Description
The globally renowned staple found in every Chinese restaurant in the West. Chicken, scallions, and peanuts are diced uniformly. They are stir-fried in oil charred with dried chilies and Sichuan pepper, then flash-glazed in a special sweet, sour, and spicy sauce. The ultimate rice thief.
Restaurants serving Gong Bao Ji Ding (Kung Pao Chicken)
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We are researching restaurants that serve this dish.
On this site you can check dictionary details and, later, places to buy or eat related items.
The Recipe section below is a general reference, not a recipe from the listed shops.
Recipe
Ingredients
- Chicken thighs
- Peanuts
- Scallion
- Dried red chilies
- Sichuan pepper
- Soy sauce
- Black vinegar
- Sugar
- Potato starch
Instructions
- [Authentic Recipe]
- Dice chicken to match peanut size. Velvet with salt, egg white, and starch, then flash-fry.
- Chop scallion whites into uniform lengths. Authentic recipes use no extra vegetables.
- Mix soy, black vinegar, sugar, wine, and starch slurry. Balancing sweet and sour to resemble Lychee flavor is the secret.
- Heat oil, add massive dried red chilies and Sichuan pepper. Slow-fry until chilies are near-black to extract the roasted heat (Hu La) aroma.
- Add garlic/ginger, return the chicken and scallions, toss on high.
- Dump in the sauce, tossing rapidly to thicken.
- Add crispy peanuts and plate instantly.
Learn more Spice, substitutes, tips
Key spices
Roasted aroma of charred chilies and sweet-sourness of black vinegar
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
Chicken thighs, Peanuts
Pairing
White Rice / Beer
Trivia
[Trivia] Allegedly invented by Ding Baozhen, a Qing Dynasty Sichuan governor whose title 'Gong Bao' gave the dish its name. Because its sweet-sour base is palatable even to those who dislike extreme heat, it became globally widespread.
Eating tips & etiquette
[Unique Eating] Scoop the chicken, scallions, and peanuts together with a spoon and place on hot white rice. The slippery chicken, crisp scallion, and crunchy peanut detonate three textures simultaneously. The chilies are for aroma; do not eat them.
Allergen
Chicken, Peanuts, Soybeans, Wheat (Soy sauce)