Kung Pao Chicken

Inspired by Mission Chinese - San Francisco, CA

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Chinese food in America is one of those cuisines that looks vastly different than it’s authentic counterpart. I’ve grown to love genuine Cantonese and Szechuan dishes in more recent years but still have a soft spot for the Western versions we all know and love. Kung Pao has Szechuan roots but looks very different in American kitchens. Thankfully, chefs like Danny Bowien have shown us ways to gain authentic flavor profiles while still finding ways to innovate and create familiar dishes for the American palate. This Kung Pao Chicken will be very familiar to what you already know while incorporating a few unique flavors that will give you something truly amazing.

This recipe is inspired by the Kung Pao Pastrami on the menu at Mission Chinese Food. I first visited their location in San Francisco, California but they also have locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Mission Chinese Food is run by Chef Danny Bowien who made his Kung Pao Pastrami using a hybrid of both Western and Chinese techniques for this dish. Rather than create his innovate version using pastrami, I decided to go for the more traditional chicken base while still using most of his techniques.

INGREDIENTS

CHICKEN BASE (makes 4 servings):

  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, diced into ½ inch cubes

  • 1 TBS soy sauce

  • 1 TBS Shaoxing wine (can substitute with dry sherry)

  • 1 tsp corn starch

KUNG PAO SAUCE:

  • 1 TBS soy sauce

  • 1 TBS Shaoxing wine

  • 1 TBS Chinese black vinegar (can substitute with white vinegar)

  • 1 TBS chili crisp (or chili bean paste for less spice)

  • 2 tsp corn starch

ADDITIONAL NEEDS:

  • 1 cup red bell pepper, chopped (about 1 large red bell pepper)

  • 2 celery stalks, chopped

  • 2 green onions (green part chopped, white part minced)

  • 2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced

  • ½ cup roasted peanuts

  • 12 dried facing heaven peppers (can substitute with chili de arbol or other small dried hot peppers)

  • 1 tsp ground Szechuan pepper

  • 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

  • Canola oil

GO FOR IT

CHICKEN:

  1. In a bowl, whisk together soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and corn starch, then add chicken cubes and marinate in refrigerator for 30 minutes (up to 2 hours)

KUNG PAO SAUCE:

  1. In a bowl, whisk together soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, Chinese black vinegar, chili crisp, and corn starch, then set aside

KUNG PAO CHICKEN:

  1. In a wok or large skillet, heat ½ cup of canola oil, then flash fry dried chilies and roasted peanuts for 1 minute, then remove from oil and set aside

  2. With oil still hot add garlic slices and allow to fry (will take slightly longer than the chilies and peanuts - maybe 2 to 3 minutes until golden and crisp), then remove and set aside

  3. Add in marinated chicken cubes and stir until almost cooked through (should go fast with ½ inch cubes - about 2 minutes), then remove from heat and set aside

  4. If pan is dry at this point, add a bit more oil, otherwise add in chopped bell pepper and celery and cook until they just begin to soften (about 2 minutes)

  5. Throw in Szechuan pepper and toasted sesame seeds and give everything a good stir, then add in chicken, peanuts, chilies, green onion (green and white parts) and toss everything well

  6. Add in Kung Pao sauce and stir until everything is coated and sauce becomes glossy and slightly thickened (about 1 or 2 minutes)

  7. Serve hot with a side of rice to soak up any remaining sauce

NOTES:

At the end of the day, Kung Pao Chicken is a big stir fry, which means you can really put anything you want in here without making a bad dish. More authentic Chinese versions will use leeks rather than celery and bell pepper but I decided to go more hybrid like Danny Bowien.

If you’d like, you could also add 1 TBS of fresh ginger to the stir fry as is popular with many Chinese take-out restaurants but I didn’t find it necessary as I didn’t want it to cover up the heat given up by the dried chili and chili crisp but maybe you do. You can also mince your garlic and add it to the sauce if you’d rather have it a bit more incorporated into the base flavoring than the smaller subtleties you’ll get by frying thin slices.

Feel free to get really innovative like Danny Bowien and use pastrami or bacon or any type of protein you’d like. I’m a sucker for traditional Kung Pao, though and love the way this came out.