Kung Pao chicken (), also
transcribed Gong Bao or Kung Po, is a
spicy
Pungency () refers to the taste of food commonly referred to as spiciness, hotness or heat, found in foods such as chili peppers. Highly pungent tastes may be experienced as unpleasant. The term piquancy () is sometimes applied to foods with a l ...
,
stir-fried
Stir frying () is a cooking technique in which ingredients are fried in a small amount of very hot oil while being stirred or tossed in a wok. The technique originated in China and in recent centuries has spread into other parts of Asia and th ...
Chinese dish made with cubes of chicken, peanuts, vegetables (traditionally
Welsh onion
''Allium fistulosum'', the Welsh onion, also commonly called bunching onion, long green onion, Japanese bunching onion, and spring onion, is a species of perennial plant, often considered to be a kind of scallion.
The species is very similar ...
only ), and
chili pepper
Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...
s. The classic dish in
Sichuan cuisine
Sichuan cuisine, alternatively romanized as Szechwan cuisine or Szechuan cuisine (, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), is a style of Chinese cuisine originating from Sichuan Province. It has bold flavours, particularly the pungency and spicin ...
originated in the
Sichuan province
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
of south-western China and includes
Sichuan peppercorns. Although the dish is found throughout China, there are regional variations that are typically less spicy than the Sichuan serving. Western Kung Pao chicken is also a staple of
Westernized Chinese cuisine.
History
![Gongbao Jiding Iron Pot in China](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Gongbao_Jiding_Iron_Pot_in_China.jpeg)
The dish is believed to be named after
Ding Baozhen
Ding Baozhen () (1820–1886), courtesy name Weihuang (), was a Chinese official who lived in the late Qing dynasty and served as the governor of Sichuan Province.
The Sichuan dish Kung Pao chicken (or Gongbao chicken) was named after his nickn ...
(1820–1886), a late
Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
official and governor of
Sichuan Province
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
. His title was ''Taizi Shaobao'', which is one of ''Gongbao'' ().
The name ''Kung Pao chicken'' is derived from this title, while the use of the character ''dīng'' in the name of the dish is a pun on his surname ''Dīng'', a moderately common
Chinese surname
Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, and among overseas Chinese communities around the world such as Singapore and Malaysia. Written Chinese names begin with surnames, unlike the ...
that can also be read to mean "small cube" (like the cubes the chicken is diced into for the dish).
During the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
, the dish's name became
politically incorrect
''Political correctness'' (adjectivally: ''politically correct''; commonly abbreviated ''PC'') is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in socie ...
because of its association with the imperial system. The dish was renamed "spicy chicken" () by Maoists until its political rehabilitation in the 1980s under
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...
's reforms.
Versions
Sichuan version
The original Sichuan version uses chicken as its primary ingredient. In this original version, diced chicken is typically mixed with a prepared marinade.
Shaoxing wine
Shaoxing wine (''Shaohsing'', ''Hsiaohsing'', ''Shaoshing''), also called "yellow wine", is a traditional Chinese wine made by fermenting glutinous rice, water and wheat-based yeast.
It must be produced in Shaoxing, in the Zhejiang province of ...
is used to enhance flavor in the marinade. The wok is seasoned and then chili peppers and
Sichuan peppercorns are flash-fried to add fragrance to the oil. In Sichuan, or when preparing Sichuan-style Kung Pao chicken, usually Sichuan-style chili peppers such as
facing heaven pepper
The facing heaven pepper (Chinese name: 朝 天 椒; pinyin: ''cháotiānjiāo'', also known as 指天椒; pinyin: ''zhǐtiānjiāo'' meaning "skyward-pointing chili pepper"), is a type of cone pepper, a group of cone-shaped, medium-hot chili pe ...
or seven stars pepper () are used. Smaller, thinner Sichuanese varieties may also be used. Sichuan peppercorns are then added; while Kung Pao chicken does not belong to the numbing-spicy "''mala''" flavor profile (), a small amount of fresh toasted peppercorns are traditionally used to balance the heat of the chilis.
Then the chicken is stir-fried and chopped welsh onion, along with peanuts, are added. Kung Pao chicken starts off with fresh, moist, unroasted peanuts.
These are often used instead of their pre-roasted versions. The peanuts are dropped into the hot oil at the bottom of the wok, then deep-fried until golden brown before the other ingredients are added.
Variants exist that use other meats in place of chicken, such as "Kung Pao shrimp" () and "Kung Pao frog legs" ().
Guizhou version
The neighboring province of
Guizhou
Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...
, southeast of Sichuan, has a variant of Kung Pao chicken based on the ciba fermented chili paste ( ''cíbā làjiāo'') of
Guizhou cuisine
Guizhou cuisine, or Qian cuisine, consists of cooking traditions and dishes from Guizhou Province in southwestern China. Guizhou cuisine shares many features with Sichuan cuisine and Hunan cuisine, especially in bringing the sensation of sp ...
. Like the Sichuan version, the dish features marinated cubes of chicken; while the Guizhou marinade is largely the same as the Sichuan version's, the chicken cubes are larger and typically skin-on. The dish is further distinguished in that rather than flash-frying whole peppers in oil before stir-frying, a large quantity of the ciba chili paste is fried in the wok until the oil is stained. The chicken is then stir-fried in the resulting sauce with garlic, ginger, and green garlic or green onion.
Western versions
Versions commonly found in the West, called ''Kung Pao chicken'', ''Kung Po'', or just ''chicken chili and garlic'', consist of diced, marinated chicken, stir-fried with orange or orange juice, ginger, garlic, chicken broth, sugar, cooking oil, corn starch, and salt and pepper to taste. Many other vegetables may be added, such as onion, bell pepper or carrots. The dish often includes or is garnished with whole roasted peanuts. Instead of chicken, Western variations sometimes substitute other meat such as pork, duck, fish, shrimp, or
tofu
Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super firm ...
.
File:Kung Pao Chicken.jpg, Westernized version of Kung Pao chicken ''gaifan
''Gaifan'' () or ''gaijiaofan'' () is a type of dish in Chinese cuisine typically offered in low-cost establishments. It consists of a fish, meat, or vegetable topping served over rice. The dish can be either freshly cooked or previously cooked, ...
'', served in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
File:Kung Pao chicken.jpg, Another version of Kung Pao chicken
File:Kung Pao Chicken (in Fresno, California) - 宮保雞丁(在加利福尼亞州的弗雷斯諾).jpg, A plate of homestyle Kung Pao chicken in Fresno, California
Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...
.
See also
*
List of chicken dishes
This is a list of chicken dishes. Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world, and was one of the first domesticated animals. Chicken is a major worldwide source of meat and eggs for human consumption. It is prepared as food in a wide ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kung Pao Chicken
Chinese chicken dishes
Chili pepper dishes
Peanut dishes
Sichuan cuisine
Spicy foods