Take out style Kung Pao Chicken with marinated chicken, the signature sweet-sour-salty Kung Pao sauce with the addictive tingling heat from sichuan pepper.
It’s an explosion of big, BIG flavours – and it’s a really quick and easy recipe.
Kung Pao Chicken
Kung Pao Chicken is a Chinese takeout favourite that is mouthwateringly good and highly addictive – so it’s a good thing it’s easy to make at home so we don’t need to order takeout every time we crave it!! We love the strong flavoured sweet-sour-savoury sauce with the signature tingle of numbing heat from the Sichuan pepper!
If you’re wondering whether Kung Pao Chicken is authentic Chinese, the dish as we know it outside of China is a slightly westernised version of an authentic Chinese Sichuan dish.
Traditionally in China, Kung Pao Chicken is a dry stir fry. Which means, unlike 99% of other Asian stir fries on my site like Chop Suey and Cashew Chicken, it’s not swimming in loads of sauce.
But with Kung Pao Chicken, the sauce is very intense flavoured so you don’t need loads of it. When it mixes in with the rice, just a bit of sauce goes a long way.
What goes in Kung Pao Chicken
Most of these ingredients are pretty mainstream Asian cooking ingredients. I’ve provided substitutes for the Chinese cooking wine in the recipe.
The ingredients I describe in a little more detail below are:
-
Sichuan pepper
-
Chinese vinegar
-
Dried chillies
I like to use chicken thigh because it’s juicier than breast and tenderloin. If I make this with chicken breast, I always tenderise it using a Chinese restaurant technique using baking soda (bi-carb). It’s super simple, see directions here: How to Velvet Chicken.
Sichuan Pepper
This is the ingredient in Kung Pao sauce that makes it Kung Pao and not just any type of stir fry sauce. I describe it as a little bit lemony with a numbing spiciness, rather than hot spiciness like almost every other chilli.
I used to use whole peppercorns but nowadays I tend to use pre ground both for the convenience and also because it’s finely ground. In contrast, if you grind your own, there tends to be little gritty bits in it – albeit the flavour is a bit better.
Best substitute for Sichuan pepper is white pepper.
Dried Chillies
Not all dried chillies are created equal and in fact, the same type of chillies can vary in spiciness throughout the year. So for dried chillies, always taste them and make a judgement call on how much you can handle! Most of the heat is in the seeds which are removed.
If you really don’t think you can handle any chilli at all, use them when cooking but don’t eat them. The chillies add flavour to to sauce so don’t skip them.
What does Kung Pao Sauce taste like?
Kung Pao sauce has a strong flavour that is sweet, sour, savoury and with the signature tingle of heat from Sichuan pepper. It’s glossy and thickened with cornstarch / cornflour, and because it has such a strong flavour, this stir fry has less sauce than other Chinese favourites like Cashew Chicken and Beef and Broccoli.
Here’s what goes in Kung Pao Sauce:
-
Sichuan Pepper – described above
-
Chinese Black Vinegar – described below
- Cornstarch / cornflour – to thicken the sauce
- – subs available
-
Soy sauce, sugar and water
Chinese Black Vinegar
Looks like balsamic vinegar and, surprisingly, tastes vaguely like it. Available in Asian stores and costs only a couple of dollars for a big bottle. Be sure not to get Taiwanese or another Asian black vinegar (some taste completely different), make sure you get Chinese black vinegar (read the label!).
If you can’t find it, don’t worry, you can use rice wine vinegar, plain white vinegar or even balsamic vinegar. I’ve made Kung Pao Sauce so many times and tried it with each of these, and it’s actually quite similar.
Quick to cook
As with most stir fries, once you start cooking, things move quickly! It takes about 6 minutes to cook. So make sure you have all ingredients prepared and ready to toss in.
Key Tip: Cook the Kung Pao sauce down until it reduces to a syrupy consistency with quite an intense flavour. That’s the Kung Pao way!!
Phew! I don’t usually end up writing so much stuff about ingredients in a post! So I’m signing off here and handing over the recipe. Don’t forget the recipe video below! I think it’s especially useful to see the consistency of the sauce at the end – it should be thick and syrupy, and intense dark brown colour. Enjoy! – Nagi x
More Chinese takeout favourites
- Chow Mein
- Cashew Chicken
- Beef & Broccoli
- Chop Suey (Chicken Stir Fry)
- Spring Rolls
- Chinese BBQ Pork (Char Siu)
- See all Chinese recipes
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Kung Pao Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 lb / 500g chicken thigh , cut into bite size pieces
Sauce
- 2 tsp cornflour / cornstarch
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce (Note 2)
- 1.5 tbsp dark soy sauce (Note 3)
- 2 tbsp Chinese black vinegar (Note 4)
- 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (Note 5)
- 3 tbsp sugar , any
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/3 cup water
Stir Fry
- 2 tbsp peanut oil (or other cooking oil)
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 tsp ginger , finely chopped
- 6 - 10 dried chillies (adjust to taste), cut into 2cm/ 3/4" pieces, most seeds discarded (Note 7)
- 3 green onions , cut into 2cm/ 3/4" pieces, white parts separated from green
- 1.5 tsp ground sichuan peppercorns , adjust to taste (Note 6)
- 3/4 cup whole peanuts (or 1/2 cup halved) , roasted unsalted
Instructions
Sauce & Marinade Chicken:
- Mix cornflour and soy sauce in a small bowl until cornflour is dissolved. Then mix in remaining Sauce ingredients EXCEPT water.
- Pour 1.5 tbsp Sauce over chicken. Toss to coat, set aside for 10 - 20 minutes.
