Gong Bao Ji Ding
(Kung Pao Chicken With Peanuts)
by Fuchsia Dunlop
from Land of Plenty:
A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking
(W.W. Norton, 2003)
Serves 2 as a main dish

This dish, also known as Kung Pao chicken, has the curious distinction of having been labeled as politically incorrect during the Cultural Revolution. It is named after a late Qing Dynasty (late 19th century) governor of Sichuan, Ding Baozhen, who is said to have particularly enjoyed eating it — Gong Bao was his official title. No one can quite agree on the details of its origins: Some say it was a dish Ding Baozhen brought with him from his home province of Guizhou; others that he ate it in a modest restaurant when he went out in humble dress to observe the real lives of his subjects; still others, rather implausibly, that his chef invented the finely chopped chicken dish because Ding Baozhen had bad teeth. Whatever the truth of its origins, its association with an imperial bureaucrat was enough to provoke the wrath of the Cultural Revolution radicals, and it 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.

Gong Bao chicken is beautiful to look at: a glorious medley of chicken, golden peanuts, and bright red chiles. The sauce is a light sweet-and-sour base pepped up with a deep chile spiciness and a trace of Sichuan pepper that will make your lips tingle pleasantly. The ingredients are all cut in harmony, the chicken in small cubes and the scallion in short pieces to complement the peanuts. The chicken should be just cooked and wonderfully succulent; the nuts are added at the very last minute so they keep their crispness.

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1. Cut the chicken as evenly as possible into 1/2-inch strips and then cut these into small cubes. Place in a small bowl and mix in the marinade ingredients.

2. Peel and thinly slice the garlic and ginger, and chop the scallions into chunks as long as their diameter (to match the chicken cubes). Snip the chiles in half or into 2-inch sections. Wearing rubber gloves, discard as many seeds as possible.

3. Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl — if you dip your finger in, you can taste the sweet-sour base of the gong bao flavor.

4. Season the wok, then add 2 tablespoons of oil and heat over a high flame. When the oil is hot but not yet smoking, add the chiles and Sichuan pepper and stir-fry briefly until they are crisp and the oil is spicy and fragrant. Take care not to burn the spices (you can remove the wok from the heat if necessary to prevent overheating).

5. Quickly add the chicken and fry over a high flame, stirring constantly. As soon as the chicken cubes have separated, add the ginger, garlic, and scallions and continue to stir-fry for a few minutes until they are fragrant and the meat is cooked through (test one of the larger pieces to make sure).

6. Give the sauce a stir and add it to the wok, continuing to stir and toss. As soon as the sauce has become thick and shiny, add the peanuts, stir them in, and serve.

VARIATIONS
The same dish can be made with cubes of pork, shrimp, or prawns. Cashew nuts can be used instead of peanuts for a grander version of this dish, although peanuts are more traditional.

 

[Susan Hillery] I consider myself somewhat of a "Kung Pao chicken" aficionada and always order this when dining out in Chinese restaurants, but this was the best I have ever eaten! Utter perfection. The Sichuan pepper is a challenge to find but is essential to the success of this dish — the crunchy texture and unique flavor add another important dimension.

[Shelly Sinton] For a fast, flavorful meal, the Gong Bao chicken is a hit. Although a bit salty for my taste, the welcome spiciness of the chiles, tender bites of chicken, and crunch of the peanuts made for a savored and pleasing dinner. I also made the recommended variation of this recipe with bite-size pork cubes and cashews. Both versions are lip-smacking good. