Kung Pao Chicken, Homestyle

Kung Pao Chicken is a famous traditional dish in China, and it is served all over China. This dish originated from Shandong cuisine (also known as Lu Cuisine) and is related to Sichuan cuisine. It was later improved by an official of the Qing Dynasty and formed a new dish called Gongbao Chicken. Kung Pao Chicken is classified as a Beijing court dish. It is an easy to prepare healthy dish served in many Chinese homes, and today we will cook this Kung Pao Chicken, Homestyle recipe together.

Shandong cuisine is one of the eight culinary traditions of China, and one of the four great traditions. Modern cuisines in northern China are derivatives of Shandong cuisine. Meals in most northern Chinese home kitchens use Shandong techniques. Sichuan cuisine is the most popular cuisine in China, and Kung Pao Chicken is one of the most popular Sichuan recipes.

This Kung Pao chicken, homestyle recipe uses carrot and cucumber. This adds healthy garden vegetables to the dish, and extends the protein when feeding a family. We have a professional restaurant version also, and that version focuses on just the proteins, using an oil blanching (or dry blanching) technique to keep the meat tender. Both versions are tasty, but have different textures. Please try both, and let us know what you think.

Kung Pao Chicken, Family Style

静

Kung Pao Chicken is a famous traditional dish in China, and it is served all over China. This dish originated from Shandong cuisine and was improved as Sichuan cuisine. It is an easy to prepare, healthy dish served in many Chinese homes, and today, we will cook the family version of Kung Pao Chicken together. 

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Chinese Home Cooking, Sichuan cuisine

Servings 4 servings

Calories 214 kcal

Equipment

• 1 wok
• 1 sharp kitchen knife
• 1 bowl for marinating chicken

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 chicken breast
• 1 cucumber, large
• 1 carrot, large
• ⅓ cup peanuts
• 5 xiao mi la (millet) chili peppers substitute chile de arbol
• 2 scallions (white part)
• 7 slices fresh ginger
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon Caiziyou (roasted rapeseed oil) substitute peanut oil

Sauce:

• 1 tbsp Baoning vinegar (substitute white vinegar)
• 2 tbsps light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 tsp corn starch

Seasonings:

• 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns
• salt optional, to taste

Marinade:

• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine substitute white cooking wine
• ground black pepper to taste
• ½ tsp corn starch

Instructions

 

Prepare the ingredients:

• Dice the chicken breast (cubes about 1 cm or 3/8 inch), add a small amount of cooking wine, light soy sauce, starch, and black pepper.
  1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine, ½ tsp corn starch, ground black pepper
  
• Stir well and marinate for 20 minutes.
  
• Crush the garlic cloves.
  
• Cut the green onions into sections and slice the ginger. Dice the cucumber and carrot. 
  
• Prepare the sauce: Mix together one tablespoon of cooking wine, one tablespoon of vinegar, two tablespoons of light soy sauce, then stir in a small amount of pepper and potato starch. Finally, stir in a small amount of water and set aside.
  1 tbsp Baoning vinegar, 2 tbsps light soy sauce, 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine, 1 tsp corn starch, ground black pepper
  

Cooking:

• Season the oil: Add oil to the wok and heat the oil over a low flame. Add Sichuan peppercorns and stir fry until you smell the aroma of Sichuan pepper, and remove. The oil remains in the wok. 
  1 tablespoon Caiziyou (roasted rapeseed oil), 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns
• Put the green onion, ginger, garlic, and dried chili in the wok. Stir them until they are fragrant. 
  5 xiao mi la (millet) chili peppers, 2 scallions (white part), 5 cloves garlic, 7 slices fresh ginger
  
• Add the marinated chicken and stir-fry until the chicken changes color. 
  1 chicken breast
  
• Next, add the carrots and cucumbers and stir-fry until the chicken is fully cooked. 
  1 cucumber, large, 1 carrot, large
  
• Add peanuts and stir-fry slightly. 
  ⅓ cup peanuts
  
• Finally, add the sauce we prepared earlier, and a pinch of salt. Since starch was added to the sauce, we will slowly boil it over a low heat until the sauce thickens. 
  
• Transfer the cooked Kung Pao to a bowl. ✅ 
  salt

Video

Notes

If you want to make peanuts more crispy and delicious, you can do a simple deep-frying of the peanuts in advance.

Cucumbers and carrots do not need to be cut very small. 

Do not add too much water when making the sauce. 

Dice and marinate the chicken first. Then prepare the other ingredients while the chicken is marinating. 

Nutrition

Calories: 214kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 18gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.02gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 837mgPotassium: 539mgFiber: 3gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 2844IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 47mgIron: 1mg

Keyword carrots, chicken breast, cooking wine, corn starch, cucumber, fried peanuts, frying, stir-fry, garlic, ginger, oil, roasted rapeseed (caiziyou), pepper, black, scallions, Sichuan peppercorn, soy sauce, light, vinegar, xiao mi la chili peppers

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Do you enjoy My Chinese Home Kitchen?

We enjoy sharing these authentic home recipes with you. To learn more about My Chinese Home Kitchen, please visit our About page.

Please leave a comment, or SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter.

For more of our original videos, visit My Chinese Home Kitchen on YouTube and Rumble.