Better-Than-Takeout Kung Pao Chicken

I wrote this post with my roommate Taylor in mind, who is just starting to explore the world of cooking. Each step is described without common cooking words like julienne, dice, and slice. Sometimes, I forget that these make cooking a daunting experience.

So this post is for all cooks just starting out, who want to find a bomb-ass dish to bring to potlucks. The first section is all about doing all the prep work. Second part is about cooking the meat and vegetables separately, before bringing it all together into kung-pao-y goodness. This dish pairs best with rice, white or brown.

For tools, you’ll need:

• 1 sharp knife for cutting vegetables and chicken
• 1 wok or large pan
• 1 metal flat metal turner or something to stir together ingredients in the hot pan
• 1 or 2 cutting boards (cut the veggies then the chicken so there’s less to wash)
  • If you want to save time cut the chicken first so it can marinade. Do step 4 before step 3.
• 1 large bowl for marinating chicken
• 1 large bowl for the cooked chicken
• 1 large bowl to hold veggies (cut onion last)
• 1 small bowl to hold the heated nuts
• Mortar and pestle to crush the garlic and grind the peppercorns

Ingredients:

• Boneless, skinless chicken Thighs – 1 Costco pack or 6 thighs
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1/2 tbsp of the Szechuan peppercorns (use 1/3 if you want it milder)
• 4 dried red peppers (add after smash)
• Veggies to pan fry (see step 3 how to cut)
  • 2 bell peppers
  • 1 jalapeno
  • 3-5 stalks of celery
  • Sugar snap peas – 1 Trader Joe’s packet or 1/2 lbs
  • 3 Spring onions, white and green parts
  • 1/2 of a medium white onion
• Marinade for the chicken (used in step 4)
  • 2 teaspoons canola oil
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch (or enough to dust each piece of chicken(
  • 2 teaspoons of Shaoxing wine (Chinese cooking wine) – can be left out
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Cashew nuts or peanuts
• Final sauce (make this is a small sealable container so you can shake before adding to the dish)
  • 2 Tablespoons light soy sauce
  • 1.5 Tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon water
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch (this thickens the sauce)
  • 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
    
    

Step 1: Make Rice

Get the rice started according to your rice cooker or other online instructions. Sorry not going to explain that here.

Step 2: Toast the nuts. Don’t walk away

In the cold wok or pan, add a fistful of cashew nuts or peanuts. Second, dribble canola oil to barely coat each nut (~1 tsp). You should not have any oil pooling at the bottom of the wok. Turn heat to medium and stir constantly. Once the nuts starts browning (about 3 min), turn off the heat. Transfer the nuts to the small nut bowl to cool. The nuts will become crunchier as it cools. Try one.

Step 3: Clean and Cut all the veggies

• 2 Bell peppers – cut into thin strips to a width 1/3 your index finger (Gordon Ramsey demonstrates how). This is a julienne cut
• 1 jalapeno – cut off the top and cut in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and cut diagonally into thin strips similar to the bell peppers
• 3-5 Celery stalks – cut diagonally to the width of your finger
• 1 pack of sugar snap peas – some were large so I cut those in half
• Spring onions (3 whole with white and green parts) – to get more surface area, slice diagonally, as thin as you can
• 1/2 onion, sliced (remove ends, cut in half, lay flat, and slice thicker than julienned bell peppers

Put all the veggies except the onion into the veggie bowl. The onions are going to need some extra time in the wok.

Step 4: Cut the chicken and marinate

Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces (6-8 pieces depending on the size of your chicken thighs).

Put the chicken in the bowl.

Add the following directly into the chicken bowl and mix thoroughly. Let sit for 20 min on the counter.

• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch (or enough to dust each piece of chicken)
• 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground white pepper

Step 5: Smash

• 4 garlic cloves
• 1/2 tbsp of the Szechuan peppercorns (use 1/4 if you want it milder)
• 4 dried red peppers (add after smash)

Smash garlic to a pulp and break the peppercorns until it stops getting smaller.

Break 4 dried red peppers in half and add to the mortar, seeds and all. Give the peppers a light tap with the pestle. Use 2 or 3 if sriracha is the hottest you can handle. I would characterize this dish as mild but you set the preference for your heat tolerance.

Step 6: Cook meat and veggies separately. Combine it all at the end

If you’ve gotten this far, congrats! Prep is done.

This recipe can be ruined by two things – crowding the chicken which leads to steaming versus searing and overcooking the vegetables.

1. Add 2 tablespoons of canola oil to the wok and is enough for this entire cooking portion. Turn the flame to the highest heat setting and let the oil heat up. Brown the chicken in two batches until it’s fully cooked, lightly browned, for 5-7 minutes. Turn off the heat when straining the chicken out of the wok into your cooked chicken bowl in between batches. You want to strain so that the oil stays into the wok. Turn on the heat again to the highest setting and add the second batch of chicken. Turn off the heat again and strain into the cooked chicken bowl.
2. With heat off but the oil still hot, add the garlic, crushed peppercorn, and dried red pepper mixture from the mortar to the wok. Oil is still hot enough to make garlic mixture fragrant. Give it a quick stir.
3. Turn the heat on to the highest setting again and add the onions. Toss vigorously so garlic is evenly distributed with the onion. Stir-fry for 2 minutes, continuously moving around the garlic mixture and onions with the turner.
4. Add the rest of the veggies. Stir-fry for another 3-4 minutes, with constant tossing and turning. The bell pepper should be hot yet still crunchy. Wilted isn’t good here. Try pieces of onion and bell pepper to see if it needs to be cooked longer.
5. Add the chicken and accumulated juices back to the wok. Toss and turn to mix everything.
6. Give the final sauce a vigorous shake and add it to the dish. Toss everything to coat well.
7. Top off with the nuts and toss one last time. Serve with rice.

TL;DR version – cook meat and veggies separately for their respective amount of time and sauce at the end.

Oh, add the nuts back and give it one final stir. Dinner!