Mildly Spicy and Super Tender Kung Pao Chicken
During the Jiangnan rainy season, everything feels damp. Let delicious food heal a damp heart. Kung Pao Chicken, as a traditional and globally renowned dish, should be a must-have recipe for every household. There are three versions of Kung Pao Chicken: Sichuan, Shandong, and Guizhou. The Sichuan version mainly uses chicken breast, with essential ingredients like crispy fried peanuts and dried chili peppers. The flavor must be spicy with a hint of lychee sweetness, enhanced by the aroma of fried chili peppers, highlighting a slightly charred spicy taste. The Shandong version often uses chicken thigh meat and occasionally includes diced bamboo shoots or water chestnuts, focusing more on quick stir-frying. The Guizhou version employs sticky chili paste characterized by a salty, spicy, and slightly sweet-and-sour flavor. The sour and spicy profile is a key feature that distinguishes Guizhou cuisine from Sichuan cuisine. Even after mastering the essence of Kung Pao Chicken, making an authentic Sichuan-style version might not appeal to Jiangnan locals, let alone children! Creating a version that suits your own taste and is loved by both adults and children is the most important.
Ingredients
Steps
The Sichuan version often uses chicken breast, while the Shandong version prefers chicken thigh meat. Personally, I like chicken thigh meat better.
Deboning chicken thighs. Professional chefs often use knives, but for kitchen novices, it might be difficult. Here's a trick: First, make a cut on the chicken thigh.
Use scissors to separate the edges of the bone and remove it.
Cut the chicken thigh meat into 1.5cm cubes.
Marinate the chicken: Add soy sauce, oyster sauce, and Orleans marinade to the chicken cubes.
Stir evenly in one direction.
Add starch and mix thoroughly by hand. Finally, add 5 grams of oil and stir. Adding oil prevents the chicken cubes from sticking together when frying.
Chop the ginger and garlic into small pieces; cut the chili peppers into segments.
Cut the carrot and cucumber into small cubes, slice the green onion, and dice the red bell pepper.
Fry the peanuts until cooked.
Peeling the peanuts can be troublesome, but it's optional.
Prepare the Kung Pao sauce.
All ingredients are ready.
Heat a pan with enough oil. If you like soft carrots, fry them with the chicken; if you prefer firmer carrots, fry them with cucumbers. Fry the chicken until its color changes.
Drain excess oil and scoop out.
Try a piece of chicken! So tender and smooth! Success feels close.
Heat the pan with oil and sauté garlic, ginger, and chili peppers over low heat until fragrant. Traditionally, Sichuan dishes may include chili bean paste, Sichuan peppercorns, and prickly ash, but they might not suit Jiangnan flavors, so they are omitted. However, if you like spiciness, you can add these spices in the beginning.
Add green onion, cucumber, and red bell pepper and stir-fry.
Add the chicken.
Pour in the Kung Pao sauce and toss the mixture in the pan a few times.
Finally, add the peanuts before serving.
Toss everything in the pan a few times.
Take a bite! Tender chicken, crispy peanuts, and refreshing cucumber, paired with flavors that are sometimes sour, sometimes sweet, and sometimes spicy (just lacking the numbing taste), this dish completely changes my perception of chicken!