A delectably spicy, sweet, and savory Asian-inspired sauce clings to every piece of juicy chicken in this easy dish. Kung pao chicken is quicker to make at home than ordering takeout, and it tastes so much better too.
Kung pao chicken is a deceptively simple recipe to make by stir-frying juicy pieces of chicken in a nuanced spicy-sweet-savory sauce.
Add in some toasted peanuts and before you know it, your favorite Chinese dish is on the dinner table in just 30 minutes for a fraction of the price of takeout.
Is this recipe 100% authentic? No. It’s sure tasty, though.
The kung pao chicken from your favorite Chinese restaurant typically leaves your mouth feeling numb and tingly from the Sichuan peppercorns that are traditionally included in this dish. But since Sichuan peppercorns are hard to find at most grocery stores (and can be pricey, to boot) this recipe uses dried red chiles for tons of flavor minus the tingling.
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
- Cook this homemade kung pao chicken in a wok or a skillet, and make it so easy to make at home
- Give the chicken a quick marinade to make it tender and juicy. With crunchy peanuts, fresh green onions, and spicy-sweet-savory sauce, there are flavors and textures galore in this recipe.
- This recipe delivers the unique flavors that kung pao chicken is known for using easy-to-find ingredients you can purchase at your local grocery store.
What’s in Kung Pao Chicken?
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Chicken breasts — trim off any excess fat before dicing into ½-inch pieces
- Soy sauce — lends the sauce so much umami flavor
- Shao xing cooking wine — sometimes called “Chinese cooking wine;” it’s slightly sweet and nutty in flavor, and it helps to tenderize the chicken
- Cornstarch — thickens the sauce and gives it a super glossy finish
- Sugar — you need a little sweetness to balance out the salty soy sauce and tangy vinegar
- Rice vinegar — this mild, sweet, and tangy vinegar rounds out the sauce (do NOT confuse it with rice wine)
- Toasted sesame oil — has a much richer sesame flavor than regular sesame oil
- Oil — use a neutral-flavored oil with a high smoke point, like canola or vegetable, for stir-frying the chicken
- Peanuts — choose roasted unsalted peanuts for lots of crunch
- Dried red chiles — use 6 to 10 depending on how spicy you like your kung pao chicken
- Garlic — a couple cloves finish off the stir-fry
- Green onions — you’ll be using both the green tops and white bottoms, but keep them separated after slicing
Ingredient Swaps and Substitutions
- Soy sauce — you should be fine to use tamari if you need to keep the sauce gluten-free
- Shao xing cooking wine — replace it with sherry for a similar flavor profile
- Peanuts — are essential, in my opinion, but omit if you’re dealing with an allergy
- Dried red chiles — try using red pepper flakes instead (I haven’t tested this swap though, so I can’t give you an exact amount)
How to Make Kung Pao Chicken
This recipe cooks super quickly, so have everything ready to go before heating up the skillet.
- Marinate the chicken. Submerge the diced chicken in a mixture of soy sauce, shao xing cooking wine, and cornstarch.
- Make the kung pao sauce. In another bowl, whisk together the sugar, rice vinegar, and water, plus the rest of the soy sauce, shao xing cooking wine, and cornstarch.
Heidi’s Tip: The soy sauce, cooking wine, and cornstarch each do double duty in this recipe. Read the recipe card closely before starting this dish to know how much of each ingredient to use, and when.
- Stir-fry the peanuts. Heat a little oil in a wok or large skillet, then toast the peanuts for about 30 seconds. Remove them to a plate so they don’t burn.
- Bring it all together. Once the peanuts are out of the skillet, add the white portion of the green onions, along with the dried red chile peppers and garlic. Cook just until fragrant, then add the chicken and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Sauce it up. Add the green tops of the onions and the silky kung pao sauce last, cooking just until the sauce thickens (it will take very little time). Stir in the peanuts before serving over a bed of white rice. I like to sprinkle mine with toasted sesame seeds.
FAQs
There’s definitely a nice kick of heat in this recipe, but it won’t set your mouth on fire.
If you’re concerned it will be too spicy, use just six dried red chiles in the stir-fry. You can even go the extra mile and remove some of the seeds from the chiles, which is where their heat it stored.
Feel free to stir-fry some sliced bell peppers, broccoli, or thinly sliced carrots before adding the chicken and sauce to the skillet.
This is one dish that’s best eaten right away while the sauce is still glossy. You can definitely meal prep this kung pao chicken though, but you might need to add a splash of water when reheating to loosen up the sauce.
Storage Tips
Let any leftovers cool before transferring to an airtight container. They’ll last up to 5 days in the fridge and can be gently reheated in the microwave or in a lightly oiled skillet.
What to Serve With Kung Pao Chicken
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below, leave a comment to tell us what you think, and tag me on Instagram @foodiecrush.
Kung Pao Chicken
A delectably spicy, sweet, and savory Asian-inspired sauce clings to every piece of juicy chicken in this easy dish. Kung pao chicken is quicker to make at home than ordering takeout, and it tastes so much better too.
Servings 4
Calories 389kcal
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 5 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
- 2 tablespoons shao xing cooking wine or sherry, divided
- 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch, divided
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
- ½ cup roasted unsalted peanuts
- 6-10 dried red chiles, roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
- 4 green onions, cut into ½-inch pieces, white and green parts separated
Instructions
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Trim any fat or tendrils from the chicken breast and cut into ½-inch pieces.
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In a medium bowl, mix 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of cooking wine or sherry, and 1 tablespoon cornstarch until smooth. Add the chicken and toss to coat.
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In a small bowl, combine sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, water, and the remaining 4 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon cooking wine or sherry, and 2 teaspoons cornstarch. Whisk until smooth.
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In a wok or large frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over high. Add the peanuts and stir-fry until light brown, about 30 seconds. Remove from the pan.
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Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add chiles, garlic, and white part of the scallions to the pan and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the chicken with its marinade and cook, stirring, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the soy sauce mixture and scallion tops and simmer until the chicken is just done, about 1 minute longer. Stir in the peanuts and cook to warm through. Serve topped with more chopped green onion and white rice.
Nutrition
Calories: 389kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 45g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 109mg | Sodium: 1469mg | Potassium: 1075mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 813IU | Vitamin C: 102mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 3mg
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