Kung Pao Chicken

This Homemade Kung pao Chicken is so tasty and perfect for dinner! This dish is filled with chicken and nuts and is covered in an amazing sauce, topped with green onions and perfectly served over rice.

What is Kung Pao Chicken?

I’ve said it before but, I LOVE Chinese food! It’s my husband’s favorite and the kids love it too. Because of that, we make a lot of Asian recipes in our home. We probably make it more than we make Mexican food, which is sad, since I’m a half Mexican! There are just so many great Asian recipes out there, that it never seems to get old. Some of our favorites are this baked sweet and sour chicken and these egg rolls. A new favorite is today’s recipe for Kung Pao Chicken. But, what is it?

Kung Pao Chicken is a spicy stir-fry Chinese dish made with chicken, peanuts, vegetables, and chili peppers.

We had only ever had Kung Pao Chicken at a restaurant but hadn’t made it at home and was happy we did because this recipe was so delicious. The sauce alone is so tasty and would be great for many chicken recipes. Adding chicken and some nuts for crunch, topped over warm rice or noodles and you have an excellent Chicken dish. If you love some of the other Asian chicken recipes we’ve tried on here on the site, then I think you’ll love this one just as much too.

Yummy cooked chicken.

Toss it in the Kung Pao sauce and it’s irresistible!!

How to make Kung Pao Chicken:

1. Toss chicken in a small bowl with cornstarch, till coated.
2. Add oil to a skillet on medium heat. We liked using the sesame oil (but regular oil would do just fine). Stir fry for about 7-8 minutes or until no longer pink in center. Remove chicken to a paper towel to drain.
3. Add garlic, red pepper and ginger to skillet and stir fry for about 15 seconds. Remove from heat.
4. Combine vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in small bowl, stir well. Add sauce and chicken to skillet. Toss to coat.
5. Stir in nuts. Heat thoroughly. Garnish with green onions. Serve over hot rice.

We can’t wait to make this recipe again because it was so good!!Serve with noodles or rice and you’ll have a new favorite dinner recipe. It does have a bit of spice since that is typical with Kung Pao recipes, but if you want it more mild omit the red pepper flakes. 😉

Complete the meal with these other Lil’ Luna recipes:

• Garlic Sesame Noodles
• Homemade Fortune Cookies
• Fried Egg Rolls

And for even more Asian dinner recipes, check out:

• Edamame Chicken Stir Fry
• Lemon Chicken
• Sweet and Sour Meatballs
• Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken
• Lemon Chicken and Asparagus Stir Fry
• Honey Sesame Chicken
• Mongolian Beef

Print

Kung Pao Chicken

Kung Pao Chicken - The homemade kung pao sauce is SUPER tasty. Add chicken and some nuts for crunch, top over warm rice and you have an excellent Chicken dish!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Chinese

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Author Lil' Luna

Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tsp light sesame oil (or vegetable oil)
• 3 tbsp green onions chopped with tops
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/4 -1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp powdered ginger (or fresh)
• 2 tsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/3 cup dry roasted peanuts
• 4 cups cooked rice, hot

Instructions

1. Toss chicken in a small bowl with cornstarch, till coated.

2. Add oil to a skillet on medium heat. We liked using the sesame oil (but regular oil would do just fine). Stir fry for about 7-8 minutes or until no longer pink in center. Remove chicken to a paper towel to drain.
3. Add garlic, red pepper and ginger to skillet and stir fry for about 15 seconds. Remove from heat.
4. Combine vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in small bowl, stir well. Add sauce and chicken to skillet. Toss to coat.
5. Stir in nuts. Heat thoroughly. Garnish with green onions. Serve over hot rice.

Adapted from Food

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