UN Chinese Language Day

Traditional Kung Pao Chicken dish is a perfect choice to spice up your Friday. It will bring the flavour of the Orient and it will keep your stomach full until the moment you head out of the office to enjoy your weekend.

As it turns out, the recipe was created by Ding Baozhen, a governor of Sichuan Province during the Qing Dynasty, who had a thing for chicken, peanuts and spicy flavours. During his 10-year service in Sichuan, he contributed a lot to the locals there, which is why the Qing government conferred upon him posthumously an official title Kung Pao, which means an officer who tutors the crown prince.

To make this dish, you’re going to need:

• 400-500 g chicken,
• 100 g peanuts

And to season it all*:

• dried red chillies,
• 5 green onions,
• a piece of ginger,
• 5 pieces of garlic,
• 30 ml cooking oil,
• 15 ml thick broad-bean sauce,
• 5 ml cooking wine,
• 15 ml cooking starch,
• 2 g salt,
• 5 ml rice vinegar,
• 10 ml soy sauce,
• 5 g sugar.

*The amounts of the seasonings can be adjusted according to personal taste.

Preparation

1. Clean the chicken breasts and slice them into smaller pieces.
2. Stir together the cooking wine, cooking starch and salt, and marinate the chicken cubes in the mixture for half an hour.
3. Soak peanuts in hot water for 10 min readutes and remove the peanut skin.
4. Clean the dried red chili peppers and cut them into small pieces. Clean and chop the green onions. Clean and dice the ginger and garlic.
5. Make a bowl of starchy sauce with the sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and cooking wine.

Jules Clancy, Flickr

Cooking Instructions

1. Use a moderate amount of oil to fry the peanuts until they turn yellow. Drain them and set aside to cool.
2. Using high heat, heat oil in a hot wok, then add the chicken cubes and fry until they turn slightly brown. Drain them and remove them to a plate.
3. Leave some cooking oil in the wok, and using a high heat stir-fry the dried chillies for 30 seconds to release the spice.
4. Then re-add the fried chicken cubes and add the diced garlic, ginger and the thick broad-bean sauce. Stir-fry until the sauce becomes red.
5. Add the starchy sauce and chopped green onions, and then re-add the cool fried peanuts. Stir-fry together for 30 seconds.
6. Your meal is ready to serve.

If you try out this recipe, let us know how it turned out for you. Share it with friends and family and enjoy the rest of the day!