This dish is originated in China, Sichuan province. This is a classic dish in Sichuan cuisine that uses chicken as its primary ingredient. What makes this dish so unique is the usage of Sichuan peppercorns. The peppercorns are famous for their spicy and numbing effects on the palate.
There're lots of different variations across China and America. Today I am using an American-Chinese cooking technique; the chicken is finely diced and cooked on low heat for under 3 mins. You must be wondering "why low heat?"
This is because if the chicken is cooked on high heat, it will lose its tender juiciness while cooking. The trick is to dice the chicken small and uniformly.
You can use a wok if you have one. I am using my skillet so that you lovely people know that this dish can be done in a skillet or pan. This is a rather spicy dish. Don't say I didn't warn ya. My daughters, despite not eating anything spicy, devoured this dish within mins. They said, "this is spicy but it tastes so good."
Ingredients:
(Serve 4)
Chicken:
Chicken Thigh Boneless, 4 or 400g
Soy Sauce, 1 TBSP
ShaoXing / Hua Tiao / Sherry Wine, 1 TBSP
Corn Starch, 1 TBSP
Sesame Oil Oil, 1/2 TBSP
Sea Salt, Pinch
White Pepper, Pinch
Mushroom Powder, Pinch
Sauce:
Demerara Sugar, 2 TBSP
ShaoXing / Hua Tiao / Sherry Wine, 1 TBSP
Soy Sauce, 1.5 TBSP
Sea Salt, Pinch
Chili Oil, 1 TBSP Adjust To Preference
Chili Powder, 1 TSP
Chicken Stock, 1/4 Cup
Kung Bao Chicken:
Peanuts, 75g
Sea Salt, Pinch
White Pepper, Pinch
Canola / Peanut / Vegetable Oil, 1 TBSP
Sichuan Peppercorns, 1/2 TSP
Dried Chilies Coarsely Sliced, 12 Adjust To Preference
Garlic Finely Minced, 3 Cloves
Ginger Finely Minced, 1/2 Inch
Green Onion Finely Sliced, 3 Stems + More For Garnishing
Slurry, 1 TSP Potato Starch + 1 TSP Water
Black Vinegar, 2 TBSP
Equipment:
Cast Iron Skillet / Pan
Oven
Directions:
Please visit my "How To Make Chili Oil" page for the recipe.
Prepare the chicken.
Remove the skin from the chicken thigh.
Reserve the skin for later.
Finely dice the chicken to about 1 cm or 1/3 inch in size.
Transfer into a shallow bowl.
In another bowl, add the rest of the ingredients.
Mix to combine well, making sure everything is fully dissolved.
Transfer the mixture into the chicken.
Mix and coat the chicken well.
Cover with cling film and set aside in the fridge to marinade for at least 1 hr.
Prepare the sauce.
In a bowl, combine all the ingredients together until fully mixed.
Set aside.
Cooking the kung bao chicken.
Preheat oven to 180 degree celsius or 355 fahrenheit.
Season peanuts with salt.
Transfer into a baking bowl or tray and wack into the oven.
Bake for 15 to 20 mins or until roasted and the skins should easily come off.
Transfer the peanuts onto a kitchen towel.
Wrap and rub. It is okay if some of the skins don't come off.
Set aside.
*I prefer roasting the peanuts myself as I can control the amount of salt used. You can totally skip this step if you are okay with store-bought ones.*
With the oven still running, lay the chicken skin on the baking tray lined with parchment paper.
Season with salt and pepper.
Lay another parchment paper and place some weight on top.
Wack into the oven and bake for 15 to 20 mins or until crispy brown.
While the skin is baking, in a skillet over low heat, add oil.
Once the heat is slightly heated up, add in pepper corns and dried chilies.
Saute until aromatic for about 30 secs.
Add in garlic and ginger and saute until aromatic.
Add in the marinaded chicken.
Spread the chicken out and cook for about 30 secs.
Flip the chicken and cook for another 30 secs.
Turn the heat up to medium.
Add in the green onion and saute until aromatic.
Add in the sauce and saute to combine well.
Cook for about 30 secs.
Add in the slurry and saute until well combined.
Cook for another 30 secs.
Remove from heat.
Immediately add in the roasted peanuts and black vinegar
Fold to combine well.
Transfer onto serving plates and place the chicken skin over the kung pao chicken.
Garnish with some green onions.
Serve immediately.
Super chickenlicious...
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