Quick and Easy Kung Pao Chicken

Quick and Easy Kung Pao Chicken. You can easily make this take out favourite in less time than it takes to order take out… plus you can make this dish as spicy or mild as you like, the heat is very easy to control.

Quick and Easy Kung Pao Chicken.

Kung Pao Chicken is my favourite take-out lunch these days, especially when I crave something spicy. I’ve been playing around with a few recipes at home lately and really like this simple version.

This is not only a very simple but very fast recipe for a weekday dinner. You can have this one on the table in 20 minutes.

Quick and Easy Kung Pao Chicken.

Love recipes like this?

A similar quick recipe is our incredibly popular version of Beef and Broccoli.

Beef & Broccoli

TOP TEN Asian Cooking Ingredients to keep on hand.

Hoisin Sauce is one of the best and most versatile Asian cooking ingredients to have on hand at all times.

This recipe also makes use of some basic Asian cooking ingredients that I always keep in the fridge or cupboard. My TOP TEN Asian cooking ingredients that I always try to have on hand are:

1. Hoisin sauce
2. Fish sauce
3. Toasted sesame oil
4. Ginger root. ( I keep mine in the freezer and then easily grate it frozen)
5. Rice wine vinegar.
6. Five Spice powder.
7. Low sodium soy sauce (recommended for all my recipes that call for it) 
8. Oyster Sauce
9. Sesame seeds
10. Crushed chili paste ( sambal oelek or similar)

Roasted cashew nuts are another ingredient I like to garnish some Asian dishes with, both for great flavour and added crunchy texture.

Looking for more chicken dinner ideas.

Be sure to check out this collection of our Most Popular Chicken Recipes of the last decade.

Like this Easy Kung Pao Chicken recipe?

We’ve got lots of other ideas for delicious weekday meals in our Quick & Easy Meals Category.

Quick and Easy Kung Pao Chicken (Original 2009 photo)

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Yield: 4 Servings

Quick and Easy Kung Pao Chicken

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Quick and Easy Kung Pao Chicken - you can easily make this take out favourite in less time than it takes to order take out...plus you can make this dish as spicy or mild as you like, the heat is very easy to control.

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Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut small cubes
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil, or canola oil
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• pinch fresh ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons additional peanut oil
• 4 to 6 whole chiles, You can substitute chili sauce or crushed chili paste, like Sambal, to better control the heat to your taste. Start with about a teaspoon for mild heat.
• ¼ cup rice wine
• 2 tbsp Hoisin sauce
• 2 tbsp Black Bean Sauce, you can replace this with more hoisin if you prefer.
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger root
• ½ tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 diced red pepper
• 4 green onions chopped in 1 inch pieces

Cornstarch slurry

• 1 ounce 1 water
• 1 tsp 1 corn starch

Garnish (optional)

• Toasted cashews or peanuts

Instructions

1. In a hot wok, add the peanut oil and saute the chicken with the garlic and pepper until almost completely cooked. Remove the chicken from the wok for the time being.
2. To the hot wok add the additional oil and chilies.
3. Toss the chilies in the oil for a few seconds before adding all the following ingredients quickly and all at once (I like to mix them together before starting to cook): the rice wine, Hoisin sauce, Black Bean Sauce, sugar, grated ginger root, Chinese 5 spice powder, toasted sesame oil, ight soy sauce, dark soy sauce and freshly ground black pepper.
4. Reduce the heat on the wok to medium and bring the sauce to a simmer before adding the chicken back to the wok along with the red pepper and chopped green onions.
5. Cook for an additional minute.
6. To thicken the sauce stir in a slurry of about 1 ounce water mixed with 1 tsp corn starch. If you want he sauce thicker, just make a little more of the slurry to add.
7. Serve on a bed of rice or Chinese noodles and garnish with toasted peanuts or cashews.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1 serving
Amount Per Serving Calories 449Total Fat 20gSaturated Fat 4gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 109mgSodium 1101mgCarbohydrates 23gFiber 2gSugar 15gProtein 39g

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