
