You could be the in-house master chef in your circle or quite simply someone who likes an occasional, aesthetic (potentially wine-supplemented!) cooking session. Either way, you have to be from Mars to not have a little Instagram album tucked away in your saved list, hoarding up recipes to try in the near future.
At first glance, Kung Pao chicken feels like one of those recipes that’ll probably take up your whole night. But really, all you need is 20 minutes — and we recommend you find that little gap, today. The minimal prep and big flavour payoff coupled with the ease of only needing ingredients you probably already have, begs you to follow the recipe below.
Kung Pao chicken
Ingredients: Diced boneless chicken - 300gms to 400gms; for the chicken marination — salt 1/2tsp, pepper - 1/2tsp, corn flour - 4tbsps, egg - 1; for the gravy — chopped garlic - 1tbsp, julienne cut ginger, onion - 1, roasted peanuts, red chillies - 5 to 6, green chillies - 1 to 2, soy sauce - 2 to 3tbsps, dark soy sauce - 1/2tbsp, oyster sauce - 2tbsps, chicken powder - 1/2tsp, cornflour - 1 to 2tbsps, water - 1/2 cup, pinch of brown sugar
Method: Marinate the chicken in a bowl with the listed ingredients. Let rest for at least an hour before deep frying. In a separate pan, heat a tablespoon of oil (sesame oil works great here), add the garlic and ginger and sauté for less than a minute. Add the leafed onions, peanuts and chillies. Cook this for a minute and in the meantime whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce, separately. Add the chicken to the hot pan, followed by the sauce and give it a good toss. Serve piping hot.
{{/usCountry}}Method: Marinate the chicken in a bowl with the listed ingredients. Let rest for at least an hour before deep frying. In a separate pan, heat a tablespoon of oil (sesame oil works great here), add the garlic and ginger and sauté for less than a minute. Add the leafed onions, peanuts and chillies. Cook this for a minute and in the meantime whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce, separately. Add the chicken to the hot pan, followed by the sauce and give it a good toss. Serve piping hot.
{{/usCountry}}(recipe from Turk Pak Kitchen)
You could be craving comfort food, need a dinner that impresses with zero effort, or are simply getting that itch to eat something that goes unapologetically hard — this recipe is a winner through and through.