Chinese New Year Kung Pao Chicken
A celebratory dish of chicken, vegetables and crunchy peanuts in a tangy sauce. With Sichuan peppercorns and chilli for heat, alongside soy sauce, sugar, and Shaoxing wine to bring an umami hit!
Servings: 4
Calories: 516kcal
Equipment
- Large wok or frying pan
- Spice grinder or pestle and mortar
Ingredients
Marinade
- 450 g chicken thighs (skinless and boneless) diced into 2cm/1/2" pieces
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp cornflour
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine or sherry
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1/4 tsp salt
Sauce
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine or sherry
- 3 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 dried red chilli deseeded and finely chopped
- 1 tsp fresh ginger grated
- 80 ml water
Cornflour thickener
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 2 tbsp water
Stir fry
- 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns
- 2 tbsp light oil
- 80 g peanuts raw or unsalted and roasted
- 1 onion finely diced
- 3 cloves of garlic crushed
- 1/2 broccoli small cubes of the stem and small florets
- 2 celery stalks sliced
- 1 carrot (large) finely sliced
- 1 red pepper cubes approximately 3cm/1"
- 1 dried chilli deseeded and finely chopped
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 4 spring onions finely sliced to serve
Instructions
- Mix together all the marinade ingredients and place in either a reusable plastic bag or a non-metallic bowl with a cover. Mix until the chicken is well coated and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Take the tablespoon of Sichuan peppercorns and add to a dry, non-stick frying pan and toast over a high heat until fragrant - around 3 minutes. Grind in a spice grinder or with a pestle and mortar, then set aside.
- Next, mix up all your sauce ingredients in a small jug and put to one side.
- In a small dish, mix the cornflour and 2 tablespoons of water until you have a paste with no lumps.
- When you are ready to make your stir fry, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in the wok and add the peanuts. Fry for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly. Lift out of the oil gently and set aside to cool on kitchen paper. Or skip this step if you're using already roasted peanuts.
- With the remaining oil in the wok, add in your marinated chicken pieces and cook. Flip the pieces every 20 seconds or so to colour evenly and cook through. After 5-6 minutes, the chicken should be cooked through, and you can remove it to a plate.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the wok and stir-fry the diced onion over a medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes, moving constantly. Next, add your crushed garlic and stir for an additional minute. Finally, add in all the remaining vegetables and dried chilli. To help soften the vegetables, you can add a couple of tablespoons of water. Stir the mixture regularly for 3-4 minutes until the vegetables start to soften.
- Put the chicken back into the wok, along with any cooking juices, and pour the sauce into the wok. Once this is mixed in and bubbling, slowly add in your cornflour mix. Stir this well. Cook for 2-3 minutes until everything is bubbling well and coated in the glossy sauce.
- Just before serving, add in a teaspoon of the ground Sichuan peppercorns, a tablespoon of sesame oil, and the peanuts. Serve with freshly steamed rice and sprinkle with the finely sliced spring onions.
Notes
- You can replace the dark soy sauce with Tamari, to be gluten-free, but if you do so, I would double the sugar and expect the sauce to be lighter in colour.
- If you prefer to use chicken breast, rather than thighs, that's not a problem. Or even a mix of the two.
- If you don't have Shaoxing wine, then sherry is a good substitution.
Nutrition
Calories: 516kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 107mg | Sodium: 1430mg | Potassium: 952mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 4164IU | Vitamin C: 112mg | Calcium: 113mg | Iron: 4mg