Kung Pao Chicken

Fiery, Popular Takeout… Sichuan Chicken with Dried Chillies and nuts.

Better than takeout at home!

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Ingredients:

Chicken breast, fillet, boneless leg		600 gms
Garlic		10 -15 cloves
Fresh ginger slices		2 ¾ Tbsp
Spring onion ( White bulb portion), sliced		3-4 Tbsp
Long dried red chillies. (See notes).		10- 25
Skinless raw peanuts/groundnuts OR ½ cup raw cashew nuts		¹⁄3 cup
Spring onion greens, for garnish		As needed
Cornstarch, mixed in 3 Tbsp water to make the Cornflour Slurry		1 Tbsp
Peanut oil( as needed for frying) Preferred, but you can use sunflower oil too).		7 Tbsp

For Marinating the Chicken:

Cornflour		2 1/2 Tbsp
Light soy sauce		1 tsp
Shao Xing Chinese Rice wine (is used authentically) - can be replaced with 1 tsp of liquid meat tenderizer.		1 tsp
Asian toasted sesame oil		1 tsp
Black pepper powder		¾ tsp
Sichuan peppercorns( Or if you don't have it use red chilli powder instead)		1 tsp

For the Sauce:

Water		3/4 cup
Dark soy sauce (more if needed while cooking)		3/4 Tbsp
Light Soy Sauce		2 tsp
Black Rice vinegar (more if needed while cooking)		2 tsp
Light brown sugar or use thick Sweet soy sauce (Kicap Manis instead)		1 tsp

Method:

1. Cut the chicken, to small bite-size pieces. Rinse well and pat dry.
2. Marinate the chicken:  Rub the chicken well with ingredients listed for marinating including the Sichuan peppercorn (pounded to a powder). I often use red chilli powder instead of this and it works well too. Set aside for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, Finely chop the garlic and ginger. Slice the Spring onion bulb portion.
4. Cut the dried chillies, each into small segments. As you do so, the seeds will fall out. You can discard these to reduce heat.
5.  Prepare the sauce ingredients:  To a bowl, add the water and other ingredients for the sauce. Stir together and set aside.
6. Prepare the cornflour solution: by mixing the cornflour and water in a small cup. Set aside.
7. Heat 3-4 Tbsp in a wok and add the dried chilli pieces. Fry briefly till bright red and quickly strain from the oil and set aside. Do not allow the chillies to turn dark.
8. Fry the nuts in the same oil till golden and remove.
9. Now we need to par-fry the marinated chicken.  Add the chicken to the centre of the remaining oil. Leave undisturbed for 30 seconds on high heat. Then toss and turn to separate the pieces. Flash-Fry till light opaque. Remove from the wok and set aside. The chicken should not be fully fried or crisp, just achieve a bouncy texture and no longer be pink in colour. It will be cooked further in the sauce.
10. Wipe clean the wok. Add 2 Tbsp of oil and heat again.
11. Add the ginger and garlic to the oil and sauté till fragrant and soft. Do not allow to change colour.
12. Add the sliced spring onion whites( bulb). Sauté 30 seconds more.
13. Now return the par-fried chicken and toss well in the mixture. Allow the fragrance of the ginger, garlic and scallions to be absorbed by the chicken, making sure there is no darkening of the ginger and garlic.
14. Now add the prepared sauce ingredients. Bring to a simmer, allow the chicken to become tender.
15. At this time, do a taste test and add more dark soy sauce (1-2 tsp) for colour and black vinegar(about 1 tsp) for flavour.
16. Add the prepared cornflour solution now. Stir and allow to thicken.
17. Return some of the fried chillies (reserve half for final garnish) and all of the nuts. Remove from heat.
18. Garnish with the spring onion greens and the remaining fried chillies on top.
19. Serve hot with steamed white rice or with Congee.

Kung Pao Chicken

Notes:

• Dried Red Chillies: Here, I use the long shrivelled variety which is milder. If you are using the shinier and hotter variety, you might want to reduce the amount. My chillies pack just the right heat. I love eating the chillies along with the chicken, they provide a lovely crispness and smoky heat.
• Nuts: Peanuts or Groundnuts are usually used. I prefer cashew nuts. 
• If you don’t have Black rice Vinegar, you can use 1 ¾ tsp Worcester / Worcestershire sauce, but the Black vinegar gives a more authentic taste.
• I usually use ABC sauce(Kicap Manis) instead of the brown sugar and adjust the light soy and the Abc sauce to get the right balance of salty and sweet.

 

Key Ingredients: Chicken, Dried Red Chilli, Nuts, Spring Onion, Ginger, Garlic,  Soy Sauce (light and dark), Black Vinegar, Sesame oil, Pepper, Sichuan Peppercorns, 

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