How to Make Gōngbǎo Jīdīng (Sichuan Kung Pao Chicken)

[@jokerproduction]

Here's the full recipe since they don't provide a written one.. Kung Pao Chicken Chicken and Sauce: 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into ½-inch cubes ¼ cup soy sauce, divided 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry ½ teaspoon white pepper 1 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil Stir-Fry: 1 tablespoon minced garlic 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, divided ½ cup dry-roasted peanuts 10 - 15 dried arbol chiles, halved lengthwise and seeded 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns, ground coarse 2 celery ribs, cut into ½-inch pieces 5 scallions, white and light green parts only, cut into ½-inch pieces Directions: 1. Cut boneless thighs into bite size pieces. Add to bowl. 2. Also into same bowl add: 1/2 of your soy sauce, Cornstarch, Chinese rice wine, white pepper 3. Mix chicken and added ingredients 4. In separate bowl combine: Chinese black vinegar, remaining 2 Tbsp soy sauce, dark brown sugar, toasted sesame oil 5. In a third bowl combine: 2 Tbsp vegetable oil, minced garlic & ginger 6. Toast peanuts in 1 tsp vegetable oil until lightly browned and set aside in a bowl until later 7. Add szechuan peppercorns to a spice grinder or mortar & pestle and grind coarsely 8. Using same pan from your peanuts add 1 Tbsp vegetable oil along with ground szechuan peppercorns and arbol chiles. Allow to bloom for 1-2 minutes 9. Add your garlic ginger mixture and stir for 30 seconds or until fragrant 10. Add your chicken mixture and spread evenly in one layer. Increase heat to medium high, cover and cook for one minute 11. After one minute stir and cover again for 1-2 minutes or until some color has developed 12. Add your celery and cook until just softened or roughly 2-3 minutes uncovered 13. Add your sauce mixture you made early and allow to reduce for 3-5 minutes 14. To finish add chopped scallions and toasted peanuts. 15. That's it serve as it is or with a side of white rice.

[@christinajohnson6543]

Thanx

[@maryannlarsen1727]

Thank you

[@Terenia531]

Very kind. Thank you!

[@janedoe805]

You’re very thoughtful & kind. Thank You 😊

[@passiveagressive4983]

they don’t ? seriously 🥺

[@mosttoothless]

Adding Sichuan Dou Ban Jiang paste can add additional wonderful deep more complex flavor, and adding a bit of Chinese dark soy sauce can give a richer color. Both are traditional ingredients for this dish.

[@moo422]

Kudos for including the Chinese pinyin, even though you didn't need to. Appreciate it!

[@amydalton9794]

Love this recipe. We make this at least once per month!

[@zlqsdtc]

I dont have a powerful stove, so glad you showed how to cook this dish without a wok and stir-frying

[@PinkeeLee]

Elle could probably show a recipe for cardboard and make it interesting and tasty. She’s the best.

[@perotinofhackensack2064]

You're serious?

[@pilarneary3526]

Wonderful video and recipe! Thank you so much! I just cannot wait to prepare this dish! 🌺😗🌺

[@AAwildeone]

Always great to see Elle! First recipe I made of hers was the cake Gateau that I served after her shrimp scampi...Girl never disappoints!

[@AAwildeone]

@@sandrah7512 Well, props to them, as well!!! Wonder how a particular chef ends up in front of the camera, then? Do they get to choose, are they assigned, or is it a pick it out of the hat kind of situation?

[@heidelbergaren5054]

I had Gongbau Jiding for lunch and dinner during two full weeks in Taiwan 15 years ago. Every time a new restaurant and a new family recipe, our local colleagues hated us at first for this, but came to appreciate the variety within a single dish

[@Uyikhk-ggdd417]

That looks smashingly good! !

[@LFUFMNX]

3:58 Did I hear her right?

[@TsunamiWombat]

It'd probably be better to call/consider this an americanized or westernized interpretation of Gōngbǎo Jīdīng, since it is clearly made with a western palate and cooking instruments (no wok) in mind. If you want to see really traditional chinese cooking and are western, I recommend ChineseCookingDemystified which is a great little indie channel made by a man and his chinese wife, living in china, using local ingredients (though they address sourcing) and sometimes literally just walking down the street and asking vendors who they make stuff.

