Kung Pau Chicken

Kung Pau chicken is a spicy chicken dish from the South-Western, Sichuan Province of China. I haven't travelled there yet. But the food is very different to the Suzhou and Shanghai style which tends to be a little sweet and not usually spicy.

The name can also be pronounced: Gong Bao or Kung Po. I attended a cookery class hosted by More Fun Asia in Suzhou where we learnt to prepare this dish.

Serves 4

Ingredients

3-4 diced chicken breasts

2 x fresh red chili, diced

2 x fresh green chili, diced

2 eggs

1 Tbsp chicken stock powder

1 cup oil

1 1/2 Tbsp corn flour

6 Tbsp Chinese rice wine or rice vinegar

2 spring onions finely chopped

1-2 inch piece of root ginger finely grated or minced

2 handfuls of peanuts

chili sauce

pinch of salt

Method

To make the marinade: In a bowl, add the salt, stock powder, 2 Tbsp rice wine and diced chicken. Mix together. Add the eggs to coat the chicken. Add the cornflour and mix. Leave to marinade for 10-20 minutes.

In a wok or saucepan, deep fry the peanuts and then drain them, keeping a little oil in the pan. Ensuring the oil is still hot, add the chicken mixture to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Then remove the chicken mixture and drain it. Next, add the chopped chili, onion and ginger to the pan and stir fry for a few minutes. Add 3-4 tsp chili sauce. Add the chicken mixture back into the pan. Add a 3-4 Tbsp water and the remaining rice wine. Make a paste with the cornflour and 2 Tbsp water. Add it to the ingredients in the pan. Now add the peanuts. Drizzle over a little more water and it is ready to eat! It is best served with steamed, white rice.