I’m leaving on a trip to China in a few days, so to get reacquainted with the local cuisine I revisited an old classic and my favourite Chinese dish, Kung Pao Chicken. There are several variations, but the most authentic version I’ve come across is in Fuchsia Dunlop’s Sichuan cookbook “Land of Plenty.” To make authentic Kung Pao, you’ll need to hit up a Chinese grocery store, mainly because it would be difficult to find Sichuan peppercorns and Heaven-facing Chilis in a conventional grocery store. If you can only make it to the Asian section of a Loblaws, then just forget about the Sichuan peppercorns and swap out the Heaven-Facing chilies for normal dried chilies. Also, if you don’t have any cooking wine, just use any alcohol. The rest of the stuff you should find in most big grocers.
The below serves two.
1. Put about 2/3 of a cup of unsalted peanuts in the oven at about 350 while you’re cooking everything else. Then, cube two chicken breasts, between 1/2 inch and 1 inch pieces. Put in a bowl, and add the following marinade and give it about 20 minutes or so.
-Salt, a pinch
-Light Soy Sauce, 2 tsp.
-Cooking Wine, 1 tsp. (or any alcohol)
-Cornstarch, 2 tsp.
-Water, 1 tsp.
2. While the chicken is marinating, make the sauce by mixing the following ingredients together in a bowl:
-Sugar, 3 tsp.
-Cornstarch, 1 tsp.
-Dark Soy Sauce, 1 tsp.
-Light Soy Sauce, 1 tsp.
-Chinkiang Vinegar, 3 tsp.
-Sesame Oil, 1 tsp.
-Water, 1 tbsp.
3. Put the heat to high, and then add peanut oil to a wok. Once it’s nice and hot, add the following:
-Sichuan peppercorns, 1 tsp.
-Dried red Chilies, dozen or so (remove the seeds unless you like it painfully spicy)
4. Add the marinated chicken, and cook until it’s heated through. Then add:
-Scallions, 5 of the white part cut into a small dice
-Garlic, 4 cloves minced
-Ginger, equal amount to the garlic
5. Add the sauce and mix up until evenly coated. Take the peanuts out of the oven and mix into the dish. Serve immediately.
