kung pao chicken

Kung pao, is a spicy stir fry dish made with Chicken, Peanuts, Vegetables and Chilli Peppers. This classic dish will come under Szechuan cuisine originated in the Sichuan Province of south-western China and includes Sichuan peppercorns. But  it can be made less spicy than Sichuan serving.
I tried this recipe at a Chinese restaurant and I liked it very much. It will be spicy and the chicken will be very tender and the peanuts will add additional flavor. For this recipe diced chicken is typically mixed with a prepared marinade. Peanuts can be pre-roasted or dropped into the hot oil, fried until golden brown before the other ingredients are added.



Ingredients:

• 1 pound (500 gm) boneless & skinless chicken
• 2 tablespoons roasted peanuts
• 4-5 dry red chilies (If  you want deseed them and cut into halves)
• 1/4 cup cooking oil
• 5 slices peeled fresh ginger
• 2 gloves garlic, chopped
• 1 stalk scallion (green onion), chopped 

For the marinate:

• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon wine
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped ( I like to add garlic as they add flavor to chicken)

For the sauce:

• 1 1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce ( I don't have this so added 3 tsp light soy sauce)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vinegar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon corn starch

Preparation:

• Clean the chicken and cut into small cubes and pat dry with paper towel.
• For marination, combine all the ingredients under marinate in a bowl and mix chicken and keep in refrigerator  for 30 min. (Before night you can do this)
• Mix all the ingredients under sauce and keep aside. 
• Dry roast peanuts and keep aside.

Method:

• Heat 5 tsp oil in a pan, saute chicken until meat is white and juices run clear,keep aside.
• If you want to add veggies like onion and zucchini, stir fry with chicken.
• In the same pan add 2 tsp oil, heat it until it smokes.
• Add chopped ginger, garlic give a quick stir and add red chillies.
• Stir fry the red chillies until they smell spicy, then add the sauce mixture.
• When the sauce thickens add the peanuts and chicken and stir continuously until chicken is well coated with sauce.
• Serve hot with fried rice or noodles.