Kung Pao Chicken – A Beautiful Mess

I am exploring this year to learn to make many of our favorite takeaway meals at home. This flavorful spicy dish is full of flavours, easy to make and quite healthy. This is seriously one of my favorite meals. It’s a family favorite!

The original name, Campao Zidin, means diced chicken in Campao, as the plate consists of diced chicken, peanuts and chili peppers. I like to add peppers and serve with steamed rice. Traditional Chinese cuisine was created by Din Baozen, who held the title of Kampau in the Late Qing Dynasty. This version may have some ingredients to look for, but Home Cook is very easy to make.

Related: Next, try the cashew or orange chicken recipe.

material

• chicken
• Cooking oils – canola, peanuts, or olives
• green pepper
• Garlic
• ginger
• Dried red chili peppers
• Sichuan peppercorn powder
• Light soy sauce
• Dark soy sauce
• Chinese wine
• Chinese black vinegar
• Brown sugar
• Corn Starch
• water
• Sesame oil
• Peanuts
• Green onion – or leek

How to make marsh chicken

First cut the peppers and remove the stems and internal seeds. Chop the garlic and ginger. Cut the dried chili peppers in half and remove the seeds. Go back through the chicken.

In a large frying pan or wok, heat the cooking oil and stir-fry the peppers, garlic, ginger, and dried chili peppers. Medium/high heat for 2 minutes. Move to the bowl.

In the same skillet, add a little more oil and cook the chicken until all pieces move from pink to white and the meat is cooked. Use a meat thermometer to ensure that the internal temperature reaches 160°F.

Make the sauce while the chicken is cooking. First, whisk the water and cornstarch together. Next, stir in Sichuan peppercorn powder, soy sauce, cooked wine, vinegar and brown sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Once the chicken is cooked, return the vegetable mixture to the pan. Drizzle the sesame oil and cook together for a few minutes until everything is hot. Next, pour in the sauce as well as the peanuts and stir to make sure everything is coated. The sauce will soon start to thicken. Turn off the heat and toss it onto the green onion. Serve warmly on its own or with steamed rice.

Tips and alternatives

• I use boneless, skinless chicken breast most often in this recipe. Other chicken will work, but you’ll need something that can be easily cut into small cubes and pieces.
• Sichuan peppercorn powder If you can’t find it in the store, you can get it online. You can also use the whole peppercorn to crush it. This recipe makes it quite lighter. If you need more spices, use more. If you’re not sure if you’ll stick to what I’ve listed here, you can always add more when you make this.
• Sichuan pepper has a very unique paralytic effect, so if you can’t find this ingredient, there is no great alternative. Instead, I use red chili flakes to add spices, which is not exactly the same, but still makes a delicious dish.
• It can be used as a substitute for Chinese wine or dry cooking sherry if necessary.
• Balsamic vinegar can be used as a substitute for Chinese black vinegar in this recipe if necessary.
• Beyond the red peppers I use, you can add vegetables to this dish. Other additions include broccoli, cabbage or mushrooms.

More Chinese and Asian fusion recipes

PS If you like Chinese and Asian recipes, there’s one cooking book I love 168 Takeaway Better than Chinese Recipes Mandyhoo.