When you’re craving Chinese food but don’t want to go to a restaurant, make your own! This Kung Pao Chicken is full of wonderful flavor, color and textures.
Asian food is one of my favorite cuisines. I love the flavors, the variety, and the vibrant colors. The problem is, many dishes at Asian restaurants are high in calories and sodium, and the dinner portions are huge. Because of that, I’ve begun making more Asian recipes at home. Most of the basic sauces are widely available at grocery stores, and many are very easy to make at home.
One day a recipe for Kung Pao Chicken appeared on my Facebook feed, and I immediately stopped what I was doing to check out the recipe. My dad, who is a vegetarian, was visiting at the time, so I bought tofu and had great plans to make it. But when it’s just me and my dad we eat out quite a bit, so that never happened. I did make it a few weeks later, and Kung Pao Chicken quickly became one of my favorite recipes.
Marinating the chicken, even for just 30 minutes, adds such a great depth of flavor. The first time I made this Kung Pao Chicken I included the marinade sauce when I added the chicken to the pan. Bad move, because it was way too much liquid and the sauce became clumpy. Lesson learned, and now I toss the marinade.
I had no idea Kung Pao sauce was so easy to make, and requires so few ingredients. Most Asian sauces have sesame oil as an ingredient. Sesame oil is outrageously powerful, so I almost always omit it. If I do use sesame oil, I use no more than 1/4 teaspoon.
Both the marinade and sauce also contain balsamic vinegar. My friend Dianne introduced me to Lucero Balsamic Vinegar; since I tried it, I’ve never looked back. It is not widely available in grocery stores, but I buy it online. Yes, it’s more expensive than what is in the grocery store, but there is no comparison. It is thick and rich and, because of that, a little goes a long way.
Kung Pao Chicken in restaurants typically has just red and green bell peppers, but I like to add more crunch and color. I almost always add yellow peppers, red onion, and snow peas, but snap peas, zucchini and yellow onions would be great as well. When I began the blog, I was not a fan of peanuts or peanut sauce in cooking. However, I went adventurous on a recipe a while back with both peanuts and peanut sauce, and was immediately hooked. The toasted peanuts in this recipe add even more flavor than raw would.
Kung Pao Chicken is a regular on my recipe rotation, and is the perfect way to satisfy my Asian food craving.
Adapted from Penney Lane
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Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Lucero Balsamic Vinegar (or other high-quality balsamic vinegar)
- 1 Tablespoon Hoisin Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Canola or Vegetable Oil
- 2 teaspoons Cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons Lucero Balsamic Vinegar (or other high-quality balsamic vinegar)
- 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Hoisin Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Canola or vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon Canola or Vegetable Oil
- ½ teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (or more, to taste)
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- ½ cup green bell pepper, chopped
- ½ cup red bell pepper, chopped
- ½ cup yellow bell pepper, chopped
- Handful of snow peas, sliced diagonally in thirds
- 2 boneless, skinless, chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces
- ¼ cup roasted peanuts
- 4 green onions, chopped
Instructions
- Add soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, Canola oil, and cornstarch to medium bowl, and stir until the cornstarch is dissolved
- Add chicken and toss to coat. Marinate for at least 20 minutes, up to 24 hours. If marinating longer than 30 minutes, put into fridge
- Remove chicken from fridge (if necessary) and let it come to room temperature
- In another bowl, combine the balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Canola oil, and cornstarch. Stir until the cornstarch is dissolved. Set aside
- Drain marinade from chicken, and discard marinade
- In a wok or large skillet over medium heat, toast peanuts until they are golden brown. Remove and set aside
- In same wok or skillet, add Canola oil. Stir in the crushed red pepper flakes and raw garlic, and cook until garlic just begins to turn golden. Do not allow garlic to burn, or it will turn rancid
- Turn heat to medium high. Add in the yellow onion and bell peppers. Saute for about 5 minutes until they are slightly softened
- Add in snow peas and saute for another 3-4 minutes
- Stir in grated ginger and cook for approximately 1 minute
- Move onion and pepper mix to the sides of the skillet, and add a little more oil, if necessary
- Add chicken to the center of the skillet, and allow to cook for about 5 minutes
- Mix onions and pepper with chicken, and continue cooking until chicken is no longer pink
- Pour in the sauce and mix to coat the chicken and vegetables
- Stir in the peanuts, and sprinkle the green onions on top
- Serve over white rice
Shared on: Foodie FriDIY, Friday Favorites (Diary of a Real Housewife), Foodie Friends Friday, Wonderful Wednesday, Moonlight & Mason Jars, Thursday Favorite Things, Tasty Tuesday, Totally Terrific Tuesday, Freedom Fridays, Wine’d Down Wednesday, You Link It We Make It
For more Asian-inspired recipes, click on the photos below!
Shrimp Fried Rice
Asian Quinoa Meatballs
Spicy Thai Noodles
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