Kung Pao Chicken is an authentic Chinese chicken and beef dish. This delicious knock-your-pants-off dish originated in the Sichuan region of China. Depending on your Chinese restaurant, you might find it alternatively called Kung Po or Gong Bao. Historically, it is typically made with boneless, skinless chicken, ground chili peppers and fresh vegetables.
To make this dish, first you need to prepare all the ingredients needed for this dish: black beans, a tomato along with onions, white pepper and a small bunch of carrots. Then you need to make a marinade for the ingredients. You can use honey or sweetened soy sauce as a substitute for the salt. In order to get a tangy taste, you can add some sugar or corn starch. However, a more authentic kung pao chicken recipe uses a mixture of soy sauce and white vinegar as its marinade.
After preparing the ingredients, you should mix them together until they become smooth. The ingredients are supposed to marinate for at least four hours. And it is also essential that you rinse them well so that no excess salt will be left. During the soaking process, the chicken and vegetables should be immersed in the steaming water with a couple of inches of water in it. As a general rule, you should not overfill the pot but neither should it be shallow enough that the bottom could easily get stuck.
Once all the ingredients are properly soaked and the soaking process is over, you can now add the chicken and veggies to the pot. Add a generous amount of seasonings and mix it all up. Stir this mixture regularly so that the chicken will be coated evenly. Bring the pot to a boil and add the red chilies. Allow it to simmer for about five minutes so that the chilies will take effect.
After the peppers are done burning, turn off the heat. Add the bamboo shoots and white onions. Cover the pot tightly with a lid to ensure that it will not burn in case there are changes in temperature. Allow the mixture to cook thoroughly. At this point, your Kung pao chicken is ready to eat!
Nutrition facts show that this dish has low calories due to its lean proteins and high fiber content. This low calorie food is also rich in vitamins A, C and E. In terms of calories and saturated fat, the kung pao chicken recipe has less than half of the calories compared to beef and chicken. The low-fat, high fiber content helps reduce the overall consumption of saturated fat and cholesterol while increasing the consumption of fiber and potassium, which are good dietary values. Since sodium is also reduced, you get to lower your sodium intake by one percent. With the nutrients that you get, the diet is more likely to stay healthy.
Other ingredients are just as easy as adding in your marinades and cooking techniques. One important factor is using ingredients that are already seasoned and prepared such as ginger, garlic and chilies. As for green onions, they make the perfect marinade ingredient as they have been well-iced, pickled for several hours to retain their freshness, then sauteed to add flavor to the ingredients. For other added ingredients such as sauces or seasonings, try using soy sauce instead of regular white sugar and adding chili paste or sesame oil to give the recipe a exotic Asian flavor.
It is important to use a high-quality cooking utensil such as a mixing bowl, heavy-duty skillet, heavy-duty pan or baking sheet. You can even use a bamboo steamer to steam the marinated ingredients for at least four hours to fully tenderize them. Once the meat is completely cooked and the marinade has dried, simply serve with your family. If you serve kung pao chicken cubes with your soup, be sure to keep some of the marinade on hand for dipping into. This will help seal in all the wonderful flavor.
