Kung Pao Chicken

5 from 3 votes

Kung! PAO! This chicken has been taking karate and it's here to kick you in the taste buds. Just kidding, it's actually a healthy weeknight recipe with bell peppers, zucchini, and crunchy peanuts, in an orange-chili sauce that is fire. It's got a little bit of heat and a lot of amazing Asian flavor. Special thanks to my new BFF, chili crisp. That stuff is sooo good, I always drizzle extra on my plate. Make this easy stir fry with Rice, Brown Rice, or Cauliflower Rice, and dinner is DONE.

Prep Time30

Cook Time6

Total Time36

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Asian

Servings: servings

Calories: 328kcal

Author: The Food Charlatan

Ingredients

For the marinade:

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon sherry or better yet, Shaoxing wine
1 and 1/2 pounds chicken breasts or chicken thighs, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon vegetable oil plus more, for searing the chicken

For the veggies:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil for sauteing the veggies
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
2 small zucchini
1/2 cup onion chopped
4 cloves garlic smashed and minced
1 and 1/2 inches fresh ginger about 1 tablespoon grated or minced (or 1 tablespoon ginger paste)

For the sauce:

2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon chili crisp or more, or less!
1/2 cup chicken broth*
1 teaspoon orange zest from 1 orange
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice from 1/2 an orange

To serve:

1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts or roasted salted cashews
green onions chopped, for garnish
white sesame seeds for garnish
hot rice for serving (tap for recipe)

Instructions

Marinate the chicken. Add the marinade ingredients to a medium bowl: 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, and 1 tablespoon Sherry wine (or Shaoxing wine). Whisk together.
Chop the chicken breast (or thighs) into 1 inch cubes. Add chicken to the bowl with the marinade. Stir and set aside at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Chop the veggies: Chop the red bell pepper and green bell pepper into squares (see photos). Slice 2 zucchini in half lengthwise, then slice each half lengthwise again. Chop the strips into 2 inch pieces. Chop an onion and measure out 1/2 cup (save the rest in the freezer for a future meal). Set these veggies aside.
Smash 4 cloves of garlic with the side of your chef's knife, then peel off the skins. Mince the garlic. Peel a 1 and 1/2 or 2 inch piece of ginger, then finely mince the ginger (or grate it). Set the ginger and garlic aside, separate from the other veggies.
Make the sauce. Add all the sauce ingredients to a small bowl: 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons honey, 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce, 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce, 1 tablespoon chili crisp (or less, you can always add more as a garnish later), 1/2 cup chicken broth*, 1 teaspoon zest from 1 orange, and about 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice (about 1/2 an orange). Whisk together. Leave the whisk in the bowl so you can give it a final mix right before adding it to the skillet.
Sear the chicken. Heat a 12 inch cast iron skillet** (or wok) over medium-high heat. When it's very hot (2-3 minutes), add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to the hot pan and swirl to coat the bottom. It should shimmer right away.
Use tongs to add the chicken pieces in the pan one at a time, with space in between. You will have to do this in 2-3 batches. Let the chicken cook without touching it for 2-3 minutes, until completely browned on the bottom. Flip each piece of chicken and sear the other side for about 1 minute, until brown. Turn the heat down to medium and let the chicken finish cooking for a couple minutes at a lower temperature, if your chicken pieces are large. (If they are small, you can keep the heat at medium-high.) When the chicken is cooked all the way through (internal temperature of 160 degrees F, or split one in half to make sure the chicken is not pink), remove the chicken to a plate. Repeat with all the remaining chicken.
Cook the vegetables. Once the chicken is done, add 2 more tablespoons olive oil to the same skillet and turn the burner up to medium high heat. Add the peppers, onions, and zucchini all at once. Saute for about 2 minutes, until crisp-tender.
After about 2 minutes, add the garlic and ginger and stir them in. Cook for another 1-3 minutes, depending on how soft you like your vegetables. Kung Pao chicken traditionally has very crisp tender vegetables. Keep in mind they will continue to cook a bit even after you turn off the heat.
Add in the chicken and orange sauce. Scrape the chicken and any juices into the pan with the veggies. Add all the orange chili sauce. Stir up all the browned bits from cooking the chicken. Add 1/2 cup roasted peanuts (or cashews) and stir everything to coat it well with the sauce. Remove from the heat.
Garnish the chicken with chopped green onions and toasted sesame seeds. Pass extra chili crisp sauce at the table, in case anyone likes it extra spicy!
Serve this recipe with rice of some kind. It's especially decadent with Coconut Jasmine Rice. but regular white rice is also amazing. Other options include Brown rice, Cauliflower Rice (our weeknight go-to), or Basmati rice.

Notes

*I use 1/2 cup water and 3/4 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon Chicken base.

**If you don't have a cast iron pan, use your heaviest skillet.

Nutrition facts do not include rice.

Nutrition