Kung Pao Chicken

Do you like Kung Pao chicken? Have you ever wondered why this dish is called Kung Pao?
Kung Pao chicken 宫保鸡丁 is a classic dish which originated from Sichuan province. The term Kung Pao is derived from the name of the government official title Gong Bao 宫保 of Ding Baozhen 丁宝桢(1820~1886) in the Qing dynasty. Ding was born in Guizhou province and served as a governor of Shandong province. He was quite a gourmet expert and had many famous cooks at home. He usually served stir-fry chicken when entertaining.

Later he transferred to Sichuan province and added chili peppers to his chicken dishes to meet the spicy loving Sichuan people's taste. He was titled as "Taizi Shaobao 太子少保" by the Qing dynasty and "Gong Bao 宫保" (literally means palatial guardian) is its honorary name. The way of making Kung Pao chicken is slightly different by region in China, and from its westernized version. Now its main ingredients can be pork, shrimp, or tofu. Regular dried chili peppers are used when Shichuan peppercorn is not available, which adds a distinct flavor to many Sichuan dishes.

How to make Kung Pao chicken

1/2 lbs chicken

1/2 cup peanuts

1/2 tsp sugar1 tsp vinegar

1 Tbs soy sauce

1tsp rice wine

2 tsp sesame oil

2 Tbs corn starch dissolved in water

Minced ginger, minced garlic and green onion slices

Cut the chicken into 1 inch cubes, and marinate with salt, pepper and corn starch for a half hour. To make sauce, mix soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, rice wine, starch water, sesame oil, garlic and ginger. Set aside. Fry the chicken and drain the oil. Leave 2 Tbs oil and fry chili peppers and green onions. Add chicken back into the pan and sauce. Add peanuts last. (If peanuts are raw, fry with chicken.)

*This is a traditional dish and every household or restaurants have their own way of making it. Measurements are for information only. Add more or less as you like.