Kung Pao chicken
Encyclopedia
Gong Bao chicken
Gong Bao chicken ' onMouseout='HidePop("41282")' href="/topics/Sichuan">Sichuan Province
of central-western China
. Allegedly, the dish is named after Ding Baozhen
(1820–1886), a late Qing Dynasty
official. Born in Guizhou
, Ding served as head of Shandong
province and later as governor of Sichuan province. His title was Gōng Bǎo (宮保), or palatial guardian. The name "Kung Pao" chicken is derived from this title.
During the Cultural Revolution
, the dish was labeled as politically incorrect because of its association with Ding Baozhen. The dish was renamed "fast-fried chicken cubes" (hong bao ji ding) or "chicken cubes with seared chiles" (hu la ji ding) until its political rehabilitation in the 1980s.
The dish exists in both traditional Sichuan and Westernized versions; the latter is more popular in the United States and Canada.
as its primary ingredient. In this original version, diced chicken is typically mixed with a prepared marinade. The wok is seasoned and then chili peppers and Sichuan pepper
corns are flash fried to add fragrance to the oil. Then the chicken is stir fried and vegetables, along with peanut
s, are added. Shaoxing wine
is used to enhance flavor in the marinade.
Kung Pao chicken starts off with fresh, moist, unroasted peanuts or cashew nuts. These are often used instead of their pre-roasted versions. The peanuts or cashew nuts are dropped into the hot oil on the bottom of the wok first, then deep fried until golden brown before the other ingredients are added.
In Sichuan, or when preparing authentic gōng bǎo jī dīng, only Sichuan-style chili peppers such as cháo tiān jiāo
or qī xīng jiāo are used. Smaller, thinner Sichuanese varieties may also be used.
The most important component of the dish is handfuls of Sichuan peppercorns. It is these peppercorns that give authentic gōng bǎo jī dīng its distinctive numbing flavor. Use of má là wèi xíng (麻辣味型), or hot and numbing flavor, is a typical element of Sichuan cooking.
Westernized versions, usually called "Kung Pao chicken", commonly consist of diced marinated chicken
stir-fried with skinless unsalted roasted peanuts; chopped, sliced, or diced red bell pepper
s (as well as other vegetables such as green bell peppers, celery
, Chinese cabbage
, water chestnuts, and carrot
s); sherry
or rice wine
; hoisin sauce
; oyster sauce
; and chili pepper
s. Although chicken is traditionally used, seafood items such as shrimp or scallops, or other meats such as beef or pork, are sometimes used in place of the chicken (although typically only a single meat or seafood is used). It can also be prepared with tofu
instead of meat.
In order to prepare Western-style Kung Pao, bits of diced raw chicken are marinated, then dusted with cornstarch, and then a Chinese wok
is heated on a high flame, without oil, until it is quite hot. A swish of the ladle spreads a couple of teaspoons of peanut oil, then the chicken is flash fried in the hot oil to bring out the flavor of very slightly charred or grilled meat, but not so long that it loses its juices or tenderness. Next, grated garlic and the vegetables are added, followed by Chinese rice wine, along with a sweet sauce. A tiny drizzle of sesame oil
provides the tang, peanut
s are added, and the dish is ready in about one and a half minutes, from the time the oil first hits the wok.
Kung Pao chicken is a very popular staple of North American Sichuan-style Chinese restaurants, and many recommend using it as a measure of the skills of a chef. In Australia a heavily contested debate still rages over who first introduced the dish, although most would agree that Chef Ivan Podres of Orange, N.S.W. first gave the best representation of the original in the modern style.
Whereas the original Chinese version of the dish includes Sichuan pepper
corns as an integral ingredient, the Western version does not. From 1968 until 2005, it was illegal to import Sichuan peppercorns into the United States. They were viewed as potential carriers of citrus canker
, a tree disease that can potentially harm citrus crops. The ban has now been lifted in light of new processing methods. However, the 37-year ban resulted in a distinct American version of the recipe that does not incorporate Sichuan peppercorns.
