Ingredients

• 1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, trim fat, cut into 1/2in chunks
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/3 cup Caiziyou oil (sub peanut oil or other neutral oil)
• 2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon Sichuan fermented chili bean paste
• 1 tablespoon black vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 12 hot red Chinese chilies
• 1/2 cup roasted peanuts
• 3 scallions, whites mined, greens sliced, reserve separately
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
• 2 small leeks, white and light green parts only, 1/4in slices, 1/2 cup

Instructions

Prep

Chicken

• combine the following in a medium bowl
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• Chop chicken into bite size pieces, add to bowl of marinade, toss to coat, and set aside

Aromatics

• Dice scallion whites, garlic, and ginger and place together in a bowl small bowl
  • 3 scallions
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tablespoon ginger
  • aiming for equal parts

Seasoning

• Slice the scallion greens and combine with Sichuan peppercorns in a ~small bowl
  • 3 scallion greens (from the same scallions already used above)
  • 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns, ground (mortar and pestle)

Veggies

• Slice leek whites and pale green into 1/4in slices and place in a bowl
  • 2 small leeks

Peanuts + Chilies

• Pour peanuts and chilies into a bowl
  • 1/2 cup roasted peanuts
  • 10 red chilies (I used 10, but I dont get a lot of heat from them?)

Sauce

• Combine the following in a medium bowl and mix
  • 1.3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1.3 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
  • 0.3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon black vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Sichuan fermented chili bean paste
  • 2 teaspoon sugar

Oil

• Prep fine metal strainer over a heat safe bowl
• Heat oil in a wok over high heat until shimmering
• Add Sichuan peppercorns and red chilies, and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds (it happens fast!)
  • 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
  • 2 red chilies
• Drain oil and spices into the prep'ed strainer and bowl

Cooking

Beside your heating wok, lay out the bowls from prep in the following order:

Oil - Chicken - Veggies - Peanuts - Aromatics - Sauce - Seasoning

• Chicken: use 1/4 of the oil to cook 1/2 of the chicken
  • spread the chicken in a single layer in the wok
  • let cook undisturbed for 1min
  • toss and cook for another 1min
  • remove chicken to a plate
  • repeat with remaining chicken
• Veggies: add 1/4 of the oil to the wok and cook leeks until charred in spots, about 1min
• Peanuts: add peanuts, 10 chiles, chicken and the rest of the oil
• Aromatics: push everything to the side, making space in the center to cook the aromoatics for 15 seconds, then toss everything together
• Sauce: add sauce, stir and cook until thickened, about 1min
• Turn off the heat
• Seasoning: stir in scallion greens with ground Sichuan peppercorns
• Serve over rice/slaw

Vegetarian/Vegan

Can quickly be made vegan by replacing chicken with tofu. Look up how to make nice and crispy tofu...

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Other kung pao recipe The Kitchn: Takeout Style.

References

🔥 Chile Paste

Dec 23, 2022

👨🏻‍🍳 Auxiliary Recipes

This chile paste is used to spice up dry pot and kung pao chicken.