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Kung Pao Chicken

Name: Kung Pao Chicken
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Asia, Chinese
Ingredients: 1 pound, boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat and cut into 1-inch pieces; 1 tablespoon, dry sherry or rice wine; 2 teaspoons, soy sauce; 3 medium cloves, garlic, pressed through garlic press or minced (about 1 tablespoon); 1/2 inch piece, fresh ginger, peeled and minced (about 2 teaspoons); 3 tablespoons, peanut oil or vegetable oil; 1/2 cup, roasted unsalted peanuts; 6 , small whole dried red chiles (each about 1 3/4 to 2 inches long), 3 chiles roughly crumbled, or 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes; 3/4 cup, low-sodium chicken broth; 2 teaspoons, black rice vinegar or plain rice vinegar; 2 teaspoons, toasted sesame oil; 1 tablespoon, oyster sauce; 1 tablespoon, hoisin sauce; 1 1/2 teaspoons, cornstarch; 1 , medium red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch dice; 3 , medium scallions, sliced thin

9 comments

Appears in Cook's Illustrated September/October 2002

We wanted to create a version of this spicy Sichuan classic using chicken thighs and a few pantry staples.

SERVES4

TIME45 minutes

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

We set out to develop a version of kung pao chicken that kept its classic spiciness. We stir-fried marinated chicken and then added small whole red chiles and peanuts. The chiles gave our dish some fire, and toasting the peanuts deepened th...

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