If you are craving a delicious Asian dish that comes together quickly and easily, then you need to make this Kung Pao Recipe with Chicken, a fantastic dinner-time meal.
I worked in an Asian restaurant for a long period of time and our Kung Pao Recipe quickly became one of my favorite style of dishes. You’d think I would get sick of it, but oh quite the opposite.
When I’m able to make some of my favorite takeout dishes at home, I get super excited and this easy kung pao chicken recipe is one of my favorite ones to make.
We have been making this for a long while now and we never get sick of it, there are so many different ways to serve it as well. It’s a simple recipe with big flavor.
This is just an overall delicious recipe if you are a fan of Asian cuisine like we are. This is one dish I will never turn down, but I’ve come to love my recipe over the years.
Doesn’t the spicy sauce on this recipe just scream to you to eat me? I just have to make this again, looking at it is giving me major cravings.
When that happens, I know it’s been a little too long since I’ve had this Kung Pao Recipe, so this will be made this weekend for sure!
Some of my other favorite Asian style dishes I have on my site include Asian Steak Skewers, Vietnamese Salad Rolls, and Beef and Broccoli.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- This can be served over many things, noodles, rice, lettuce wraps, etc.
- You can double this recipes for more servings or to save for later.
- This can be doctored up to be spicier to your liking.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST FOR THE FULL RECIPE CARD):
- Chicken breast
- Vegetable oil
- Corn starch
- Soy sauce
- Water
- Oyster sauce
- Brown sugar
- Red bell pepper – green, orange, or yellow bell peppers work too
- Garlic cloves
- Fresh ginger
- Crunchy Peanuts
- Green onion
- Sambal Olelek chili paste
- Dried red chilies
HOW TO MAKE KUNG PAO RECIPE:
- In a medium bowl combine the diced chicken with 1 tablespoon of the cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce. Toss to coat and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine the sauce ingredients including the remaining soy sauce, water, oyster sauce, brown sugar, chili paste, and remaining cornstarch. Stir until everything is well combined. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the marinated chicken and cook until golden brown, around 5 to 7 minutes.
- Next, add the peppers, fresh garlic, ginger, and dried chilies and continue cooking for 5 more minutes or until the bell pepper is softened.
- Finally add the spicy kung pao sauce and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, cook until the sauce has thickened, around 4 minutes. Add the peanuts and green onions and cook for 4 more minutes.
- Remove from heat and serve topped with more green onions and chili flakes if desired for garnish.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS RECIPE:
IS KUNG PAO A COMPLICATED DISH TO MAKE?
See how simple this P.F. Chang’s Kung Pao Chicken recipe is from the notes above? The majority of it comes from different sauces and seasonings, so in my opinion, it is a super simple dish.
We usually keep these ingredients on hand because we love ethnic cooking, so we like to have a variety if we are ever craving something specific.
Especially the ingredients to make this recipe, since it is one of our favorites we try to make it at least once a month, since it saves us money on takeout.
So yes, this is an easy recipe.
WHAT IS KUNG PAO CHICKEN?
The actual definition of Kung Pao Chicken is a spicy, stir-fried Asian dish made with cubes or strips of chicken, peanuts, vegetables, and chili peppers.
That is exactly what we use in this recipe. It’s a popular Chinese dish and one we order often.
I love the peanuts in the recipe itself, it gives a nice texture that is a little crunch that really sets it off, and the addition of them gives this dish a nice unique flavor.
WHAT CAN I SERVE WITH KUNG PAO CHICKEN?
You can serve this as-is in a bowl or over white rice, noodles, or lettuce wraps. Other things that you could serve alongside it include:
- Fried Rice
- Lo Mein
- Potstickers
- Cream Cheese Wontons
- Egg Rolls
- Brown rice
These are just some ideas that you could serve and some that we have used to make it a full meal.
ARE THERE SUBSTITUTIONS OR ADDITIONS?
Some substitutions I suggest:
- In place of Chicken breast, you can use chicken thighs or even diced pork; Kung Pao Shrimp is also amazing!
- You can sub some of the soy sauce for dark soy sauce, which has a deeper flavor and darker color
- Brown sugar: use white sugar
- In place of red bell peppers use green bell peppers or any color you like
Some yummy additions would be:
- Zucchini
- Crisp celery
- A tiny bit of sesame oil or chili oil right at the end
- 1 – 2 teaspoons of rice vinegar for tangy flavors
- Sichuan peppercorns
- Broccoli
HOW TO STORE:
This recipe can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and will stay good for up to 3 days. The flavors will marry more and you will most likely have a more intense flavor the longer it sits.
This can also be frozen. Let everything cool completely and place everything in an airtight freezer container or freezer bag. It will stay good for up to 2 months.
Let defrost in the refrigerator and you can either reheat in the microwave or in a pan on the stove.
DANA’S TIPS AND TRICKS:
- If you want to add some chili peppers to this recipe you are more than welcome or you can add about 1 tsp red pepper flakes to spice it up.
- Easily double this recipe for more guests.
- You can make this with either chicken breasts or tenders, whatever you can find or have on hand.
- Add different vegetables, we sometimes add broccoli and sugar snap peas as well to this chicken.
- This can be frozen, see my tips above on how to do that.
- Serve this over rice, noodles, in a lettuce wrap, as is or however you like.
PF Chang takeout food fan and want to make it at home? Then I recommend trying my Kung Pao Recipe with its spicy flavor, it is easy, flavorful, and fun.
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
If you’ve tried this KUNG PAO RECIPE let me know in the comments how it turned out! You can follow me over on PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK to find some more of our mouthwatering recipes!
Kung Pao Recipe with Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breasts diced into bite-sized pieces
- 2 & 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup water
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoons Sambal Oelek chili paste
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 red bell pepper 1/2 inch diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger minced
- 12 dried red chili pods
- 1/2 cup peanuts
- 1/4 cup green onions chopped
Instructions
- In a medium bowl combine the diced chicken with 1 tablespoon of the cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce. Toss to coat and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine the sauce ingredients including the remaining soy sauce, water, brown sugar, oyster sauce, chili paste, and remaining cornstarch. Stir until everything is well combined. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the marinated chicken and cook until golden brown, around 5 to 7 minutes.
- Next, add the peppers, fresh garlic, ginger, and dried chilies and continue cooking for 5 more minutes or until the bell pepper is softened.
- Finally add the spicy kung pao sauce and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, cook until the sauce has thickened, around 4 minutes. Add the peanuts and green onions and cook for 4 more minutes.
- Remove from heat and serve topped with more green onions and chili flakes if desired for garnish.
Video
Notes
- Nutritional value is for kung pao recipe only, no side dishes.
- If you want to add some chili peppers to this recipe you are more than welcome or you can add about 1 tsp red pepper flakes to spice it up.
- Easily double this recipe for more guests.
- You can make this with either chicken breasts or tenders, whatever you can find or have on hand.
- Add different vegetables, we sometimes add broccoli and sugar snap peas as well to this chicken.
- This can be frozen, see my tips above on how to do that.
- Serve this over rice, noodles, in a lettuce wrap, as is or however you like.
Nutrition
Originally posted 02/12/2021
Updated 05/2023 with new images and slightly updated recipe
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