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Homemade kung pao chicken is a tasty dinner recipe with a kick! This dish is covered in an amazing sauce and perfectly served over rice.
Asian dinner recipes are a favorite, including this Kung Pao Chicken and others like Sesame Chicken and Teriyaki Chicken.
We Love Chicken Dinners!
I’ve said it before but, I LOVE Chinese food! Because of that, we make a lot of Asian recipes in our home.
This kung pao chicken is traditionally made with ingredients like Sichuan peppercorns, Chinese black vinegar, Chinese rice wine, and whole dried red chiles. It’s very flavorful and tastes amazing.
Why we love it:
- Quick. It’s ready in only 20 minutes!
- Easy. We also love that this kung pao chicken recipe is simple and takes little time to make.
- Delicious. The flavors of my sauce ingredients come from garlic, red peppers, ginger, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and peanuts, and is a wonderful alternative to ordering Chinese takeout.
Ingredients
- boneless skinless chicken breast – I use leaner chicken breast but chicken thighs will work. To cut even 1-inch cubes, put the chicken breast in the freezer to partially freeze it. Once the chicken is a little more solid use a sharp knife to cut the chicken.
- cornstarch
- light sesame oil – or vegetable oil
- minced garlic
- crushed red pepper flakes
- powdered ginger – or fresh
- rice wine vinegar
- soy sauce
- sugar
- dry roasted peanuts
- cooked rice
- green onions
How to Make Kung Pao Chicken
- CHICKEN. Toss chicken in a small bowl with corn starch, until coated. Add oil to a skillet on medium heat (we liked using sesame oil but regular oil would do just fine). Stir fry for about 7-8 minutes or until no longer pink in the center. Remove chicken to a paper towel to drain.
- SAUCE. Add garlic, red pepper, and ginger to the skillet and stir fry for about 15 seconds. Remove from heat. Combine vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar in a small bowl, and stir well.
- COMBINE. Add sauce and chicken to the skillet over medium-high heat. Toss to coat. Stir in nuts. Heat thoroughly. Garnish with green onions if desired.
- Serve over hot white rice, Fried Rice, or even Sesame Noodles or with a side of Egg Rolls.
Recipe Tips
- Peppers. Szechuan peppers can often be found in the Asian food aisle or you may need to go to an Asian market.
- Add vegetables. If adding vegetables, increase the amount of sauce so that all parts of the dish get flavored. Try adding broccoli florets, sliced red bell peppers, sliced carrots, and sliced yellow or green zucchini.
- Wok. If you make a lot of Chinese food, I suggest investing in a wok. If you don’t have one, a large skillet will work just fine.
- Spiciness. Adjust the spiciness in the recipe:
- To increase the heat try using cayenne powder. Substitute ½ teaspoon of cayenne for every ¾ teaspoon of crushed red peppers.
- To decrease the heat omit the red pepper flakes, or try a suggestion from one of our readers: substitute the chili flakes with sweet chili garlic paste.
- Serving suggestions. This best kung pao chicken recipe is perfect with rice, Garlic Noodles, Fortune Cookie Recipe, Fried Egg Rolls, or Baked Cream Cheese Rangoon.
Storing Info
- STORE. Keep the leftover recipe for kung pao in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- FREEZE. This easy kung pao chicken recipe can also be frozen for 3 months. Thaw leftovers, if applicable, and reheat in a 350°F oven for 5-10 minutes or reheat in the microwave.
- The kung pao sauce can be prepared ahead of time and kept in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw completely before reheating and pouring over the chicken.
For MOre Asian Dinner Recipes:
Kung Pao Chicken Recipe
Homemade kung pao chicken is a tasty dinner recipe with a kick! This dish is covered in an amazing sauce and perfectly served over rice.
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons light sesame oil (or vegetable oil)
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- ¼ -1½ teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon powdered ginger (or fresh)
- 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ⅓ cup dry roasted peanuts
- 4 cups cooked rice, hot
- 3 tablespoons green onions chopped with tops
Instructions
- Toss chicken in a small bowl with cornstarch, till coated.
- 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.
- Add garlic, red pepper, and ginger to skillet and stir fry for about 15 seconds. Remove from heat.
- Combine vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar in small bowl, stir well. Add sauce and chicken to skillet. Toss to coat.
- Stir in nuts. Heat thoroughly. Garnish with green onions. Serve over hot rice.
Video
Notes
STORE. Keep the leftover recipe for kung pao in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
FREEZE. This easy kung pao chicken recipe can also be frozen for 3 months. Thaw leftovers, if applicable, and reheat in a 350°F oven for 5-10 minutes or reheat in the microwave.
The kung pao sauce can be prepared ahead of time and kept in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw completely before reheating and pouring over the chicken.
Nutrition
Calories: 227kcal, Carbohydrates: 8g, Protein: 28g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 72mg, Sodium: 718mg, Potassium: 533mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 80IU, Vitamin C: 2.6mg, Calcium: 18mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I love ordering this when we go out to eat; I am so excited to make it from the comfort of my home! Looking forward to making this for dinner tonight, indeed!
I love Chinese food!! I love when I can make tasty Chinese at home. This was so good! My family finished it so fast & can’t wait for me to make it again.
Ive never had this chicken at a RESTAURANT so I don’t know how it compares to other recipes, but this one is definitely delcious.
We love chinese food! It takes a litlle more time to prepare but so worth it.
My family loves this kung pao recipe!
Made this for dinner and it was yum!!! Simple, quick and easy and not heaps of ingredients. I added 1/2 capsicum, spring onions and peanuts to the meat and sauce mix and it worked really well. Oh and I used regular white vinegar which worked just as well. Will be making this regularly. Thanks heaps:)
So glad you liked it! Thank you for letting me know 🙂
Our new family favorite and weekly staple! Love this recipe!! I do dpuble and triple the sauce so we can drizzle on the rice. I cant eat peanuts, so i use cashews, and i add sugar snap peas cooked for only 1 minute. We tried using sweet chili garlic paste to lessen the heat, instead of pepper flakes…my daughter requested i make it less spicy. It came out as sweet light heat. However, the pepper flakes are better.
I am so glad it is a favorite!! Thank you so much for letting me know & sharing what you did 🙂
I have rice vinegar will that work?
It should, though I haven’t tried 🙂 I hope that helps!
I used rice vinegar, its great!
It seems like there is not enough liquid to cover all of the chicken…..Is it allright to double the ingredients? Looks and sounds delicious!
It does cover the chicken, but of course you can double it, then add as much or as little sauce as you like. Hope you like it as much as we do! Thanks so much!
Thanks! Can’t wait to try it.
I have a knack for finding the most delicious looking recipes when I’m hungry. And now that I’ve seen this, I’m starving. YUM!
Haha…time to get in the kitchen, I guess 🙂 Thanks so much!