If you are craving a delicious Asian dish that comes together quick and easy then you need to make this Kung Pao Chicken, a delicious dinner time recipe.
I love fakeout takeout. I worked in an Asian restaurant for a long period of time and it 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 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.
Some of my other favorite Asian style dishes I have on my site include Asian Steak Skewers, Fresh Spring 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.
HOW TO MAKE KUNG PAO CHICKEN:
- In a bowl combine the diced chicken with 1 tbsp cornstarch and 1 tbsp soy sauce. Toss to coat and set aside.
- In a separate bowl combine the soy sauce, with the water, oyster sauce, brown sugar and remaining cornstarch. Stir until everything is well combined. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown, around 5 to 7 minutes.
- Next add the peppers, garlic and ginger and continue cooking for 5 more minutes or until the bell pepper is softened.
- Finally add the 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.
See how simple this Kung Pao Chicken Recipe is? 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 and we try to make it at least once a month, since it saves us money on takeout.
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 minus the chili peppers. I’m not a super spicy fan so I usually leave them out but sometimes add them to it when I know I’m serving people who like spicy dishes.
I love the peanuts in the recipe itself, it gives a nice texture that is a little crunchy 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 just plain in a bowl or over rice, noodles, or in lettuce wraps. Other things that you could serve alongside it include:
- Fried Rice
- Lo Mein
- Potstickers
- Cream Cheese Wontons
- Egg Rolls
These are just some ideas that you could serve and some that we have used in the past to make it a full meal in itself.
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.
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.
Doesn’t the 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 something so this will be made this weekend for sure!
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.
If you are a fan of takeout food and want to be able to make it at home, then I recommend trying my Kung Pao Chicken! It is easy, flavorful and fun.
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried this KUNG PAO CHICKEN 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 Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breasts diced
- 3 Tbsp oil
- 2 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 red bell pepper sliced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp ginger minced
- 1/2 cup peanuts
- 1/4 cup green onions chopped
Instructions
- In a bowl combine the diced chicken with 1 tbsp cornstarch and 1 tbsp soy sauce. Toss to coat and set aside.
- In a separate bowl combine the soy sauce, with the water, oyster sauce, brown sugar and remaining cornstarch. Stir until everything is well combined. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown, around 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add the peppers, garlic and ginger and continue cooking for 5 more minutes or until the bell pepper is softened.
- Add the 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.
Video
Notes
- Nutritional value is for chicken only.
- 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
Leave A Reply!