700g/ 24 oz Chicken Legs/Thighs (includes the bones) or Chicken Breasts
1tbsp/ 15 g Ginger, chopped
4Large Garlic Cloves
3Green Onions (separate the white, light green parts and dark green parts)
80g/ 2.8 oz Peanuts/Cashews, roasted (or fried)
5Dry Chili Peppers
10Black Peppercorns
Marinade Sauce
1/2tspSalt
1/2tspGround Black Pepper
1tbspChinese Cooking Wine
1tbspLight Soy Sauce
1Egg White
1tbspCornstarch
1tspVegetable Oil
Seasoning Kung Pao Sauce
2tbspChinese Cooking Wine
2tspLight Soy Sauce
1/2tspDark Soy Sauce
2tspSugar
1tspRice Vinegar (or Chinese Black Vinegar)
1/4tspGround Black Pepper
1/2tspChicken Bouillon
1tspCornstarch
Instructions
Prepare all the ingredients in separate bowls.
Cut the chicken in small chunks. In a large bowl, add Salt, Ground Black Pepper, Chinese Cooking Wine, and Light Soy Sauce. Mix well. Add the Egg White and Cornstarch. Mix well. Then add the Vegetable Oil and mix well. Chinese stir-fry could be renamed Chinese mix-fry! Set aside and let marinate for about 15 minutes.
In a frying pan, add some Vegetable Oil. Fry the Peanuts and Cashews on medium heat for approximately 3-4 minutes.
Transfer the nuts to a bowl and add two pinches of Salt. Set aside to cool.
Prepare the seasoning kung pao sauce. In a small bowl, add the Chinese Cooking Wine, Light Soy Sauce, Dark Soy Sauce, Sugar, Vinegar, Ground Black Pepper, Chicken Bouillon, and Cornstarch. Mix well and set aside.
In a wok, add the Vegetable Oil, and on medium-high heat, cook the chicken until it is slightly browned. Remove and set aside.
Leave some existing oil in the wok, on medium-high heat, add Ginger and Garlic, stir for about 10 seconds. Then add Dry Chili Pepper and Peppercorns and stir for another few seconds. Add the chicken and turn up to high heat. Add the seasoning kung pao sauce and stir well until the chicken is well mixed with the sauce. Stir and mix—the real secrets to cooking with woks.
Add the Peanuts, Cashews and white, light green parts of the Onion. Stir for another 30 seconds. Scoop into a serving bowl and add the dark green parts of the Onion for garnish.
As mentioned earlier, you can also roast the peanuts and cashews in a preheated oven at 350 F (175 C) for 10-15 minutes.
It is important to add the Vegetable Oil in the end for marinating the chicken because it prevents the chicken from sticking to the wok while cooking.
Traditionally, we use the Chinese Black Vinegar for the Kung Pao sauce. Yet, I discovered that Rice Vinegar is a great substitution. You can be confident that either kind will taste great.