Kung Pao Chicken with Cashews
This Kung Pao Chicken with tender chunks of chicken, crunchy cashews, and a spicy sauce, tastes better than takeout and is easy to make at home.
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 ½ tsp cornflour
- 1 ½ tsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 4 tbsp Chinkiang vinegar
- ½ chicken stock cube
- 2 tsp sesame oil
Marinade
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 3 tbsp cornflour
- 4 free-range chicken breasts
- 1 bunch spring onions, white part
- Vegetable oil
- 6 dried Kashmiri chillies, halved and seeds removed
- 2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
- 1 thumb of ginger (same amount as garlic), chopped
- 150 g roasted cashew nuts
Method
- Mix the marinade ingredients together in a medium bowl. Cut the chicken breast into equal sized cubes (1.5 cm) and stir into the marinade - leave to marinate for a few hours, or overnight for maximum flavour
- Cut the spring onions into 1.5 cm lengths.
- Mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Place wok on high heat and add a splash of vegetable oil.
- Add the chillies and Sichuan peppercorns and fry for a few seconds, then add half of the chicken in a single layer. Brown the chicken, stirring occasionally (don’t move around too often). When caramelised, remove to a bowl and cook the rest of the chicken.
- Add the first chicken to the wok along with the garlic, ginger and spring onions and stir to combine.
- Check the chicken is cooked, then pour in the sauce and mix to combine.
- Add the cashews when the sauce has thickened, stir to coat, and serve straight away with fried or steamed rice.
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