- Add water into remaining Sauce.
Stir Fry:
- Heat oil in wok over high heat. Add garlic, ginger and chillies. Cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add chicken, cook until it turns white, then add the white part of the green onions. Cook until chicken is cooked through - about 2 minutes.
- Add Sauce and Sichuan pepper. Bring to simmer, mixing constantly, until almost all the sauce reduces to a thick syrup.
- Just before the end, mix through peanuts and green part of the green onions. Also check spiciness - add more Sichuan pepper if you can handle the heat!
- Serve immediately with rice - or for a low carb, low cal option, try Cauliflower Rice!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Lucky 8: Eight more Chinese takeout favourites
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What a difference decent Sichuan peppercorns make!!!
The ‘usual’ stuff available here in NZ is rubbish so I ordered some from the Mala Market – never looking back; I could actually taste the lemony back flavour before my mouth went numb.
Love it!!
I was so worried about this being too spicy – I like heat but my stomach does not. Only used 6 dried chillies with seeds removed, they were very hot when I tasted them so I thought that’d do. Went light on the sichuan (toasted & ground myself) initially also, only to add in the full amount plus more when it came to tasting. Loved that it had the flavour & heat without the burn that ruins the tastebuds. The numbing sensation of the sichuan was definitely there & the overall flavours were perfectly balanced. Served with steamed jasmine rice plus the supreme soy noods at my teens request. Only change to the recipe was I threw in some pink oyster mushrooms that I needed to use up & forgot to add the peanuts. Perfect amount of very tasty sauce!
Easy-to-follow recipe, quick to prepare and cook, easy clean-up, a delicious dish. Checks all the boxes – we’ll be making this again. Thanks, Nagi.
I used substitutions for Chinese Black Vinegar and Chinese Cooking Wine, no peppercorns and Chilli flakes and it came out super tasty and kid-friendly!
Woo hoo!! Well done WM! N x
This was great! I’ve never ordered or made this before, and I was so pleased with the result. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Nagi,
I want to make this this week. What type of dried chilies did you use for this recipe? I want to make sure I get the right kind.
Thanks!
Hi Katy – I use the dried red Chinese chillies that you get at Asian stores. Be careful to check the packet for country of origin because the Thai ones look the same but are WAAAAYYYY hotter (found that out when testing cookbook curries!!)🔥☄️🔥🧨 N x
Thanks for the advise! We have an Asian market down the street that I love. I can’t wait to make this. I’m going to do scallops instead of chicken. Any advice on getting scallops crispy?
Omg I am THRILLED to have a real Asian meal at home. We are huge fans but find most recipes Americanized. Thank you so much. Kung pao delish.
Now I need to order more ingredients. Thank you
Excellent recipe. I’ve been cooking recipetineats recipes everyday over this Christmas/New year break, and it’s been very very good. My partner and I have been enjoying plenty of delicious food thanks to Nagi’s fantastic recipes! Thank you! This Kungpao chicken was great! Loved the numbing spice.
Yet another winner. Loved this, my fourth meal of yours in a row Nagi. Sauce was amazing. I served it with white rice and bok choi. I don’t do well with very spicy food so chickened out on the quantity of chilli and only used 2. l regretted it later as l think even l could have managed with the original quantity. I’ve always been reluctant to try cooking Asian food as it all needs to happen so fast once it starts but the way you break down the steps makes it super easy. Thanks Nagi.
You’re welcome Niki! Asian food is quick and easy as long as you get the prep done first! N x
Added too much ginger, no regrets. I’ve been on a recipe tin eats bender. I told my husband he’ll have to telle when you stop cooking Asian takeout 😂.
Incredibly tasty!!! I followed the recipe exactly and it came out perfect. It took me a while to find all the ingredients but it is well worth going the extra mile and finding the szchechuan pepper as it really makes this dish so special. I don’t usually like spicy foods but my partner loves them, this dish is a spicy dish that I can eat happily as it is more an overall warmth than really hot on the tongue spiciness.
Thank you so much Nagi. Your website and all your hard work is a godsend and has improved my everyday cooking a hundredfold.
So glad I could help! N x
I am an old cook who loves to try new recipes. This one sounded so good that I placed a $32(US) Amazon order for the wine, vinegar, and Sichuan pepper. SO delicious! Thank you.
Made this and loved it, but I live in Taipei and could not find the dark soy sauce in any of the seven groceries I tried. Do you have any suggestions/advice on how to find it?
Always check the parenthesis where she writes “note x”. Like she mentions in the recipe, just substitute the dark so sauce with regular one.
This was so good! My husband and I scarfed the entire thing that’s supposed to serve 4. Don’t hesitate to follow Nagi’s substitutes if you don’t have everything – I used 1.5T rice vinegar & 1.5tsp balsamic vinegar for the black vinegar as well as cutting back the sugar to 2T as I used mirin instead of Shaoxing wine. Also added about 1.5 cups matchstick carrots and there was still plenty of sauce. This was amazing and I’ll definitely be making it again soon.
Brilliant. Thanks for commenting Lana. The balsamic and rice vinegar sub was exactly what l was planning as well as the Mirin sugar variation. Great to know it works well.
This recipe is sooo good!
If we’re feeling like a veggie dinner we substitute the chicken with florets of cauliflower that we’ve tossed with oil, salt and pepper and roasted in the oven.
Great idea R!!! I love it! N x
Made Kung Pau Chicken, my husband went crazy for it, definitely a WINNER
Yum yum yum, thank you!!!
I am always on the hunt for new recipes and this dish just WOW! I made double the recipe and glad I did, we all went back for seconds. Thank you!