Here’s a really easy-to-cook but ever so delicious dish!
Originating from Sichuan, there are many iterations of kung pao chicken around the world. The Malaysian style uses cashew nuts, with a thick sweet-spicy-savoury sauce that’s so delicious!
We absolutely enjoy eating this dish at tai chows (local Chinese restaurants), although it can get a bit spicy. For our recipe, we removed the chilli seeds to tone down the spice level.
We also omit any form of vinegar – with the seasoning mainly coming from soy sauce, oyster sauce and wine. Roasted cashew provides the crunch, and fragrance from scallion and ginger. This dish is great for weeknights as it takes less than 30 minutes to whip out.
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Kung pao chicken [Recipe]
Course: Lunch, DinnerCuisine: Chinese, MalaysianDifficulty: Easy2
servings15
minutes5
minutesMalaysian-style Kung Pao chicken perfect for weeknight dinners.
Ingredients
200g chicken breast, cut into cubes
1/2 cup cashew nuts, roasted
8 dried chillis, soaked in water (seeds removed and cut into thirds)
2-inch ginger, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 shallots, minced
2 scallion stalks, cut into 3-inch length
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp corn starch + 1 tbsp water
Cooking oil
- Chicken marinade
1/2 tbsp corn starch
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine (optional)
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp white pepper
- Sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp Shaoxing wine (optional)
1 tbsp oyster sauce
Directions
- Marinade chicken
- Clean and cut chicken into cubes. Marinade with the marinade ingredients and set aside as you prepare the other ingredients.
- Toast the cashew nuts (if raw) until they are bown. Soak to soften dried chillis.
- Prepare sauce
- In a small bowl, mix all the sauce ingredients. Set aside. Also prepare the corn starch and water mix.
- It’s fry time
- Heat up cooking oil in wok. When hot, fry the garlic, ginger and shallots until fragrant.
- Add the dried chillis and fry until fragrant.
- Add the marinated chicken pieces. Cook for about 2-3 minutes until chicken is about 90% cooked.
- Add the sauce mix and 1/4 cup water. Stir and let it simmer until sauce reduces. Add the corn starch mix to thicken sauce.
- Add the cashew nuts and scallion. Mix well.
- Serve and enjoy!
