Kung Pao Chicken
A fiery Sichuan classic featuring tender chicken wok-tossed with roasted peanuts, dried red chilies, and mouth-numbing Sichuan peppercorns. The sauce strikes the perfect balance between sweet, sour, salty, and intensely spicy.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Coat the chicken
Put the chicken cubes in a bowl. Add the Shaoxing wine, 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce and the cornstarch. Mix well and let it sit for at least 10 minutes while you prepare everything else; the cornstarch keeps the chicken soft and juicy.
- 500g chicken
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
✅ Done when: chicken pieces are evenly coated and slightly tacky
Mix the sauce
In a small bowl, mix the remaining 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce, the dark soy sauce, the black vinegar and 2 tablespoons of water. Taste and add a little more vinegar or soy sauce if you like; this is the sauce you will use in step 5.
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce (remaining)
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp black vinegar
- 2 tbsp water
Fry the chilies and pepper
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Cook the chicken
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Add the sauce and peanuts
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Coat the chicken
Put the chicken cubes in a bowl. Add the Shaoxing wine, 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce and the cornstarch. Mix well and let it sit for at least 10 minutes while you prepare everything else; the cornstarch keeps the chicken soft and juicy.
- 500g chicken
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
✅ Done when: chicken pieces are evenly coated and slightly tacky
Mix the sauce
In a small bowl, mix the remaining 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce, the dark soy sauce, the black vinegar and 2 tablespoons of water. Taste and add a little more vinegar or soy sauce if you like; this is the sauce you will use in step 5.
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce (remaining)
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp black vinegar
- 2 tbsp water
Fry the chilies and pepper
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Cook the chicken
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Add the sauce and peanuts
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The Story Behind the Dish
Kung Pao Chicken is named after Ding Baozhen (1820-1886), a Qing dynasty official who served as governor of Sichuan province. Known as 'Ding Gongbao' (丁宫保, 'Ding the Palace Guardian'), the dish was created by his household chefs combining diced chicken with Sichuan peppercorns, dried chilies, and peanuts — ingredients that define Sichuan cooking.
The dish reflects Sichuan cuisine's famous 'málà' (麻辣) flavor — a numbing heat from the peppercorn combined with the strong spiciness of the chillies. Famously, walnuts were sometimes used instead of peanuts in original court versions.
After Ding's death, the dish spread from his household to restaurants across Sichuan and eventually across the globe, where Western adaptations toned down the heat but kept the beloved name.
⭐ Why It's Famous
Kung Pao Chicken achieved global fame because it represents the perfect introduction to Sichuan cuisine — complex numbing-spicy flavor wrapped in a universally appealing stir-fry. It became a staple of Chinese restaurants worldwide and is often listed among the most famous Chinese dishes.
💡 Fun Fact
Because Ding Baozhen's surname 'Ding' and his title 'Gongbao' were politically sensitive after the dynasty fell, the dish was renamed 'Gongbao Jiding' (meaning 'palace guardian chicken' in Mandarin). The story of how foreigners know it as 'Kung Pao' is a case-study in how the name traveled.
Sichuan, China
30.57°N, 104.07°E
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