This delicious spicy Kung Pao chicken has the most delicious sauce. You’ll return to it over and over! Make this with boneless chicken breasts or boneless chicken thighs for a quick and easy dinner.
This Kung Pao Chicken is one of my favourite quick and easy dinners. It’s ready in just 15 minutes and uses pretty simple pantry items, so I know I can always whip this up. And it’s just the thing when I’m feeling the need for a little spice.
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Chicken – You can use either boneless chicken breasts or boneless chicken thighs.
Red Chili Peppers – I love to use fresh Thai red chili peppers in this dish, though you can substitute dried, small peppers and omit the crushed chili flakes.
Recipe tips!
- I cooked this one up in my cast-iron skillet, as the cast iron is perfect for quick cooking over high heat. If you don’t have a cast-iron skillet, any skillet, or a hot wok will work just fine, as well.
- The cooked red peppers are not intended to be eaten, as they are extremely hot, even when cooked. The role of these peppers is simply to infuse a little heat into the sauce. I sometimes remove them before the end of cooking when I feel like it is hot enough already.
- This delicious kung pao sauce is also nice with pork or shrimp.
Serving suggestions
There is lots of sauce so there is plenty to serve over noodles or rice. I like to serve simple steamed or quick, sauteed vegetables on the side with this one, as well. Greens like bok choy, pea pods or spinach are all nice.
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Get the Recipe: 15-Minute Spicy Kung Pao Chicken
Ingredients
Marinade:
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce, low-sodium recommended
- 2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 2 medium)
Sauce:
- 3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce, low-sodium recommended
- 1 Tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 Tablespoons white granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
For Stir fry:
- 2 Tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
- 6-8 fresh small, thin red chili peppers, whole (Thai), optional
- 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed chili flakes
- 3 green onions, white and green parts separated, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced or 1 teaspoon ginger paste
- 1/4 cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts, chopped
- Black or yellow sesame seeds, for garnish
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir together the marinade ingredients. Add chicken cubes and toss to coat. Let sit on the counter while you prepare the sauce.
- In a small bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients and stir well until smooth. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add fresh red peppers and cook, stirring, until they start to brown in spots. Add red pepper flakes, white part of green onion, garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring, until onion softens, about 45-60 seconds. Add chicken and cook, stirring regularly, until chicken is just cooked through and no longer pink. Stir sauce and then add to the hot skillet. Cook, stirring, until sauce thickens. Add peanuts and 1/2 of the green part of the green onion. Stir to combine.
- Note: The fresh Thai red peppers (if using) aren't intended to be eaten, as they are extremely hot, even after cooking. Their role is to infuse the heat in to the dish only. I often remove them part way through cooking when I feel they have done their job. You can eat around them or simply discard before serving.
- Serve over noodles or rice, if you like, with vegetables on the side. Garnish with remaining green onion and sesame seeds.
Notes
- I cooked this one up in my cast-iron skillet, as the cast iron is perfect for quick cooking over high heat. If you don’t have a cast-iron skillet, any skillet, or a hot wok will work just fine, as well.
- This delicious kung pao sauce is also nice with pork or shrimp.
More chicken recipes to love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Being allergic to peanuts, would substituting cashews be a good choice or should I just skip them altogether?
Hi Georg, you could substitute cashews, if you’d like the crunch, or you could just omit nuts altogether. It will still be a lovely dish without the nuts. Enjoy :)
This was really good and I’ll be making it again. I may cut back the sugar a wee bit.
So glad you enjoyed it and yes, definitely tweak to your taste :) Thanks!
This was really easy and tasty! I just added more veg (bean sprouts and snap peas) in place of a carb to keep it under 400 kcals. I even managed to find a big bottle of black vinegar at Superstore for $3! :) This recipe isn’t too spicy as written, so I wouldn’t be afraid of trying it if you’re heat-averse–but next time I’ll add a little more heat for our tastes.
My thai chilis sounded like they were exploding and essentially turned to mush, though–how did you just get yours to brown?
So glad you enjoyed it, Julia (and I have yet to get my hands on black vinegar!). I think it probably depends on how fresh your chilis are. I don’t think my store sells a lot of them, so they were probably older and drier, so stood up to heat better. Thanks :)