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Ka Poooow!
That’s your face, planting into this Kung Pao chicken!
I know, here I go again with the Asian food. What can I say, it’s so flavorful, so delicious. Plus, you know, its got vegetables and hot peppers to keep those colds away!
So a few things:
1. Why the heck has it been so cold here! I mean I hear some of you guys have been getting like 65 degree days! What the heck?!? Share some of the warmth and send it over to Colorado! I mean -18, that’s just not livable! Or likable.
2. So today it was sunny for like the first time in three days! I was jumping for joy, until I went to take pictures and suddenly a giant cloud formed. And did not go away, till like 4:15…….when the sun was setting. Clouds you are evil! Don’t you know I am a very important (not) food blogger who needs ample light for her photos?
3. So about these photo’s. What do you think? Do they make you want to grab a fork and dig in? Or if your cool, pick up those chopsticks? Or maybe it makes you want to learn how to properly use chopsticks? For me, chopsticks are a great idea that unfortunately, I execute very poorly! Seriously, how do you go about eating rice with those cute little sticks?
I am so lame.
Anyway, Kung Pao Chicken recipe! It’s pretty fun to say right? I feel like I should be doing a ninja kick while saying it or something!
This one’s a crowd pleaser! Everyone who has tried this, which is adding up rather fast, has declared it better than take out! Picky eaters included (minus “what’s this red stuff”). Leftovers are awesome too. Just ask the two kids (whose names I don’t know) that I have been feeding lately when they return with my little brother after a day of riding. Their plates were licked clean. Literally, they did the work for the dishwasher!
Kung Pao Chicken
Ingredients
- Marinade:
- 1 tablespoon rice wine
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced into bit size pieces
- Sauce:
- 1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 3/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup dry cooking sherry
- 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
- 3 teaspoon sambal oelek, red chili paste
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil
- 2 red bell peppers, julienned
- 2 inch green onion, cut the white part into 1/2 - pieces, julienne the green parts
- 1/4 cup roasted peanuts or cashews
Instructions
- In a glass measuring cup or small bowl combine the rice wine, peanut oil, soy sauce, salt and cornstarch. Whisk until the cornstarch is completely dissolved. Stir in the chicken pieces and refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes.
- In a medium bowl or glass measuring cup, combine the chicken broth and cornstarch and whisk until the corn starch in completely dissolved. Add in the soy sauce, sherry, hoisin sauce, sambal olek (red chili paste), sugar, garlic and ginger. Set aside.
- Over high heat, in a large skillet, bring the peanut oil to almost smoking temperature. Stir-fry the red bell pepper and the white part of the green onions for 3-6 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Return the skillet back to high heat, adding more peanut oil if needed. Add the chicken and stir-fry for 4 to 8 minutes, until golden in color.
- Add the sauce and bring to a boil. Add the peanuts. Continue to cook until the sauce has thickened and is glossy about 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving plate and garnish with julienne green onions.
- Serve with steamed white rice.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Take that Thursday! Ka Pow!
This is excellent- better than Chinese takeout by a lot! Will definitely make again!
Hi Mandy,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit and appreciate you making it! Thanks for your comment! xT
Love this recipe make it quite a bit. Tonight we added zucchini and mushrooms to the ingredients. We always double the sauce and serve it over coconut rice.
Hey Lindy,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe is always a hit, thanks so much for making it so often:)
We made this today. Next time we’re going to use a low sodium soy sauce as it was quite salty, but otherwise we loved it. Thanks for another great recipe.
Hey Tina,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and your comment, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
Yummy. Made mine a bit too soupy but absolutely delicious. Well done!
Hey Natalie,
I am so thrilled that you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for trying it out!! xTieghan
I meant we ate every bite.
Oh so good, I made this tonight and we are every bite!
Amazing! Thank you Melissa! xTieghan
Hi, thanks for the tip. I’ll cut back as per tiegans’ Suggestion. I’ve also found you can’t use salted nuts in recipes like these. Can’t wait to try!
I hope you love this recipe Claire! Thank you! Let me know how it turns out ?
Tried this recipe tonight for dinner. I followed the recipe exactly as written. It was so salty that I couldn’t eat it. I used low sodium soy sauce and low sodium chicken broth. I am wondering if the recipe should have less soy sauce in it….3/4 cup seems like a lot. Just wondering if anyone else thought it was too salty.
Hey JJ,
I am really sorry this was too salty for you. The 3/4 cup is correct, but maybe you are more sensitive to salt? Next time try using only 1/4 cup. My family loves salty, so maybe it’s a bit heavy for your taste. So sorry for the trouble! Tieghan 🙂
I made this for dinner yesterday, great recipe thanks for sharing.
Your post made me lol. Glad I am not the only one who thinks a karate kick should be required to say Kung Pao. This dish looks amazingly yummy!
I know right? Ka Pow! It is just so fun!
This looks delicious!! Are the cooking sherry and the hoisin sauce in cups? I think you forgot to type something in. And I’m not familiar with Asian cooking to make a sure guess. Thanks
Sorry about that! Yes, they are in cups and I fixed the recipe, thank so much for letting me know! Hope you enjoy it! Thanks for reading!
Tieghan
Holy cow! That looks amazing. I am pinning this recipe for sure. Coming from Your Homebased Mom. Gonna have to look around your site now!
Thanks fo looking around!
It looks sooo yummy!
Just wanted to let you know you were featured on I Freakin did it Friday, I hope you come link up again today!
I can’t wait to try this recipe! Pinned it! Found you at Shabby Creek Cottage.
Thanks for pinning!