Kung Pao Chicken With Peanuts

By Leite's Culinaria

Ingredients

1 1/2 teaspoons potato flour or 2 1/4 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon Shaoxing rice wine or medium-dry sherry
1 tablespoon water
2/3 pound boneless chicken breasts (skin-on or skinless, cut into 1/2-to-3/4-inch (12- to 18-mm) chunks)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon potato flour or 1 1/8 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinkiang or Chinese black vinegar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon homemade chicken stock or canned chicken broth
3 garlic cloves (thinly sliced)
Ginger ((enough to equal the amount of garlic), thinly sliced)
5 scallions (white and green parts, cut into 1/2-inch lengths)
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 handful of dried red chiles ((at least 10) preferably Sichuanese)
1 teaspoon whole Sichuan peppercorns
2/3 cup roasted unsalted peanuts

Prep Time20mins
Cook Time5mins
Servings2

Instructions

Make the marinade

In a small bowl, combine the potato flour or cornstarch and salt. Slowly add the soy sauce, rice wine, and water, mixing constantly with a fork. (If using potato flour, the marinade will be more of a paste than a liquid marinade. That's okay.)

Add the chicken and stir to evenly coat the chicken. Let it stand at room temperature while you make the sauce.

Make the sauce

In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients.

Make the Kung Pao chicken

Snip the chiles into 2 or 3 pieces. Wearing rubber gloves, discard as many chile seeds as possible.

Add 2 tablespoons oil to the wok and place it over high heat. When the oil is hot but not yet smoking, add the chiles and Sichuan peppercorns and stir-fry briefly until crisp and the oil is spicy and fragrant. Whatever you do, be mindful not to burn the chiles and pepper. You can remove the wok from the heat if necessary to prevent overheating. TESTER TIP: Keeping the peppercorns whole and the dried chiles in larger pieces allows the heat-averse eaters at your table to pick around them.

Plop in the chicken pieces and cook, stirring constantly. As soon as the chicken cubes have separated, add the ginger, garlic, and scallions and continue to stir-fry for a few minutes until everything is fragrant and the chicken is cooked through. (You may want to slice into one of the larger pieces of chicken to make sure it's done.)

Stir the sauce and then carefully swirl it into the wok, continuing to stir and toss. As soon as the sauce is warmed through and becomes thick and shiny, add the peanuts, stir to combine, and serve immediately.