HOW TO KUNG PAO Chicken, Shrimp, or Tofu

🔪MY GEAR:
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RECIPE
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▪1lb or 1/2kg boneless skinless chicken thighs
▪100g or 5tbsp high smokepoint oil (avocado, canola)
▪60g or about 1/3c roasted unsalted peanuts
▪Pinch salt
▪2-3 strong pinches pepper
▪pinch red chili flake
▪15g or 1 1/2Tbsp ginger, grated/minced
▪10g or 1-1 1/2Tbsp garlic, grated/minced
▪5g dried chile de arbor (or about 6-8 chiles)
▪1g or about 1tsp Szechuan peppercorn, crushed (I use heavy bottomed pot)
▪75g or about 1 med red bell pepper, chopped into 3/4" or 2cm pieces
▪75g or about 1/2c celery, cut into 3/4"/2cm pieces on bias
▪75g or about 3/4-1c (eyeball it) scallions, chopped into large batons
▪25g or 1 2/3Tbsp chicken stock (or water)

▪75g or 4 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
▪25g or 2Tbsp dark brown sugar
▪25g or 1 3/4Tbsp Chinese black vinegar
▪25g or 1 3/4Tbsp mirin
▪20g or 1 1/2Tbsp sesame oil
▪3g 1 heaping tsp cornstarch

Make sauce by stirring together soy sauce, brown sugar, Chinese vinegar, Kirin, sesame oil, and cornstarch. Set aside.

Cut chicken into 1" or 2-3cm pieces. Set aside. Rinse rice and cook by adding rice, water, salt and a couple of squeezes of oil to a rice cooker (or on stovetop).

Preheat large nonstick pan (or wok) over high heat with 40g/2Tbsp oil. Add peanuts and fry for about 60sec until nicely golden. Transfer peanuts to paper towel to drain off oil.

Return pan to heat and add 60g or 3Tbsp oil. Once just starting to smoke, add chopped chicken in an even layer. Add pinch of salt, pinch of red Chile flake, and a few generous pinches of ground black pepper. Add more oil to pan if needed and allow chicken to develop a hard seer for about a minute. Toss/flip chicken and continue to sauté for another minute. Chicken should be nicely browned by now.

Add garlic, ginger, chiles, and crushed Szechuan pepper and stirfry (constantly stirring) for 30-40sec add red bell pepper, celery, and sauce and continue to stir. Allow sauce to thicken and once bubbling and reduced slightly add scallions. Toss and stir to combine. Add peanuts. Add additional pepper if desired. Add chicken stock and stir. Season with salt to taste. Serve with rice.
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SHRIMP KUNG PAO
Cook peanuts using recipe above. Transfer to paper towel. Return pan to high heat and add 60g or 3Tbsp oil. To that add 1lb or 1/2kg of peeled and deveined shrimp. Fry hard on 1 side, adding salt, pepper, and Chile flake. Toss and stirfry shrimp for about 40 seconds or until pink. Transfer shrimp to a towel to drain.

Add more oil to pan, the continue by adding garlic, ginger, chiles until aromatic. Add red pepper, celery, and Szechuan pepper and continue stirring and cooking for about another 60sec. Add in sauce, bring to simmer. Once beginning to thicken, add scallions, then shrimp to sauce mixture. Toss to combine and cook for an additional 20sec or so until cooked through. Add stock if desired.
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TOFU KUNG PAO:
Dry block of extra firm tofu very well. Cut into 1" or 2.5cm cubes. Cook peanuts (see chicken recipe). Transfer peanuts to a towel to drain. Return pan to high heat, add 60g/3Tbsp++ oil to pan (you'll need extra oil to fry tofu well). Once tofu is in pan, season with salt and allow to cook and crisp up for 2-3min to take on color before tossing and continuing to cook for about another 10min, stirring every 2-3 min until sides are nicely browned. Season with a generous pinch of black pepper and Chile flake. Add more oil, then finish the dish as we did with the chicken recipe above, starting with adding garlic, ginger, chiles, and crushed Szechuan.