[@TsunamiWombat]

PS: Doesn't mean this is a bad recipe or video though!

[@roderickcampbell2105]

@@TsunamiWombat Agreed. I think of it as a celebration of Chinese cuisine. US is notorious for adapting traditional Italian recipes as well.

[@carboholickim]

toasted cashews instead of peanuts taste amazing

[@Sodchucker]

deep fried peanuts are also great

[@johnross6805]

Tried this recipe a couple weeks ago after seeing it on the show and it was so very good. Thank you ATK!

[@LibeliumDragonfly]

kudos for using thigh meat, that's what real Sichuan chefs use. Lots of other chefs chicken out by using breast, which is arguably easier to handle, but blander in texture.

[@stephaniereed8869]

Made this and it's very good! Will cut down on the chili's next time, I like heat but 15 is a bit much. Thank you

[@NC-qc7wd]

This would be in my kitchen pronto, but I would shop those chilies more so I can enjoy them, a Great chef, and wishing I had a modern kitchen like that!!

[@ZippityDont]

Chopping this chilies would be a mistake. DeArbil are very hot (and traditional) it would unbalance the dish and overwhelm the Szechuan peppercorns

[@hollycharamut8104]

@@ZippityDont I don't think they chopped. They slit and removed the seeds. I'm going to make this!

[@lovewillwinnn]

Looks delicious. 🍲 🥢 🍗 🌶. You guys work well together. 🌷😀

[@homi4348]

It is one of my favorite dishes. I want to eat it now! Thank you. 👍

[@sailxlt]

Made this tonight. Dang spicy!

[@meancuisine8]

Viewing again.... i adore these two WonderFull Women and this recipe.

[@donleyp]

Kung-Pao Chicken is my goto at every new Chinese takeout I try. Thanks for showing us how to make it!!

[@thomasrivera1254]

I’m loving that you added the pinyin - also some of us like the chili’s 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@himasf]

Love ATK's takes on Asian fare 🙌

[@roderickcampbell2105]

Awesome. But eat those pepper corns! Well, maybe a piece of one.

[@o-_-ojb]

I like eating the chilies

[@Scott65J]

the chilis are my fave part

[@Mickey_McD]

Chinese restaurants I've been to sometimes use a combination of celery, onion, and carrot for the veg.

[@daveh7720]

A place I frequented years ago used water chestnut slices instead of celery. I actually prefer it that way because they don't get soft no matter how long you cook it.

[@dc705]

This turned out just like we get at our favorite restaurant. Delicious! But 15 chilies is way too hot! Notch back to 5 for a more reasonable heat. Otherwise, 5 stars!

[@JMichaelThurman]

Always eat the chilis! 😎

[@daveh7720]

Don't eat the chilis? Sounds like a dare to me. (grin) My favorite Chinese restaurant (now closed, doggonit) use water chestnuts in place of celery. I like it both ways.

[@danawilliams334]

Can I make the stir-fry without tangling heat? I have an extremely sensitive palate.

[@frankunderbush]

It won't come close to what the dish is meant to be - that'd be like cooking Italian food without olive oil. The entire Sichuan cuisine is about the numbing and the spice. If you're set on making Chinese food, there are plenty of other Chinese cuisines that don't rely on heat so you could look into those: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_regional_cuisine

[@zimred9609]

Yes, you definitely can for this dish. Sichuan cuisine has many spicy dishes, but not all Sichuan dishes are spicy. And Gongbao Jiding never meant to be really spicy/hot. Indeed, authentically/originally, this dish should have so-called 'Xiao Li Zhi ' Wei (meaning 'little lychee' flavour). It should be slightly sweet, slightly sour and slightly savoury, not burning your tongue. Even in Sichuan, chefs usually use a medium-size dry chilli variety (Er Jin Tiao) that has a milder taste to cook this dish. We can always cook food with adjustments/creativities, and that's the beauty of home cooking. Besides, this recipe is far from authenticity (Thigh fillets should be skin-on, Sichuan peppercorns should never been crushed, peanuts should be deep-fried, and celery should never be added, etc.).

