Easy and healthy kung pao chicken recipe with a delicious sauce that includes the flavors of soy sauce, ginger, peanut butter, and chili garlic sauce.
Kung Pao Chicken typically has a unique flavor that is sweet and spicy at the same time.
I like this particular kung pao chicken recipe for the sauce. Its just the right amount of spice. When you’re eating forkful after forkful, you definitely feel the spice, but it subsides pretty quickly.
I also like this recipe for the selection of veggies. I chopped up button mushrooms (fresh from our local farmer’s market) and white onions for the saute. For a topper, I sprinkled freshly chopped spring onions on top of the dish.
I also love the use of linguini noodles, rather than rice for this dish. It changes up the taste in a good way.
How is Kung Pao Chicken Made?
I was wondering the same thing before making this recipe. Its basically all in the sauce. I’ve made several other stir fries on this blog, and the unique flavor factor of each dish comes from the sauce. Kung Pao sauce is a mixture of sweet and spicy. It usually includes peanut butter in the sauce and a spicier ingredient, such as sriracha or chile garlic sauce.
What goes with Kung Pao Chicken?
Typically, I have enjoyed kung pao chicken with rice, but enjoying it with noodles this time, was a nice change for the accompanying starch.
Tips for this easy kung pao chicken recipe:
- Chop up the zucchini and white onions into small, bite size pieces (think 1/2 inch). There’s more of the pieces to go around this way, and they really add to the balance of chicken, sauce and noodles.
- When you place the raw chicken into your wok or saute pan, let the chicken cook for 3 minutes on medium high heat on one side, then flip over with a large spatula and cook the other side, until all of the pink is gone. I used to constantly stir when cooking meat, but I’ve found this method works best, and its the fastest.
- Top your dish with peanuts, spring onions and sesame seeds. The added textures and taste really add to this flavorful dish.
I know there are different ideas of kung pao chicken ingredients in various recipes. I like this recipe as a healthy kung pao chicken option.
SAVE THIS KUNG PAO CHICKEN TO YOUR “DINNER” PINTEREST BOARD!
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Kung Pao Chicken
Easy and healthy kung pao chicken recipe with a delicious sauce that includes the flavors of soy sauce, ginger, peanut butter, and chili garlic sauce.
Ingredients
Chicken and Veggie Saute
- 8 oz linquini noodles, uncooked
- 2 tbsp olive oil or peanut oil, divided
- 1 lb chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
- kosher salt and fresh ground pepper for chicken
- 1 medium sized white onion, chopped
- 2 medium sized zucchini, chopped
- 3 tsp minced garlic
- 8 oz baby bella or button mushrooms, chopped
- peanuts, spring onions, sesame seeds for toppings
Kung Pao Sauce
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp chili garlic sauce or sriracha
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
Instructions
Kung Pao Sauce
In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the Kung Pao ingredients.
Chicken and Veggies
Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil into wok or saute pan over medium high heat. Sprinkle salt and pepper on chicken pieces, then add to hot pan. Cook one side of chicken for 3 minutes, then turn chicken over with a large spatula and cook, until meat is no longer pink.
Remove chicken from pan, using a slotted spoon and place in clean bowl.
Add 1 tablespoon of olive to hot pan, and saute chopped mushrooms and onions for about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in zuchhini and minced garlic, and cook for another minute.
Add Kung Pao sauce, noodles, and chicken to pan, and stir over medium heat, until everything is combined well. Serve with peanuts, spring onions and sesame seeds as toppers. You can toast the sesame seeds if you wish, for a slightly smokey flavor. Enjoy!!
Recipe Notes
Adapted from Gimme Some Oven
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