Asian cuisine has won our hearts. Tender meat, peanuts and jasmine rice. That is the much-loved kung pao! I have tasted several versions over the years. Some were absolutely superb, while others I would rather describe as a Czech take on Chinese-style chicken with rice. The traditional Chinese kung pao recipe uses chicken, but versions with pork, prawns or no meat at all are just as popular. The variety of Asian cuisine lets you combine vegetables, meat and side dishes. Kung pao is not a dish recommended for weight-loss diets, but it is hard to resist the aroma of soy sauce and the crunch of nuts. Now you know what to cook today. ⬇️
Table of contents
Before you start
A wok is the best pan for cooking Asian dishes. I recommend chopping your ingredients in advance. Asian dishes are quick to fry, and chopping takes up most of the time. You then add the individual ingredients in quick succession. Kung pao recipes call for Asian ingredients. You definitely cannot do without soy sauce. You can easily find these ingredients in larger supermarkets or in Asian shops. Suitable side dishes are rice, noodles and spaghetti.
Ingredients for authentic Chinese stir-fry:
- soy sauce (you can also buy a reduced-salt version)
- cornflour
- oyster sauce
- rice wine
- sake
- peanut oil
- chillies, chilli flakes, chilli paste
- sherry (an alcoholic drink)
- sesame oil
- rice vinegar
- mirin (a sweet Japanese rice wine)
- hoisin (a Chinese barbecue sauce)
👩🍳 Side dish tip: Oven-baked jasmine rice. Rinse the rice under cold running water. Heat the oil, fry the rice for 30 seconds, add water (1 part rice to 1.5 parts water) and slowly bring to the boil. Cook until the rice is visible at the surface and the water is below the rice. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Cover with a lid and place in the preheated oven. Switch the oven off. Leave the covered pan in the oven for about 18 minutes.
1. Chicken kung pao recipe
Serves 2:
- 250 g chicken (preferably breast)
- a handful of unsalted peanuts
- a handful of unsalted cashews
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 1 to 2 cloves grated garlic
- 10 g cornflour
- 2 spring onions
- half a red pepper
- 5 g cane sugar
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 10 ml rice or wine vinegar
- 10 ml sweet wine or sake
- peanut oil
- dried chillies, chilli flakes to taste
- a tablespoon of water
Time needed: 15 minutes
Chicken kung pao recipe
- Trim the chicken and cut it into pieces.
Mix the pieces of meat with 25 g cornflour and add one and a half tablespoons of soy sauce. Put in the fridge for a while.
- In a small bowl, thoroughly mix the remaining soy sauce, cornflour, a tablespoon of oyster sauce, a tablespoon of water, the cane sugar, sweet wine and vinegar.
- Chop the spring onions, pepper and dried chillies.
- Pour a generous amount of peanut oil into the wok and let it heat up. Add the prepared pieces of meat.
Stir and turn the meat. This takes about 1.5 minutes. Drain the meat and pour away the oil.
- Now add to the wok in this order: grated ginger, chilli and garlic (30 seconds), chopped pepper (another 30 seconds), fried meat (20 seconds), peanuts, cashews and spring onions (20 seconds).
Now take the pan off the heat, pour in the prepared sauce and stir. Return to the hob and fry for 1 minute.
- Serve the chicken kung pao immediately.
2. Authentic Chinese stir-fry with noodles recipe
Serves 4:
- 450 g Vimixa Chinese noodles or spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 4 cloves crushed garlic
- 115 g unsalted peanuts
- 2 spring onions
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 120 ml soy sauce
- 120 ml chicken stock
- 120 ml dry sherry
- 2 tablespoons red chilli paste
- 60 g cane sugar
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons cornflour
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
Time needed: 20 minutes
Kung pao recipe with noodles
- Put salted water on to boil for the noodles or spaghetti.
Add the noodles or spaghetti to boiling water and cook for the time stated on the packet.
- In a bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, stock, sherry, chilli paste, sugar, vinegar, cornflour and sesame oil. Set the sauce aside.
- Season the whole chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
- Heat the olive oil over a medium heat. Add the chicken breasts and fry for 3 to 4 minutes on each side (turning once).
Set the chicken breasts aside to cool, then cut into smaller pieces.
