Kung Pao Chicken - Recipe by Diana Chan
Ingredients
300 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 Tbs neutral-flavoured cooking oil
10 g piece fresh ginger, sliced
10 g garlic, sliced
5 g dried red chillies, seeded, rehydrated in hot water for 15 minutes, drained and chopped
20 g spring onions (scallions), thinly sliced, green tops thinly sliced for garnish
50 g toasted cashew nuts
Marinade:
2 tsp light soy sauce
1 Tbs Shaoxing rice wine
1 Tbs cornflour (cornstarch)
Pinch of ground white pepper
1 tsp neutral flavoured cooking oil
Kung pao sauce:
2 tsp white sugar
1 Tbs black vinegar
1 Tbs light soy sauce
1 tsp dark cooking caramel (black soy sauce)
1 Tbs Shaoxing rice wine
1 tsp cornflour (cornstarch), mixed into a slurry with
1 Tbs water
Method
To make the marinade, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl.
Add the chicken, mix well and set aside for 30 minutes to marinate.
Meanwhile, make the kung pao sauce. Combine all the sauce ingredients, except the cornflour slurry, in a jug.
Heat a wok over a medium-high heat then add 2 tablespoons of the oil. Fry the chicken for 5–7 minutes until it turns white. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
Return the clean wok to a medium heat and heat the remaining oil. Fry the ginger, garlic and chillies for 30 seconds before adding the chicken back in.
Add the kung pao sauce mixture to the wok and stir to combine. Add the spring onions then pour in the cornflour slurry and simmer, stirring, for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat. Add the cashews and give it a quick toss before transferring it to a serving dish.
Garnish with the spring onion tops.
