KungPao .info The ultimate recipe for Kung Pao chicken! Famous Spicy Szechuan specialty! Kung-Pao Chicken / Kung-Po Chicken / 宮保鸡丁 There are actually two versions of Kung Pao chicken: the regular version and the Szechuan version. The Szechuan version uses Szechuan peppercorns, and is very spicy. The dish is named after a Qing dynasty mandarin called Gong Bao. Calories in Chicken Chicken breast, raw, from 1 chicken: 78 calories (nutrition facts) Chicken thigh, raw: 120 calories (nutrition facts) Chicken giblets, raw, from 1 chicken: 29 calories (nutrition facts) Chicken drumstick, raw: 44 calories (nutrition facts) (A) Prepare the Chicken ½ lb chicken breast diced in ½ inch cubes 6 tbsp Shaoxing Wine (or sherry) 1 egg, beaten 2 tsp corn flour (corn starch) 1 tbsp light soy sauce 1 tsp sugar Marinate chicken in mixture and let stand for 20 minutes Heat 4 tbsp cooking oil in wok on medium heat and lightly stir fry the marinated chicken pieces, a few pieces at a time until ¾ cooked. Set aside the ¾ cooked chicken pieces for use later. (B) Make the Sauce and Cook with the Chicken Sauce Ingredients 1 tsp rice vinegar or wine vinegar 1 tsp corn flour ( corn starch ) 1 tsp sesame oil 1 egg white, beaten 1 tsp light soy sauce 1 tsp hoisin sauce or oyster sauce 6 tbsp water Ingredients for Stir-fry 3 dried chili peppers, with seeds removed (or substitute with 1 tbsp chili oil) ½ cup unsalted roasted cashew nuts (may be substituted with roasted skinless peanuts) ½ green capsicum diced in ½ inch squares 2 stalks of Spring Onion, scallion, cut into ¼ inch lengths 1 tsp minced garlic 1 lettuce leaf Heat 4 tbsp oil in wok on medium heat and stir fry dried chilis, 1 tsp minced garlic and 1 tbsp spring onions until aromatic. Then add in diced capsicum and stir fry slightly and then add the ¾ cooked chicken pieces. Mix well and fry for 1 minute. Next, add the sauce ingredients and stir fry until the sauce has thickened, leaving the chicken pieces moist but not watery. Turn off the heat, mix in the roasted cashew nuts and dish out immediately on a plate pre-lined with shredded lettuce leaf around the ring of the serving plate. Sprinkle the remaining cut spring onion on top and serve hot. Recipe by S.P. Wang reproduced from RecipeOmnibus.com with permission About the Ingredients used Shaoxing Wine A type of yellow wine (made from rice) first made in Zhejiang province in China. It is not distilled, and has around 20% alcohol. It is commonly used to marinate meat dishes. Soy Sauce A fermented sauce made from soya beans, water and salt. Where possible, use naturally brewed soya sauce instead of artificial ones made from hydrolyzed soy protein (sometimes known as "liquid aminos"). Brewed sauce has a much richer flavor. Rice Vinegar Vinegar made from fermented rice or rice wine. This is popular in the cuisines of China, Korea and Japan. Sesame Oil An oil obtained from sesame seeds. This is often used as a flavoring or finishing oil in Chinese cuisine. Hoisin Sauce This is commonly used in Chinese cuisine as a dipping and marinating sauce. It is made from a base of fermented soybeans, garlic, vinegar, and chili peppers. Though its Chinese Name 海鲜酱(hǎixiānjiàng) suggests that it is made of seafood, it actually isn't the case. Oyster Sauce Another sauce commonly used in Chinese cooking. It is ideally made by boiling oysters and extracting their essence, then condensing this essence to a thick consistency. Vegetarian versions exist, and use mushrooms instead of oysters. The Chinese name 蚝油 literally means "oyster oil". Cornstarch It is important that you do not add cornstarch powder directly into the sauces you are preparing in a pan. Always add cornstarch powder to cold water separately, mix it throughly into a slurry, then add it into the sauce being prepared. This way, the cornstarch powder won't clump up into little lumps. Once cornstarch has been added to your sauce, cook your sauce for at least a minute for the cornstarch to thicken. But don't cook it for too long, or the cornstarch will start to break down. Spring Onion Also known as green onions, scallions or shallots. Copyright © 2008. Wei L. Wang