Sichuan Kung Pao Chicken
Kung pao is cooked in five minutes over the highest heat, so everything must be chopped and lined up before the wok goes on. The chicken is coated in cornflour and egg white — a technique called velveting — which is what keeps it tender rather than dry.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 8 min
- Total
- 33 min
- Calories
- 420
Kung pao comes from Sichuan and is a perfect example of Chinese fast cooking: very high heat, very short time. Sichuan peppercorns give a distinctive tingling numbness on the tongue — not heat, but a light anaesthetic buzz.
Method
-
1
Velvet the chicken
Toss the chicken cubes with the soy sauce, cornflour, egg white and oil and leave for 20 minutes. This coating traps the juices so the chicken comes out very tender.
⏱ 22 min -
2
Prep everything
Mix the sauce ingredients in a cup and chop all the aromatics, lining them up beside the stove. The cooking takes five minutes — there is no time to chop.
⏱ 8 min -
3
Sear the chicken
Heat the wok over the highest heat until it smokes, add the oil and the chicken spread in a single layer. Leave it undisturbed for a minute, then toss for two. Remove it.
⏱ 4 min -
4
The aromatics
In the same wok, add the dried chillies and Sichuan peppercorns and toss for 20 seconds only, just until fragrant — any longer and they burn. Then the garlic and ginger for 15 seconds.
⏱ 1 min -
5
Combine
Return the chicken, stir the sauce and pour it in. It thickens within seconds. Toss for 30 seconds.
⏱ 1 min -
6
Finish
Add the spring onion and peanuts, toss twice, and kill the heat immediately. The peanuts must stay crunchy.
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Tips that actually matter
- Prep everything before you light the burner. The cooking is five minutes with no room for preparation.
- Dried chillies get 20 seconds only — longer and they burn and turn the whole dish bitter.
- Peanuts go in at the last moment so they stay crisp.
- Sichuan pepper numbs rather than burns — a completely different sensation from chilli heat.
People also ask
What is Sichuan pepper?
Not a chilli at all — it is the husk of a berry that produces a tingling, numbing sensation on the tongue known as *ma*. Sold in Asian grocers. The dish works without it but loses its signature.
What is velveting?
Coating meat in cornflour and egg white before cooking. The layer traps juices so the meat comes out silky and tender — it is the secret behind the texture of restaurant Chinese meat.
Can I use prawns or beef?
Yes — exactly the same method. Prawns need only a minute and a half, and thinly sliced beef about two minutes.
Cook mode
Sichuan Kung Pao Chicken
-
1
Velvet the chicken
Toss the chicken cubes with the soy sauce, cornflour, egg white and oil and leave for 20 minutes. This coating traps the juices so the chicken comes out very tender.
-
2
Prep everything
Mix the sauce ingredients in a cup and chop all the aromatics, lining them up beside the stove. The cooking takes five minutes — there is no time to chop.
-
3
Sear the chicken
Heat the wok over the highest heat until it smokes, add the oil and the chicken spread in a single layer. Leave it undisturbed for a minute, then toss for two. Remove it.
-
4
The aromatics
In the same wok, add the dried chillies and Sichuan peppercorns and toss for 20 seconds only, just until fragrant — any longer and they burn. Then the garlic and ginger for 15 seconds.
-
5
Combine
Return the chicken, stir the sauce and pour it in. It thickens within seconds. Toss for 30 seconds.
-
6
Finish
Add the spring onion and peanuts, toss twice, and kill the heat immediately. The peanuts must stay crunchy.
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