Kung Pao Chicken

Name: Kung Pao Chicken
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 1 lb / 500g chicken thigh (, cut into bite size pieces); 2 tsp cornflour / cornstarch; 1 tbsp light soy sauce ((Note 2)); 1.5 tbsp dark soy sauce ((Note 3)); 2 tbsp Chinese black vinegar ((Note 4)); 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine ((Note 5)); 3 tbsp sugar (, any); 1/2 tsp sesame oil; 1/3 cup water; 2 tbsp peanut oil ((or other cooking oil)); 2 garlic cloves (, minced); 1 tsp ginger (, finely chopped); 6 - 10 dried chillies ((adjust to taste), cut into 2cm/ 3/4" pieces, most seeds discarded (Note 7)); 3 green onions (, cut into 2cm/ 3/4" pieces, white parts separated from green); 1.5 tsp ground sichuan peppercorns (, adjust to taste (Note 6)); 3/4 cup whole peanuts (or 1/2 cup halved) (, roasted unsalted)

Instructions

Prep:15minCook:10min

Recipe video above. Kung Pao chicken - done right! The flavour of this sauce is very similar to proper restaurant versions, with a great balance of savoury-sweet and sour with the numbing tingle from Sichuan pepper. Use whole Sichuan peppercorns if you have them, otherwise ground is fine (which is what I use).

Updated at: Sun, 15 Feb 2026 17:12:08 GMT