Gong Bao chicken ' onMouseout='HidePop("41282")' href="/topics/Sichuan">Sichuan Province
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
of central-western China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Allegedly, the dish is named after Ding Baozhen
Ding Baozhen
Ding Baozhen was the Qing Dynasty governor of Sichuan Province, China after whom the Szechuan dish Kung Pao chicken was named.-Biography:Born in Pingyuan, Guizhou Province in 1820, Ding was appointed a government official in 1854 after an outstanding performance in the annual Royal...
(1820–1886), a late Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
official. Born in Guizhou
Guizhou
' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. Its provincial capital city is Guiyang.- History :...
, Ding served as head of Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
province and later as governor of Sichuan province. His title was Gōng Bǎo (宮保), or palatial guardian. The name "Kung Pao" chicken is derived from this title.
During the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, the dish was labeled as politically incorrect because of its association with Ding Baozhen. The dish was renamed "fast-fried chicken cubes" (hong bao ji ding) or "chicken cubes with seared chiles" (hu la ji ding) until its political rehabilitation in the 1980s.
The dish exists in both traditional Sichuan and Westernized versions; the latter is more popular in the United States and Canada.
Sichuan version
The original Sichuan version uses chickenChicken (food)
Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world, and is prepared as food in a wide variety of ways, varying by region and culture.- History :...
as its primary ingredient. In this original version, diced chicken is typically mixed with a prepared marinade. The wok is seasoned and then chili peppers and Sichuan pepper
Sichuan Pepper
Sichuan pepper is the outer pod of the tiny fruit of a number of species in the genus Zanthoxylum , widely grown and consumed in Asia as a spice. Despite the name, it is not related to black pepper or to chili peppers...
corns are flash fried to add fragrance to the oil. Then the chicken is stir fried and vegetables, along with peanut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
s, are added. Shaoxing wine
Shaoxing wine
Shaoxing wine is one of the most famous varieties of huangjiu, or traditional Chinese wines, fermented from rice. It originates from the region of Shaoxing, in the Zhejiang province of eastern China. It is both drunk as a beverage as well as widely used in Chinese cuisine...
is used to enhance flavor in the marinade.
Kung Pao chicken starts off with fresh, moist, unroasted peanuts or cashew nuts. These are often used instead of their pre-roasted versions. The peanuts or cashew nuts are dropped into the hot oil on the bottom of the wok first, then deep fried until golden brown before the other ingredients are added.
In Sichuan, or when preparing authentic gōng bǎo jī dīng, only Sichuan-style chili peppers such as cháo tiān jiāo
Facing heaven pepper
The facing heaven pepper , is a cone-shaped, medium-hot chili pepper with very thin skin, between 3 and 6 centimeters in length, and 1 to 2 centimeters in diameter at the base...
or qī xīng jiāo are used. Smaller, thinner Sichuanese varieties may also be used.
The most important component of the dish is handfuls of Sichuan peppercorns. It is these peppercorns that give authentic gōng bǎo jī dīng its distinctive numbing flavor. Use of má là wèi xíng (麻辣味型), or hot and numbing flavor, is a typical element of Sichuan cooking.
Westernized versions
Chicken (food)
Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world, and is prepared as food in a wide variety of ways, varying by region and culture.- History :...
stir-fried with skinless unsalted roasted peanuts; chopped, sliced, or diced red bell pepper
Bell pepper
Bell pepper, also known as sweet pepper or a pepper and capsicum , is a cultivar group of the species Capsicum annuum . Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orange and green. Bell peppers are sometimes grouped with less pungent pepper varieties as...
s (as well as other vegetables such as green bell peppers, celery
Celery
Apium graveolens is a plant species in the family Apiaceae commonly known as celery or celeriac , depending on whether the petioles or roots are eaten: celery refers to the former and celeriac to the latter. Apium graveolens grows to 1 m tall...
