Kung Pao Chicken - Shortcut

Why shortcut? That is becauase I didn't make my own Kung Pao Sauce. We went to Cold Storage and got a jar of Kee's Kung Pao Sauce.

Throughout our dating days, I cook mostly western dishes for my wife (then girlfriend). When we got married and got our own place, wifey began requesting that i cook more asian dishes. So I got this idea when we saw a jar of Kung Pao sauce at the supermarket. Kung Pao Chicken being something we often order at a Zhi Char places, I thought, why not, lets give it a shot.

The results were better than I expected, coming from pre-made sauce in a jar. We pretty much enjoyed our Kung Pao Chicken. You can control the sweetness with the amount of sauce you put in.

Something I like to do is add in some finely sliced chilli padi (brid's eye chillies) for another level of heat. But that could just be a bad habit coming from a peranakan family.

Kung Pao Chicken

Here is what I used: (Enough for 2-4 people)

2 Boneless chicken thighs (diced)
1/2 jar of Kee's Kung Pao Sauce
4-5 stalks of spring onion, cut into long strips (about 2-3 inches)
1 yellow onion, roughly cut
3 garlic cloves, sliced
Neutral flavoured oil for frying
1/2 cup cahsew nuts
4-6 thin slices of ginger
10-12 stalks of dried chilli, washed

Marinate diced chicken, 10 mins minimum, overnight if you like.
1 tbsp of Soya Sauce
1-2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp corn flour
Dash of pepper



Steps:

1. Heat a glug of oil in wok or deep frying pan using medium to high heat. When oil is hot, put in the marinated chicken, fry for 3-4 minutes. The throw in the dried chillies and cashew nuts. Stir fry for another 5-6 minutes.

2. Lower heat. Leave a small amount of oil in the pan but remove everything else. Drain excess oil from the chicken stir fry mix by placing contents on a dish with a paper towel or use a strainer.

3. Turn the heat back to medium high.Throw in the ginger, garlic and onion, fry about 2-3 mins. Add in the chicken stir fry mix. Spoon in about 1/3 - 1/2 the jar of Kung Pao sauce. Mix well. Fry about 3 mins more.

4. Throw in spring onions and stir fry for another 30 secs to minute, or until chicken is cooked through.

5. Dish and serve warm.

If you tried it or know a great recipe for homemade kung pao sauce, do share it here via a comment!