A takeaway classic that’s really easy to do at home. Not only does this likely use less oil than your local takeaway, the great fresh flavours of this dish are at their best when freshly prepared. The ‘velveting’ technique of coating with a mixture of cornflour and soy sauce helps to seal in moisture, keeping it moist and tender, and above all adds a lovely sheen and crust.
Kung Pao Chicken
A healthy take on an all time classic Sichuan dish, using more accessible UK ingredients.
Equipment
- Large Wok
Ingredients
- 500 g Chicken Breast Cut into 2cm thick slices
- 70 ml Light Soy Sauce
- 2 tbsp Cornflour
- 70 ml Light Soy Sauce
- 50 ml Cider Vinegar
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- 2 tbsp Brown Sauce
- 2 tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil
- 1 tbsp Tomato Puree
- 3 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 1 Sweet Red Pepper deseeded, sliced
- 6 Spring Onions cleaned, chopped
- 150 g Cashews
- 2 Red Chili finely sliced
- 4 cloves Garlic peeled and finely chopped
- 1 thumb Ginger peeled and finely chopped
- 1 Pak Choi roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp Coriander finely chopped
Instructions
- Combine the initial soy sauce (70ml) with the cornflour in a large bowl, and mix until smooth. Stir in the chicken to coat, the put to one side.
- Mix the second lot of soy sauce with the vinegar, brown sauce, sesame oil and tomato puree until smooth. Put to one side.
- Add 1 tbsp the vegetable oil to the wok over a high heat. Once really hot, add half the chicken. Stir fry until lightly browned and almost cooked through. Lift the chicken out, and repeat with the remaining chicken.
- Wipe out the wok, then add in the final 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Quickly stir fry the ginger, garlic and chili, no more than 30 seconds, then add in the peppers, pak choi and spring onions. Stir fry until cooked but firm, then add in the chicken and cashews. Stir fry for a further minute, then add in the sauce and cook until thickened and everything is coated.
- Serve alongside a generous portion of rice with plenty of coriander to taste.
