Mapo Tofu
Silky tofu in a tingly, spicy bean-paste sauce.
← Home · Sichuan weeknight lychee flavour
Kung Pao Chicken
The classic Sichuan lychee-flavour dish: sweet, sour and lightly spicy, with tender velveted chicken and crisp peanuts. Adapted for a home kitchen from the original ClouChef R&D report — 宫保鸡丁, report 1.
Original poster image from clouchef.com (poster: 宫保鸡丁_1.jpeg). This is the hero poster only, not a step-by-step photo set.
Prep: 15 minutesCook: 10 minutesTotal: 25 minutesServings: 1–2Difficulty: Easy–MediumRegion: SichuanFlavour: Lychee (sweet-sour-spicy)
Why this works
The original report's key idea is the lychee flavour profile: sugar and vinegar in balance, so the dish tastes sweet first, sour second and spicy last, never just hot. Velveting the chicken in egg white and starch keeps it tender, and the peanuts go in only after the heat is off, so they stay crisp. No deep-frying is involved: the chicken is slid through a shallow layer of oil at moderate heat.
ADVERTISEMENT — PLACEHOLDER
Ingredients
| Ingredient | US | Metric | Substitute / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken breast, cut into 1.5 cm cubes | 5.3 oz | 150 g | Original specifies breast for even cooking. Thigh works and is juicier — cut the same size (adaptation). |
| Fried peanuts, skinned | 1 oz | 30 g | Roasted unsalted peanuts, ready to use (adaptation). |
| Dried chillies, cut into 2 cm segments, deseeded | 0.35 oz | 10 g | Deseeding is from the original — it keeps heat without bitterness. |
| Sichuan peppercorns | 1 tsp | 3 g | Whole, not ground, for the blooming step. |
| Salt (marinade) | ¼ tsp | 2 g | — |
| Cooking wine (marinade) | 2 tsp | 10 ml | Shaoxing wine; dry sherry in a pinch. |
| Light soy sauce (marinade) | 1 tsp | 5 ml | — |
| Egg white (marinade) | ½ egg white | 15 g | — |
| Corn starch (marinade) | 1 tsp | 5 g | — |
| Sugar (bowl sauce) | 1 tbsp + 1 tsp | 20 g | — |
| Black vinegar (bowl sauce) | 1 tbsp | 15 ml | Original: Baoning vinegar or fragrant vinegar. Chinkiang black vinegar is the usual Western substitute. |
| Light soy sauce (bowl sauce) | 2 tsp | 10 ml | — |
| Cooking wine (bowl sauce) | 1 tsp | 5 ml | — |
| Corn starch (bowl sauce) | 1 tsp | 5 g | — |
| Water (bowl sauce) | 1 tbsp + 1 tsp | 20 ml | — |
| Neutral cooking oil, divided | 2 tbsp + 2 tsp | 40 ml | Original: rapeseed or soybean oil. Any neutral oil works. |
Equipment
- Large skillet, wok, or well-seasoned cast-iron pan — no wok required (adaptation)
- Small bowl for the bowl sauce
- Slotted spoon
Steps
- Velvet the chicken. Cut the chicken into 1.5 cm cubes. Toss with salt, cooking wine, light soy sauce, egg white and corn starch. Rest for at least 10 minutes — the original control point for tenderness.
- Prepare the aromatics and sauce. Cut the dried chillies into 2 cm segments and remove the seeds. Mix all bowl-sauce ingredients until the sugar is fully dissolved.
- Slide the chicken. Heat 20 ml oil to about 150 °C (medium heat, shimmering but not smoking). Slide in the chicken and stir quickly until the surface turns white and is just cooked, about 40 seconds. Remove and set aside.
- Bloom the spices. Leave about 20 ml oil in the pan. Over low heat, fry the Sichuan peppercorns and dried chillies for about 15 seconds, until the chillies turn deep red and fragrant. Do not let them scorch — scorched chilli turns bitter and breaks the lychee flavour.
- Combine and glaze. Turn to high heat, return the chicken, and toss for about 10 seconds. Stir the bowl sauce again, pour it around the edge of the pan, and stir-fry on high heat until the sauce thickens and coats everything evenly, about 15 seconds.
- Finish with peanuts. Turn off the heat, add the peanuts, and toss to combine. Serve immediately with rice.
ADVERTISEMENT — PLACEHOLDER
Technique: velveting, not deep-frying
The egg-white and starch coating protects the chicken in hot oil, so a brief slide at 150 °C is enough. Too cool and the coating slips off; too hot and the chicken dries out. Cook chicken to 74 °C / 165 °F throughout (home food-safety guidance, added as an adaptation).
Variations
- Milder: halve the dried chillies and use fewer peppercorns. The dish will be sweeter and less tingly — the original warns this changes the lychee balance, so expect a different, still pleasant, result.
- Thigh version: use boneless thigh, same size and method, for a juicier result.
Frequently asked questions
What is lychee flavour?
Not lychee fruit. In Sichuan cooking it means a sweet-sour-spicy balance, named for its resemblance to lychee's sweet-tart taste.
Why did my peanuts go soft?
They were added while the pan was still on the heat or sat in sauce too long. The original rule is: peanuts last, heat off.
Can I skip the Sichuan peppercorns?
You can, but you lose the characteristic tingle. The dish becomes a sweet-sour chicken stir-fry instead.
Storage
Best eaten fresh; peanuts soften on reheating. Leftovers keep 1 day refrigerated; reheat gently until steaming hot throughout and do not reheat more than once.
Kung Pao Chicken — Recipe Card
Sweet-sour-spicy Sichuan chicken with crisp peanuts.
Prep: 15 minutesCook: 10 minutesTotal: 25 minutesServings: 1–2
Ingredients: 150 g chicken breast; 30 g peanuts; 10 g dried chillies; 3 g Sichuan peppercorns; marinade: 2 g salt, 10 ml cooking wine, 5 ml light soy, 15 g egg white, 5 g corn starch; bowl sauce: 20 g sugar, 15 ml black vinegar, 10 ml light soy, 5 ml cooking wine, 5 g corn starch, 20 ml water; 40 ml oil.
Steps: 1) Velvet chicken 10 minutes. 2) Mix bowl sauce. 3) Slide chicken in 150 °C oil ~40 seconds, remove. 4) Bloom peppercorns and chillies on low heat ~15 seconds. 5) Return chicken, add bowl sauce on high heat until glossy. 6) Heat off, add peanuts, serve.
ADVERTISEMENT — PLACEHOLDER
Related recipes
Braised Beef with Potatoes
Beef braised until tender with potatoes that soak up the savoury sauce — a classic family stew.
Satay Beef with Gai Lan
Tender beef slices in sweet-salty satay sauce, served over crisp gai lan — a quick stir-fry.
Source note: ingredients, quantities and steps are adapted from the original ClouChef R&D report for 宫保鸡丁 (data/reports/1.md). The report's pricing, margin and marketing sections are deliberately omitted here; no B2B cost is presented as a home-cook cost. Original poster image: clouchef.com (宫保鸡丁_1.jpeg). Serving size for home use (1–2) and safety temperature are adaptations and are labelled as such.