Kung Pao Chicken with Noodles 宫保鸡丁面条
A delicious, spicy recipe for chicken and noodles. Serve it over rice or with spaghetti squash as a healthier alternative to traditional pasta.
Ingredients
- 4 servings of linguine
- 1 lb chicken thigh fillets – trimmed and diced into small cubes
- 2 tbsp peanut oil
- Dried red chilies* – broken into half
- 2-3 cloves of garlic – sliced diagonally or minced
- One knob of fresh ginger – shredded thinly
- 1/2 cucumber - diced
- 2-3 scallions – cut into 2" length pieces
- 1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
- 1 tsp of Season with Spice ground Sichuan pepper or more to taste
For the marinade:
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine Chinese rice wine
For the Kung Pao sauce:
- 2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 3/4 tbsp Chingkiang black vinegar
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 4 tbsp water or chicken broth
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the diced chicken with marinade. Mix well and let marinate for at least 20 minutes. Or cover and refrigerator for a couple of hours.
- Stir together the Kung Pao sauce ingredients in a small dish. Set aside.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles according to package instructions (while cooking, begin steps 4 & 5). When the noodles are done, drain and place on each serving plate.
- Heat a wok or large frying pan over high heat. When hot, swirl in one tablespoon of the peanut oil. Add in the chicken pieces and stir-fry the chicken over high heat until just cooked, about 3-4 minutes. Dish out and set aside.
- With a paper towel, wipe clean the same wok/pan. Then heat another tablespoon of peanut oil.
- Add the dried chili peppers and roast over low heat until they start to slightly darken, being careful not to burn them. Add in the ginger and garlic, and stir-fry for about 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Turn the heat to high, add in the diced cucumber, and cook for about a minute. Return the chicken back to the wok and give it a quick stir.
- Then add in the sauce, and toss everything over high heat to mix, allowing it to carmelize. Feel free to add one or two more splashes of water if you like it to be more saucy.
- Finally, add in scallions, give it a stir, then peanuts and ground Sichuan pepper. Turn heat off and dish out equal portions of the Kung Pao Chicken over the linguine. Serve the noodle dish hot with steamed greens/broccoli florets. Enjoy!
Notes
1. Kung Pao Chicken is traditionally served with steamed rice, but when you make it in your kitchen, I recommend trying it every once in a while with noodles, like linguine. Pasta noodles actually pair very well with Asian flavors, and bring a new spin to popular dishes.
2. I used ground Sichuan pepper for this recipe for the ease of use. If you prefer whole Sichuan Peppercorns, crush them coarsely and fry them together with the dried chili peppers.
3. Depending on the type of dried red chili pepper you have on hand, and the level of heat that you can take, will determine the number of chili peppers to use for the recipe. If using our Thai Dried Red Chili Peppers, I would recommend 2-3. If using a Chinese-style dried chili pepper or Arbol chili pepper, you may want to use about 6-8 chili peppers.
Nutrition
Serving: 150gCalories: 399kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 27gFat: 28gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 130mgSodium: 604mgPotassium: 463mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 176IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 28mgIron: 1mg
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