, Chinese cabbage
Chinese cabbage
Chinese cabbage can refer to two distinct varieties of Chinese leaf vegetables used often in Chinese cuisine. These vegetables are both related to the Western cabbage, and are of the same species as the common turnip...
, water chestnuts, and carrot
Carrot
The carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange in colour, though purple, red, white, and yellow varieties exist. It has a crisp texture when fresh...
s); sherry
Sherry
Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the town of Jerez , Spain. In Spanish, it is called vino de Jerez....
or rice wine
Huangjiu
Huangjiu is a type of Chinese beverage brewed directly from grains such as rice, millet, or wheat. Unlike baijiu, such liquors are not distilled, and contain less than 20% alcohol, due to the inhibition of fermentation by ethanol at that concentration...
; hoisin sauce
Hoisin sauce
Hoisin sauce, or haixian sauce, is a Chinese dipping sauce. The word hoisin is a romanization of the Chinese word for seafood "" as pronounced in Cantonese.-Ingredients:...
; oyster sauce
Oyster sauce
Oyster sauce describes a number of sauces made by cooking oysters. The most common in modern use is a viscous dark brown condiment made from sugar, salt and water thickened with cornstarch, flavoured with a little oyster essence or extract and some versions may be darkened with caramel, though high...
; and chili pepper
Chili pepper
Chili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...
s. Although chicken is traditionally used, seafood items such as shrimp or scallops, or other meats such as beef or pork, are sometimes used in place of the chicken (although typically only a single meat or seafood is used). It can also be prepared with tofu
Tofu
is a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. It is part of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and others. There are many different varieties of tofu, including fresh tofu and tofu...
instead of meat.
In order to prepare Western-style Kung Pao, bits of diced raw chicken are marinated, then dusted with cornstarch, and then a Chinese wok
Wok
A wok is a versatile round-bottomed cooking vessel originating in China. It is used especially in East and Southeast Asia.Woks are most often used for stir frying, but can also be used in other Chinese cooking techniques, such as in steaming, deep frying, braising, stewing, smoking, or making soup...
is heated on a high flame, without oil, until it is quite hot. A swish of the ladle spreads a couple of teaspoons of peanut oil, then the chicken is flash fried in the hot oil to bring out the flavor of very slightly charred or grilled meat, but not so long that it loses its juices or tenderness. Next, grated garlic and the vegetables are added, followed by Chinese rice wine, along with a sweet sauce. A tiny drizzle of sesame oil
Sesame oil
Sesame oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from sesame seeds. Besides being used as a cooking oil in South India, it is often used as a flavor enhancer in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and to a lesser extent Southeast Asian cuisine.The oil from the nutrient rich seed is popular in alternative...
provides the tang, peanut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
s are added, and the dish is ready in about one and a half minutes, from the time the oil first hits the wok.
Kung Pao chicken is a very popular staple of North American Sichuan-style Chinese restaurants, and many recommend using it as a measure of the skills of a chef. In Australia a heavily contested debate still rages over who first introduced the dish, although most would agree that Chef Ivan Podres of Orange, N.S.W. first gave the best representation of the original in the modern style.
Whereas the original Chinese version of the dish includes Sichuan pepper
Sichuan Pepper
Sichuan pepper is the outer pod of the tiny fruit of a number of species in the genus Zanthoxylum , widely grown and consumed in Asia as a spice. Despite the name, it is not related to black pepper or to chili peppers...
corns as an integral ingredient, the Western version does not. From 1968 until 2005, it was illegal to import Sichuan peppercorns into the United States. They were viewed as potential carriers of citrus canker
Citrus canker
Citrus canker is a disease affecting citrus species that is caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas axonopodis. Infection causes lesions on the leaves, stems, and fruit of citrus trees, including lime, oranges, and grapefruit...
, a tree disease that can potentially harm citrus crops. The ban has now been lifted in light of new processing methods. However, the 37-year ban resulted in a distinct American version of the recipe that does not incorporate Sichuan peppercorns.