[@danawilliams334]

@@zimred9609 thank you so much. I have quite a sensitive palate, and I don't think I can handle that tingling heat and numbing sensation in my mouth.

[@judithgeldhauser7778]

Chinese black vinegar doesn't exist in the entire state of Connecticut! Uugh... still love you guys...

[@CynicalTimes]

Use balsamic vinegar. It has a similar taste.

[@FlesHBoX]

lol, I sat down with my plate of kung pao chicken and clicked play and this came on... Though, mine is just what they had at the chinese kitchen at the grocery store, made with jalapenos ...

[@travelchannel304]

Good info. Would like to also see it done with a wok & the level of heat used with it vs. the pan used in the west. Timing is different with both. Looks delish. I will try it this way but not celery version.

[@AAwildeone]

Wanna see a wok, take a look at Flo Lum's YT channel...she has a beatiful one, and her recipes are great, and she's fun to watch. Not taking anything away from ATK, these chefs taught me a lot as a home cook over the years, just spreading the love...Cheers!

[@hokieduck]

Marinade needs one egg white Which holds the cornstarch and "velvets" the chicken. NO CELERY!! And a teaspoon of Dark Soy to the sauce.

[@C2C.]

I'm a fan and subscriber, but this video fell short. Wish they included a Chinese chef or cook, at least to help with the pronunciation and demonstrate technique... and I get that this is an Americanized recipe, but does the Test Kitchen not have a wok?

[@perotinofhackensack2064]

It appears they are trying to let everyone have a chance. But everyone is not equal as far as presentation skills go..... Look up food ranger, a Canadian food blogger, who travel to Szechuan and talked his way into the back of a village restaurant kitchen, and showed us the kitchen and how they make this exact dish... Now that's gong bao jiding.

[@MH-zd7tn]

I have ibs and cornstarch acts up my intestines. Is there a corn starch substitute that might work in place of cornstarch?

[@valho9]

Tapica starch is also used in Chinese cooking

[@ALLBOUTTHUGLIFE]

Potato, Tapioca, Rice Starches are available at any store now. I use Rice Starch the most. Hope that helps.

[@michaelcohen2760]

japanese powdered Kuzu root

[@stevenk6638]

The one with the pony tail has the POW ! !

[@infin1ty850]

I'm sure this tastes wonderful, but calling this a stir fry is a bit of a stretch. Also, if you can find Sichuan peppercorns and Chinese black vinegar, you can definitely find heaven facing chilies or even thai chilies.

[@gibberishname]

sherry vinegar not MALT vinegar?

[@sharinganeye9755]

I don't get the point of calling this dish by the Chinese name and having Kung Pao Chicken in paranthesis. It's not like their making this dish super traditional and this isn't China's test kitchen, its America's test kitchen. I don't even know why they put the Chinese name in the first place. Just call it Kung Pao Chicken damn it!!!

[@purplepoppy07]

It’s a Chinese dish... does that make sense?

[@sharinganeye9755]

@@purplepoppy07 It's an American cooking show and they're making a Westernized version of the dish which most people would recognize as Kung Pao Chicken. Does that make sense?

[@sooooooooDark]

how to even debone chicken thighs? 🤔 sounds difficult 😳😳😳

[@TsunamiWombat]

Deboning a chicken is fairly straight forward, see here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qGGsdpyLlJJ5oNE but you can also buy pre-deboned thighs.

[@cajunlinks]

Buy them in the grocery store.

[@ritchiebesas631]

is it stir-fry? why are they not using wok?

[@niflag]

Sesame oil 🤮

[@mozhou7982]

I tell everyone Gongbao is a guy name 😂😂😂

[@meancuisine8]

Chef of AmericasTestKitchen i would Love to cook with: Elle Chef of Americas TestKitchen i would Love to cook FOR: Bridgette ....... Swooooooooon.

[@TT-yn7qi]

This is a repeat.

[@IzzyTheEditor]

I ate this so I didn’t get the Kung Pow Sicken 😎

[@wonhome2711]

why are you trying to teach people Chinese-American food? Stick to American food.

[@salenamatthews5711]

Ella looks pregnant to me on this video?