HEALTHY KUNG PAO CHICKEN

Kung Pao Chicken is a classic Chinese take-out dish with spicy chicken, peanuts and vegetables in a mouth-watering Kung Pao sauce. This easy homemade recipe is healthy, low in calories, and much better than take-out.

INGREDIENTS

Kung Pao sauce

• 2/3 cup soy sauce 
• 3 teaspoons of cornstarch 
• 2 tablespoons of sugar 
• 2 teaspoons of minced garlic 
• 1 tablespoon of hoisin sauce 
• 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth 
• 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar 
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 

10 minutes of chicken marinade

• 1/4 cup rice vinegar 
• 2 teaspoons of cornstarch 
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce 
• 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts or fillets, cut into 1 inch pieces 
• 2 teaspoons of baking soda 

Jumped up

• 1 teaspoon of garlic 1 
• 8 dried chilies cut into 1 inch pieces, see note 
• 1 red pepper, chopped 
• 1/2 cup peanuts
• 4 tablespoons of oil, divided 
• 3 green onions, chopped 

INSTRUCTIONS

Marinate the chicken (10 minutes)

First, in a medium bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, baking soda, cornstarch and soy sauce.

Then, add the chicken, toss to coat and set aside for 10 minutes.
prepare the sauce

In a medium bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together sauce ingredients. Put aside.

Stir-fry

Add 2 tablespoons to a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add the chicken and sauté over medium-high heat for 2 to 4 minutes until golden brown on the outside. (The chicken may not be fully cooked yet - that's okay). Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken to a bowl and cover to keep it warm.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan. Stir in red peppers, garlic, peanuts, dried chili peppers for 2 minutes.

Add the sauce and stir.

Return the chicken to the pan and cook, 2 to 4 minutes more, until the sauce thickens and the chicken is cooked through.

Stir in green onio, serve over rice or noodles. Happy Cooking Time.

NOTES

Dried red peppers: These are usually found in the Latin or Asian grocery section. If you can't find them, no problem, just add 1 to 2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper flakes to the sauce in the recipe.

Make it sweet: If you like the flavor of kung pao but want to keep it sweet, exclude the chili peppers 
OR shake all the seeds after chopping them - the heat is in the seeds!

ADD VEGETABLES: Easily add your favorite veggies like zucchini, green peppers, onions, broccoli and baby corn along with the red peppers.