Special Red Kungpao chicken

Kungpao chicken (宫保鸡丁) is a very popular Chinese recipe and originates from Sichuan province. The main ingredient in kung pao chicken is the sichuan peppercorns, which provide a numb feeling when eating it. I never knew about kung pao chicken until I came to China and it has been one of my favorite chinese dish ever since! There are many kinds of kungpao chicken recipes and I ate so many different varieties of that dish. Some include vegetables like carrots, cucumber or potato in their kungpao recipes but personally, I prefer the ones without any vegetables in it. I recenlty discovered one restaurant near my school which makes the tastiest and most delicious kungpao chicken I ever ate in my whole life so far. The chef always makes his kungpao “red”, unlike most kungpao recipes where the color becomes dark. I frankly don’t know which is the authentic kungpao chicken recipe, but what I am 200% sure of is that I LOVE RED KUNGPAO! I have a previous post about another kungpao chicken recipe, where I use dark soy sauce. Dark soy sauce is the reason why the dish will become “dark” in color. After eating that “red” kungpao for the first time, I became obsessed about making the exact same thing. So, here is another kungpao chicken recipe and I decided to call it my “Special Red Kungpao chicken”, because it’s really special to me! Up to you to decide which kungpao recipe you prefer!

Special Red Kungpao chicken recipe

Ingredients:
2 medium pieces of chicken breasts, cut in bite-size cubes
1 tsp chicken powder (optional)
2 tbsp cooking wine
1 tsp cornstarch
light soy sauce
2 tbsp chili oil
cooking oil
3 tbsps red rice vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup of peanuts
1 stalk of green onions
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tsp sichuan peppercorns
2 dried red chillies

Steps:
1. Marinate the chicken pieces with chicken powder, cooking wine, cornstarch and 1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce. Keep for 5 minutes and meanwhile go to step 2.
2. Mix red rice vinegar with brown sugar and 1 tbsp light soy sauce in a bowl. Check if it needs more sugar. Cut the green onions in medium slices.
3. Heat 2 tbsp cooking oil in wok over medium heat and fry the chicken pieces until tender and cooked. It should take about 2-3 minutes.
(Alternatively, you could deep-fry your chicken pieces, but do not overcook, we don’t want crispy chicken.). Remove excess oil.
4. Add chili oil in wok, when warm add red dried chillies, peppercorns over low heat. When fragrant, go to medium heat and add the garlic pieces. Stir-fry for 30s.
5. Add cooked chicken pieces, red rice vinegar+sugar mixture from step 2. Stir to mix. Let cook for 1 minute.
6. Add the green onions. Mix.
7. Add peanuts, mix and turn off heat. (Adding peanuts at last ensures they stay crunchy and don’t become soft)
8. Enjoy your delicious homemade kungpao chicken!

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