Kung Pao Chicken is so quick and easy to make at home, it’ll be a favorite weeknight dinner in no time.
How to make kung pao chicken
This stir-fry mix comes together super quickly and easily once you have all the ingredients ready. If you want to make this faster than it arrives at your door, prepare everything before you start cooking.
- First, make some rice. Unless you are smart and have a rice meal in the fridge. Then in that case, skip this step because you are already winning in life.
- Cut your chicken into bite-sized pieces. Place them in a bowl with the marinade and set aside while you prepare the dressing ingredients.
- Prepare the ginger and garlic. Whisk all dressing ingredients in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup. Use a garlic press for garlic and a ginger grater for ginger. Both are great time savers.
- Time to cook! It will only take a few minutes: cook the chicken, add the sauce, let it reduce a bit and you are ready to eat.
Kung Pao Sauce
Kung Pao Sauce is a magical sauce that makes everything taste good! It’s so delicious that they sell bottles of it in stores (there’s even Panda Express kung pao sauce), but it’s really easy to make at home and store in the fridge. From there you can add it to randomly clean out the fried fridge and boom, instant kung pao.
To make the kung pao sauce, mix together 1 tablespoon + 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1/4 cup hoisin sauce, 1/4 cup sambal oelek, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons sugar, 4 minced garlic cloves, and 1 tablespoon of grated ginger. Cook in a non-stick sauce pan over medium heat, stirring until the sauce is thick and glossy. Allow to cool completely, then pour into a clean container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks, tightly covered. Add the fried chips during the last step, after everything is cooked.
What is kung pao chicken?
Kung Pao Chicken is a classic Chinese dish with diced chicken, dry chilies and peanuts. It comes from the land of fiery and spicy Chinese hot food, Sichuan. It’s also a really popular Americanized Chinese order. Everyone loves kung pao chicken with its tender chicken pieces and complex sauce with salty, sweet, savory and spicy flavors.
This particular kung pao is not the way it is made in Sichuan. In Sichuan, they fry it the classic way with just a touch of sauce. This kung pao is a sharp riff, more in the style of Chinese American kung pao. The sauce makes it perfect to eat with rice.
Kung Pao Chicken Ingredients
Most of the ingredients in this kung pao chicken can be found at your regular grocery store. You need chicken thighs, soy sauce, rice vinegar, corn starch, sugar, garlic, ginger, onion and peanuts (or your favorite nut). The rest of the ingredients can be found at your Asian grocery store, online, or at places like Whole Foods.
It’s hard to find things
- Shaoxing wine: This is the secret ingredient that will make your Chinese food taste like restaurant-style Chinese food. Shaoxing wine is a sweet, nutty and earthy Chinese rice wine. Read more about it via our ultimate guide to Shaoxing wine.
- Hoisin sauce: Hoisin is now sold almost everywhere, from Target to your basic grocery store. It is a thick, sweet brown sauce used in marinades and as a dipping sauce. It’s super delicious: sweet and savory, savory and full of umami. Hoisin can taste different based on the brand, and for us, the best brand of hoisin is Lee Kum Kee. Bonus, it comes in a squeeze bottle!
- Sambal oelek: This is not an authentic Sichuan kung pao chicken ingredient, but packs a fresh chili-garlic punch.
- whole dry chili: These are completely optional, but if you want your kung pao to look authentic, you must have dried chilies! They sell whole Chinese dried chilies online and in Asian grocery stores. We use the dried heaven-looking chili, but you can also sub the chile de árbol you see in the Mexican aisle. Most people don’t eat dried peppers, but some do, especially if the peppers are good quality, roasted and good.
Nuts or no nuts?
Peanuts are the classic nut in kung pao. The main thing is to fry them a little to increase their nuttiness. I went for a peanut-free kung pao with cashews. If you want, you can insert them into each nut or leave them out completely. To fry your nuts: heat a little oil in a non-stick pan or wok. Stir, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes until they start to smell roasted and delicious. Remove from pan and set aside. If you are not going to roast your nuts, be sure to use toasted/roasted nuts.
Chicken breast or chicken thighs?
Chicken thighs are superior in this stir-fry because they are super flavorful and have more fat content than breasts. You can also use breasts, just make sure you cook them for less time.
Does this taste like Panda Express kung pao chicken?
This isn’t an ingredient-for-ingredient copycat recipe for Panda Express, but it’s pretty darn close!
Tips and tricks
- Cut your chicken into even pieces. Take the time to cut the chicken into small, even pieces. It will cook faster and more evenly.
- Velvet your flesh. Marinating chicken in Shaoxing wine, soy sauce and corn starch is called velvet. It gives the chicken flavor and the cornstarch protects the chicken from excess heat that makes it more mushy when cooked. It is what gives fried meat its silky texture.
- Toast the walnuts. Roasting the nuts brings out the flavors making them more delicious and crunchy.
- Use a non-stick pan. I like to use a non-stick pan because cornstarch tends to stick to regular pans and with a non-stick pan you have the option of not using as much oil. Some people think that non-stick pans aren’t professional because they don’t give you the maillard (or wok hei, if you’re going that deep) reaction that you would get with a regular pan, but when you’re making a stir fry, not a steak, it’s not a problem. Plus, convenience is the name of the game, and if you have a pesky pan that’s hard to clean after dinner is over, it’s a no-brainer. These pans are my favorite.
What to serve with kung pao chicken
Kung Pao Chicken Recipe
Very addictive and very easy to make at home.
It serves 4
Chicken
- 1 £ chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 tablespoon I am willow
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 1 SPOON corn starch
Kung Pao Sauce
- 2 SPOON corn starch
- 2 tablespoon I will
- 2 tablespoon sambal oelek
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 carnation garlic crushed
- 2 SPOON ginger chopped
Stir the fry
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 8-10 dried red chilies if you want
- 1/4 CUP roasted cashews or peanuts
- 2-3 soft onions cut to 2″ lengths.
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Marinate the chicken thighs in soy sauce, shaoxing wine and 1 teaspoon cornstarch. Set aside while making your sauce.
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In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, mix together the remaining 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 1/4 cup water, hoisin, sambal oelek, rice vinegar, sugar, garlic, and ginger.
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Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet or saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and cooked through.
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Turn the heat to medium, add the peppers and sauce and stir to coat. Cook until the sauce begins to thicken and become glossy.
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Add green onions and cashews.
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Enjoy it hot!
Nutrition facts
Kung Pao Chicken Recipe
Amount per service
Calories 350
Calories from fat 147
% Daily Value*
Fat 16.3 g25%
Saturated fat 3.6 g23%
cholesterol 101 mg34%
Sodium 604 mg26%
potassium 388 mg11%
Carbohydrates 13.6 g5%
Fiber 0.9 g4%
Sugar 8.1 g9%
Protein 35.2 g70%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
