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Kung Pao Chicken

Updated May 18, 2018Published Dec 28, 2016 By Julia 15 CommentsThis post may contain affiliate links.

Summary:
This Kung Pao chicken stir fry has vegetables, peanuts, and a spicy sauce. Add this to your dinner rotation along with other low carb Asian dishes.
Best authentic kung pao chicken

Kung Pao Chicken

5 from 3 votes
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Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Yield: 4 servings
Calories: 350
Net Carbs: 10g

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1/2-3/4 inch chunks
  • 1 red bell pepper chopped
  • 1 zucchini chopped
  • 5 whole dried red chili peppers seeded and cut into small pieces
  • 1/4 cup chopped peanuts
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Marinade:

  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons corn starch
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Sauce:

  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons sriracha
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon corn starch

INSTRUCTIONS

  • In a large bowl, combine all marinade ingredients, stirring until the corn starch is dissolved. Add chopped chicken and stir together until the marinade is mostly absorbed. Set aside for about 10 minutes.
  • In a small bowl, combine all sauce ingredients, stirring until well-mixed. Set aside.
  • Heat oil in a wide nonstick pan over medium-high heat for a few minutes until hot. Add dried chilis and briefly stir them with the oil, about 15 seconds.
  • Add chicken and marinade to the pan. Cook until the chicken is done on the outside, about 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
  • Add chopped bell pepper and zucchini to the pan. Cook until they start to soften, about 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
  • Pour the prepared sauce into the pan and stir to coat the chicken and vegetables with sauce. Simmer to thicken the sauce, no more than 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Remove the pan from heat. Serve in bowls and top with chopped peanuts.

NUTRITION

Makes 4 Servings
Amount Per Serving:
Calories 350 (32% from fat)  
Total Fat 13g 19%
   Saturated Fat 1g 7%
Cholesterol 99mg 33%
Sodium 930mg 39%
Net Carb 10g  
Total Carb 12g 4%
   Dietary Fiber 2g 8%
   Sugars 6g  
Protein 42g  
Vitamin A 24% · Vitamin C 81% · Calcium 3% · Iron 9%

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authentic kung pao chicken recipe on a nonstick pan

What is kung pao chicken

It’s a spicy, saucy chicken dish with peanuts and stir-fry vegetables like bell peppers and zucchini. There’s a nice variety of textures in this dish — the crunch of peanuts, the juicy bites of zucchini and bell peppers, the tender pan-seared chicken — it reminds me of cashew chicken and broccoli.

If you’ve ever ordered Kung Pao chicken at Panda Express or PF Chang’s for takeout, you’ll love this homemade version. It’s a quick meal taking just 10 to 15 minutes of cooking time, making it ideal for weeknight dinners.

making kung pao chicken recipe with zucchini and other vegetables in a spicy sauce

Chile peppers and adjusting the spiciness

Following the recipe as directed yields a moderately spicy dish. I use kitchen shears to snip the dried red chili peppers into small pieces, which helps release their heat during cooking. Some people prefer to use whole chiles, but I find that it ends up being purely decorative and doesn’t impart much flavor.

For a less spicy version, use only 1 or 2 chili peppers or omit entirely. If you’re familiar with dried peppers, select one with fewer Scoville heat units.

For a very spicy version, use up to 10 chili peppers and include their seeds.

Any kind of dried red chili pepper will work for this recipe. You can usually find them in a supermarket’s center section, especially if there’s an ethnic aisle.

easy chinese kung pao chicken dinner served on a white plate

A few cooking tips

Use a nonstick pan, preferably one that’s at least 10 inches wide and 2 inches tall. I use an 11-inch nonstick pan with 3 quart capacity. Avoid stainless steel pans, as the marinated chicken will easily stick and break apart.

Have an oven mitt handy to protect your hands and arms, especially when adding the chile peppers and chicken to the hot pan. The hot oil is likely to splatter when it comes into contact with the chicken.

As is the case with stir fry dishes, you need to have all ingredients measured, chopped, and ready to go before cooking. Once you start, you won’t have time to pause and quickly chop something because the recipe moves fast.

kung pao chicken with spicy sauce cooked on a pan

Recipe origin and nutrition

This recipe is adapted from my mom’s authentic Chinese version, and I’ve tweaked it to make it low carb.

It comes out to 10g net carbs per serving, which should be doable for anyone on a keto diet. See the bottom of the recipe box for additional nutritional information.

For a low carb side, you can pair with cauliflower rice or spiralized zucchini noodles. Enjoy!

MORE TASTY KETO ASIAN RECIPES:


Hunan Beef

chicken satay with peanut sauce
Low carb, keto friendly beef and broccoli recipe in an overhead pan shot with wooden spoon
low carb beef and broccoli

Bacon Kimchi Cauliflower Fried Rice

Filed Under: Asian Takeout, Mains: Poultry, Per Serving: 5-10g Net Carbs Tagged With: 31-60min, bell pepper, chicken breasts, corn starch, garlic, ginger, gluten free, more10ingredients, peanuts, soy sauce, sriracha, stovetop, zucchini

About Julia

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Julia is a recipe developer and the founder of Savory Tooth. She shares simple recipes and guides for keto and low carb diets. Learn more.

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newest oldest most voted
Jo Ann

What is the substitution rate for replacing corn starch with xanthan gum? Or is there another substitution I can make? I can’t have corn starch. Thank you!

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
5 months ago
austin

this was really good. we doubled the zucchini and used 1/4 tsp ground ginger based on what we had on hand. thanks julia.

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1 year ago
John

Tried to make it as directed, little short on the chicken. It was so good in fact that my wife went back for seconds.

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1 year ago
Char B

Made this tonight. It packs a lot of heat (we didn’t seed the dried peppers), but we loved every bite. Can’t wait to try you other low carb suggestions.

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2 years ago
Julia

Great!! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this, hope you like the other recipes too!

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2 years ago
Lakesha

Is there an instant pot version of this recipe?

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2 years ago
Julia

Not yet 🙂

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2 years ago
Mimi

Love this! Such a great recipe.

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2 years ago
Patty

Delicious! Love that sauce.

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2 years ago
Peggy Wilkes

What’s a kcal? Is the calorie amount per serving?

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Julia

Hi Peggy! The calorie amount is per serving. A kcal is a ‘kilocalorie’, and is the same as a food Calorie. Those are 1000 scientific calories. Let me know if that’s still confusing!

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3 years ago
Alicja

mmm… looks tasty 🙂

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3 years ago
Robin

Is there a specific type of red chili?

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4 years ago
Julia

You can use any kind of dried red chili.

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4 years ago
Lauren @ Ease and Carrots

This looks fabulous! Pinning now 🙂

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
4 years ago

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