- Add the crushed garlic to the pan and fry for 1 minute. Pour in the prepared sauce.
Bring the sauce to the boil and simmer over a low heat until thickened, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the cooked noodles, chicken pieces, peanuts and chopped spring onions to the sauce.
Fry for no more than another 2 to 3 minutes.
- Serve.
3. Cauliflower
🌿 Vegetarian
Serves 4:
- 1 cauliflower
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 chillies
- 2 cm ginger
- 4 spring onions
- 50 g unsalted peanuts
- 2 tablespoons fresh coriander
- 50 g cornmeal
- 100 ml soy sauce
- 50 ml rice wine
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 125 ml peanut oil
- 2 star anise
- 1 teaspoon Sichuan pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
Time needed: 40 minutes
Cauliflower kung pao recipe
- Heat the oil in the wok over a high heat. Add the star anise, Sichuan pepper and chilli to the hot oil.
Stir everything together and leave on a high heat for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and pour in the sesame oil. Set aside to cool, then strain through a cloth or sieve.
- Mix the soy sauce, rice wine and maple syrup.
Break the cauliflower into florets and leave in this marinade for at least 30 minutes.
- Return the pan to a high heat and pour in half of the strained oil.
Take the cauliflower florets out of the marinade. Keep the remaining marinade. Put the cornmeal in a clean bowl and coat the cauliflower in it.
- Place the coated cauliflower florets in the hot oil, stirring constantly. Fry until brown and crispy.
Add more oil if needed, but keep 2 tablespoons of oil aside. Pat the fried cauliflower dry with kitchen paper.
- Clean the wok, pour in the remaining oil and put it over a high heat.
- Once the oil is smoking, add in this order: chilli, crushed garlic and grated ginger (30 seconds), spring onions (1 minute), cauliflower, peanuts and most of the coriander (30 seconds), the remaining marinade (1 minute).
Toss the cauliflower gently in the pan so it is coated in the sauce.
- Garnish the cauliflower kung pao with the remaining coriander and serve with rice.
Quick pork kung pao recipe
Serves 4:
- 500 g pork leg
- 150 g peanuts
- half a leek
- 1 spring onion
- 1 pepper
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- salt, pepper
- sesame seeds to taste
- 50 ml stock or water for adding during cooking
Time needed: 20 minutes
Chinese-style pork recipe
- Trim the meat and cut it into strips.
- Slice the leek into rings and cut the spring onion and pepper into strips.
- Put the prepared meat and peanuts into the hot oil and fry for 3 minutes. Add the soy sauce, leek, spring onion and pepper and fry.
Stir occasionally.
- When the meat is almost tender, add the stock or water.
Sprinkle in sesame seeds to taste. Simmer briefly and season with salt and pepper.
- Serve.
Easy kung pao recipe with prawns
Serves 4:
- 450 g medium peeled prawns without tails
- 60 ml soy sauce
- 60 ml mirin
- 60 ml rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon cane sugar
- 2 to 3 tablespoons red chilli paste
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- half a teaspoon pepper
- 60 ml water
- 10 g cornflour
- 235 g salted peanuts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 red peppers
- 2 onions
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 4 to 6 cloves crushed garlic
Time needed: 40 minutes
Kung pao recipe with prawns
- In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, sugar, chilli paste, sesame oil and pepper.
- Set aside 1/3 of the marinade and add the prawns to it to marinate.
Marinate the prawns for 30 minutes.
- Add the water and cornflour to the remaining marinade.
Set the sauce aside.
- Chop the onion and pepper.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan, add the onion and fry for 3 minutes.
Add the pepper, crushed garlic and grated ginger and fry for 2 minutes.
- Add the prawns to the pan and fry for 2 to 3 minutes until pink.
Now add the prepared sauce and simmer until thickened. Season with salt, pepper, chilli flakes and sugar as needed. Toast the peanuts in a separate pan until golden.
- Sprinkle the portions with the toasted peanuts and serve.
Enhance your kung pao recipes with vegetables: add bamboo shoots, carrots, broccoli or pak choi. Experimenting in the kitchen and discovering new flavours will lead you to your own Chinese stir-fry recipe. Which kung pao will you make today? Enjoy your meal. 👩🍳
