Kung Pao Chicken
Kung Pao Chicken is a spicy Chinese stir-fry made with chicken, vegetables and peanuts. This easy recipe uses simple ingredients that you can find in any grocery store.
Kung Pao Chicken is one of my favorite dishes to order at a Chinese restaurant. Lately though, I’ve been making kung pao chicken at home and it’s a surprisingly simple dish to make. Many kung pao chicken recipes call for ingredients that can be difficult to find at your local grocery store, like Shaoxing wine and dried red chili peppers. My goal with this recipe is to give you the traditional flavors that you love without having to search for hard-to-find ingredients. So while this may not be a truly authentic kung pao chicken recipe, I promise you it is every bit as delicious!
This kung pao chicken consists of a simple marinade for the chicken, a tangy, spicy sauce, vegetables and peanuts. I like to sneak in extra veggies whenever I can, and in this recipe I’ve used a red bell pepper, green bell pepper, zucchini and green onions. Feel free to substitute your favorite vegetables or use what you have on hand.
Kung Pao Chicken Ingredients
Here are the key ingredients you’ll need to make kung pao chicken.
- Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts work perfectly here. Chop the chicken into 3/4-inch pieces. You want the pieces to be fairly small so that they cook quickly.
- Soy Sauce: For deep, umami flavor. Use low sodium soy sauce so that the finished dish doesn’t turn out too salty.
- Rice Wine Vinegar: This recipe uses rice vinegar instead of Shaoxing wine or dry sherry.
- Cornstarch: Using cornstarch in the marinade helps to lock in the chicken’s juices, making the bites of chicken especially moist and tender inside. The cornstarch also thickens the sauce.
- Balsamic Vinegar: For depth of flavor.
- Fresh Ginger and Garlic: Fresh garlic and ginger add delicious flavor.
- Vegetables: I used red bell pepper, green bell pepper, zucchini and green onions.
- Peanuts: A must in kung pao chicken!
- Red Pepper Flakes: I use crushed red pepper flakes to give the kung pao chicken its signature spice because they’re easy to find in any grocery store and I always have them on hand. 1/4 teaspoon makes the dish moderately spicy. Adjust the amount to your tastes. You can use Chinese dried red chili peppers instead of red pepper flakes if you prefer.
Find the full ingredient list with amounts in the recipe card below.
How to Make Kung Pao Chicken
The secret to making a stir fry is to prep all of the ingredients before you start cooking on the stove. Once you start adding ingredients to the hot pan, the recipe moves very quickly.
Marinate the chicken. Combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, cornstarch, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Add the chicken and stir to coat. Set aside to marinate for 15-20 minutes.
Make the sauce. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the chicken broth, soy sauce, rice vinegar, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, sesame oil and cornstarch.
Stir fry the chicken. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet or wok. Add the marinated chicken pieces and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken to a clean plate.
Stir fry the veggies. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the red and green bell pepper and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the zucchini and stir fry for 1 minute more.
Put it all together. Return the chicken to the pan. Add the green onions, red pepper flakes and the sauce. Cook, stirring often, until the sauce starts to thicken, 1-2 minutes. Then stir in the peanuts.
Serve with white rice, brown rice or fried rice and enjoy!
Recipe Variations
- You can substitute cashews for the peanuts.
- Try adding other vegetables, such as thinly sliced carrots, red or yellow onions, celery, snow peas, bok choy or asparagus. Some vegetables cook more quickly than others, so add them to the pan in batches, adding the most firm vegetables first.
- To make this recipe gluten-free, replace the soy sauce with gluten-free tamari, gluten-free soy sauce or coconut aminos.
More Chicken Stir Fry Recipes
These chicken recipes are some of our favorite easy dinner ideas:
Kung Pao Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken and Marinade
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, chopped into ¾-inch pieces
Sauce
- ¼ cup low sodium chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Stir Fry
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or canola oil, divided
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 medium zucchini, sliced into ½-inch thick half rounds
- 6 green onions, sliced on the diagonal
- ¼-½ teaspoon teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, depending on how spicy you want it
- ½ cup dry roasted peanuts
- cooked rice, for serving
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken: In a medium mixing bowl, combine the 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Whisk until the cornstarch is dissolved. Add the chicken pieces and stir to coat. Marinate for 15-20 minutes.
- Make the sauce: In a small bowl, combine the chicken broth, soy sauce, rice vinegar, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, sesame oil, garlic and cornstarch. Set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the marinated chicken (discard extra marinade). Cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is browned and cooked through, about 7-10 minutes. Remove chicken to a clean plate.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the red and green bell pepper and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the zucchini and stir fry for 1 minute more.
- Whisk the sauce again to make sure everything is well combined. Return the cooked chicken to the pan. Add the green onions, red pepper flakes and the sauce. Cook, stirring often, until the sauce starts to thicken, 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in the peanuts and serve over rice.
Notes
- You can substitute cashews for the peanuts.
- Try adding other vegetables, such as thinly sliced carrots, red or yellow onions, celery, snow peas, bok choy or asparagus. Some vegetables cook more quickly than others, so add them to the pan in batches, adding the most firm vegetables first.
- To make this recipe gluten-free, replace the soy sauce with gluten-free tamari, gluten-free soy sauce or coconut aminos.
- Nutrition estimate does not include rice.
Any recommommendations for a low salt soy sauce? The lowest I can find is like 570 mg of salt. Does anyone make “salt free” soy salt?
You’re correct that even the low sodium versions tend to still have quite a bit of sodium. I don’t have a salt free one to recommend from personal experience, but I suggest doing an internet search for “sodium free soy sauce” to see if there is one that fits your needs. Good luck!
For a lower salt recommended I’d use coconut aminos. They have 75% less salt than soy sauce and it taste great. I use it all the time and it’s recommend for paleo recipes too