#kungpaochicken #kungpaoshrimp #kungpaotofu

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[ralphadamo]

Excellent recipes and demonstrations. I have just one tip. I love sesame oil and it goes perfectly with Kung Po dishes. But you should not add it to your sauce and then heat everything. The direct heat kills much of the exquisite sesame flavor. Instead, omit the sesame oil from your sauce and do everything else exactly the same as you've done. But just before you're ready to serve the Kung Po dish over rice, add a couple of splashes of the sesame oil cold into the dish and stir briefly. The flavor of the sesame oil will be more pronounced for a truly savory experience.

[trevorprof]

The Sichuan buzz is real! Not enough people are out there cooking with Sichuan peppercorns. Keep up the good work, Bri. Loving all the content you been putting out and all recognition you are getting.

[txsetterz]

Loved this Kung Pao today and enjoyed your new Q&A. Thanks to you and Lauren for all the great work.

[georginagarcia]

I made this with shrimp tonight for dinner. You have made me look like a genius in the kitchen again! My husband said it was phenomenal. It was!! He said it was better than any kung pao shrimp we've ordered anywhere(including very good Szechuan restaurants in San Gabriel, CA--kind of the epicenter of Chinese cuisine in Southern, CA). Their versions, while pretty tasty, are usually floating in chili flavored oil. My husband wants me to cook this for our spice loving friends asap. Thank you!

[douglasadam]

Made this last night. Honestly unreal. I doubled the meat and sauce, added some water chestnuts. Daughter and I agreed. Make this over going out to get it. It was good. 10/10 thanks man. this is now firmly in the rotation.

[pjmanis]

I’ve made this dish four times now and has become part of the regular dinner rotation. The first time I used too much Sichuan pepper and I didn’t smash it enough. I’ve subsequently used less and smash it good with a mortar & pestle. It is integral to the dish though and Brian isn’t kidding when he says to use it in moderation! A delicious dish.

[r_lee]

The mouthful of Szechuan peppercorns was the money shot. 😂 3:51

[janedoe-keyw]

Brian’s skills, narration and products are so mesmerizing. Thank you!

[citizenscientist]

After my first experience with real Sichuan peppercorns at a restaurant in Boston’s Chinatown, I became hooked on them-its a whole new world of flavor. I bought a bag and brought them to work at our wood shop in Rhode Island. After evangelizing about them to my co workers some of the braver employees tried them. It was a whole shop of people making weird faces and generally freaking out, with this one guy, a big 6’5” lumberjack dude walking around in circles in the parking lot spitting and drooling. He had taken a whole mouthful to be tough. It was priceless! Used correctly, they are a revelation. Sichuan cuisine is one of the most amazing-thanks for getting the word out!

[laz]

Made this yesterday in my new steel wok and it was amazing. Thank you for the recipe with excellent ingredients. Too many Chinese recipes online use so many bland substitutes that results in generic uninteresting flavors. This was the polar opposite of bland.

[phillbradshaw]

Suggest U marinate chicken with 1 tbs soy sauce, 1 tbs corn starch & 1/2 tsp baking soda. Corn starch helps seal in juices & baking soda keeps chicken super tender. Also I use a separate "coffee" grinder spices, in this case the peppercorns.

[HabitualPixels]

You keep killing it with these videos B man. I keep recommending you to my fellow cooks as the best up and coming food channel on YouTube.

[olivianewman]

Holy shit. Everytime I make one of your dishes I am blown away at how tasty and easy they are. Thanks for everything and keep it up!

[Agelic]

great recipe, it's super easy (barely an inconvenience), I've made it a few times and everyone loves it. The small change i make is that I like to add a pinch of MSG to the sauce.

[GabrielaGarcia-cytr]

This dish has become a weekly thing …. It’s Thanks, Brian!!!

[hjm]

So much fun to watch. You, the food, the talent. Thank you

[chaoticneutral]

This is great! I also dig Kung Pao and haven't made it at home because I don't have a wok. I look forward to giving this recipe a try!

[ismrtln]

You got a new subscriber at 6:41 . Explaining what is the Chinese Black Vinegar and what to use instead of it . Good touch gonna make this tomorrow.

[PrincessPeaFeet]

Love this! Thank you for sharing.. I also love how you give us alternative ingredients if we can’t find something. Top video! 🙌

[SamiM]

Great recipe! Made it last night with tofu, family loved it!