Main Meals

Kung pao chicken

By
22 July 2026
3
Easy
10 minutes
8 minutes

"Kung pao chicken is arguably the butter chicken of the Chinese world. If you've never really explored Chinese food, I would recommend this as your gateway dish." - Wayne Chang

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Ingredients

Method
  • 4 free-range boneless chicken thighs, cubed
  • 2 t cornflour
  • 1 T water
  • 1 t salt
  • 1 t white pepper
  • 2 T vegetable oil
  • 8 Chinese dried chillies
  • 1 t Sichuan peppercorns
  • 3 spring onions, cut into 3 cm pieces
  • 6 slices ginger (around 20 g), peeled and sliced into rounds
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 T light soy sauce
  • 1 T rice vinegar
  • 1 t rice wine (substitute with dry sherry)
  • 1 t sugar
  • 1 T water
  • 30 g peanuts
  • rice, cooked, for serving

Method

Ingredients

1. Place the chicken, 1 t cornflour, water, salt and white pepper in a bowl and mix well.

2. Place a pan over a medium-high heat, then add the oil, chillies and peppercorns. Fry for 30 seconds, then add the spring onions and ginger.

3. Cook for 30 seconds, then add the garlic and chicken and cook for 3–5 minutes.

4. Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, rice wine and sugar, stir and cook for another minute or so.

5. In a separate bowl, mix the remaining cornflour and the water. Slowly drizzle it into the pan, mixing continually, until the sauce thickens.

6. Stir in the peanuts and serve with rice.

Find more chicken recipes here

Production: Amy Ebedes-Murray
Videographer: Barry de Villiers
Photographer: Jan Ras

 

Wayne Chang

Recipe by: Wayne Chang

Wayne Chang is a South African food content creator who shares food videos under the handle @munchin_mash on Instagram and TikTok.

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