Authentic Kung Pao Chicken Recipe: Learn Traditional Sichuan Cuisine!

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I spent a fun morning exploring the Chuancais Museum in Chengdu, China, learning about the traditional methods and ingredients that go into authentic Sichuan cuisine. Did you know that Chengdu is a legit UNESCO recognized city renowned for their gastronomy? No joke! The food was literally unbelievably delicious. My favorite in the world, and considering how I almost sold my soul to eat all of the amazing food in Singapore, THAT’S SAYING SOMETHING. So you best believe I wasn’t leaving the city until I learned how to make at least one of those coveted recipes! Well, as luck would have it, not only did I learn at least one recipe, I learned three! And, I learned it under the watchful eye of a certified Sichuan master chef! So without futher ado, I present an authentic Kung Pao Chicken recipe for your cooking pleasure!

You will need a wok for this one!

Ingredients

100g/3.5oz marinated chicken leg (boneless, cut into cubes)

20g/0.7oz fried peanuts

Cooking Oil (sesame preferred, but any could work)

Seasonings:

10g/0.35oz ginger (sliced)

10g/0.35oz garlic (sliced)

20g/0.7oz spring onion (finely chopped)

8g/0.3oz dried chili (cut into sections)

1g/0.03oz Sichuan pepper

2g/0.07oz starch

10g/0.3 fl.oz Shaoxing rice wine

salt

sugar

vinegar

dark soy sauce

cooking wine

soybean sauce

Methods

Following an authentic kung pao chicken recipe is super easy! It’s basicallyyyy two steps. Making the sauce and then cooking the chicken. But to make things easier, I will break it down into a few additional steps.

1. Now alright, let’s prep the sauce. The sauce is called litchi-flavor sauce, and should be prepared first. To make the sauce, finely mix the starch with 0.5 teaspoons of salt, 4 teaspoons of sugar, 4 teaspoons vinegar, 2 teaspoons soybean sauce, 2 teaspoons cooking wine, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon water

–Putting it all together–

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok over a high flame
2. Add chicken leg to the wok and stir-fry constantly until the chicken cubes begin to turn white
3. One by one, add dried chili and Sichuan pepper, ginge, garlic, and green onion and stir-fry briefly until they are fragrant and the meat is cooked through
4. Sprinkle the Shaoxing rice wine over the food, stirring briefly over the high flame
5. Give the litchi-flavor sauce a stir and add it to the work, waiting 5 seconds to let the sauce become thick
6. Stir and toss the ingredients in the wok
7. As soon as the sauce has become thick and lustrous, turn off the stove
8. Add the peanuts and stir them in
9. It is ready to plate and serve!

Woohoo! And there you have it! A super simple authentic Kung Pao chicken recipe from the recipe books of the world’s greatest Sichuan master chefs!

The thing to note about Sichuan Kung Pao Chicken is that it is actually sweet and savory, and not the spicy dish that most of the western world has associated with the meal. In China, the spicy variety of Kung Pao Chicken is from a different region. But trust me, Sichuan is the BEST. But

I hope you enjoy this recipe! It is great to pair with steamed dumplings and Mapo Tofu!

Was this recipe easy to follow? Let me know in the comments below!

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