kung pao chicken (better than Panda Express!)

If you’ve never had kung pao chicken, the dish consists of juicy bites of chicken, crisp veggies, and crunchy, roasted peanuts — all deliciously coated by a sweet, tangy, and savory sauce.

My mom taught me to use cashews instead of peanuts. The buttery texture of cashews goes so well with the rest of the dish! You can always use peanuts if that’s what you prefer.

Can I substitute different veggies in this dish?

Yes! Celery is also a popular option. Or just use whatever you have in the fridge — this sauce would be delicious on almost anything :) 

What’re the key ingredients to a delicious kung pao sauce?

 Soy sauce, oyster sauce, spicy chili crisp or oil, sesame oil, a touch of sugar, and my personal favorite: Chinese black vinegar. Compared to regular rice vinegar, Chinese black vinegar’s flavor is deeper, more robust, and more fragrant. It has similar notes to balsamic vinegar, and is used often in my Chinese sauces and recipes. I highly recommend getting it if you plan to cook a lot of Chinese food! 

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Kung Pao Chicken (better than Panda Express!)

A perfect pairing for rice, this saucy kung pao chicken is addicting and so much better than takeout!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 20 minutesmins

Cook Time 15 minutesmins

Total Time 35 minutesmins

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 4people

Ingredients

1x2x3x

for the chicken

• 8ozboneless skinless chicken thighs
• 2tspsoy sauce
• 2tspShaoxing wine
• 1tspcornstarch
• 1tspneutral oil

other ingredients

• 1cupzucchinidiced
• 1cupred bell pepperdiced
• 1/2cuponiondiced
• 4-5clovesgarlicminced
• dried red chilis and/or Sichuan peppercorn powder(to taste)
• 1/3cuproasted, unsalted cashews or peanuts
• 1tbspneutral oilfor cooking

sauce

• 1/3cuplow sodium chicken stock(or water + chicken bouillon)
• 1tbspsoy sauce
• 1tbspoyster sauce
• 1/2tbspChinese black vinegar(can sub rice vinegar)
• 1/2tbspsugar
• 1tbspspicy chili crisp(I'm using laoganma)
• 1/2tspsesame oil
• 1tspcornstarch

Instructions

Prepare the ingredients

• Dice chicken thigh into 1/2 inch cubes. Marinade diced chicken in soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and cornstarch. Mix thoroughly, add neutral oil to seal in the marinade, and mix again. 
  8 oz boneless skinless chicken thighs, 2 tsp soy sauce, 2 tsp Shaoxing wine, 1 tsp cornstarch, 1 tsp neutral oil
• Mince garlic. Dice all other veggies into 1/2 inch cubes: zucchini, red pepper, onion. If using dried red chilis, either leave them whole (for less spicy) or cut them up into 1/2 inch pieces. 
  1 cup zucchini, 1 cup red bell pepper, 1/2 cup onion, 4-5 cloves garlic
• Mix together all the sauce ingredients and set aside. 
  1/3 cup low sodium chicken stock, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1/2 tbsp Chinese black vinegar, 1/2 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp spicy chili crisp, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp cornstarch

Time to cook!

• Heat up 1 tbsp of oil in a pan on medium heat, and add marinated chicken. Cook about 3-4 minutes or until cooked through and it turns lightly golden brown. Remove from the pan. 
  1 tbsp neutral oil
• Add more oil if needed, then add diced zucchini, bell pepper, and onion. Season with a pinch of salt. Cook for 2-3 min or until slightly softened and slightly translucent. Add minced garlic and stir fry another 1-2 min. 
• Add dried red chilis and roasted, unsalted cashews or peanuts. Stir your sauce in its bowl (to dissolve any settled cornstarch), then add into the pan. Cook 1 min or until sauce slightly thickens. Mix and enjoy over rice! 
  1/3 cup roasted, unsalted cashews or peanuts, dried red chilis and/or Sichuan peppercorn powder

Keyword chinese takeout, kung pao chicken, panda express copycat

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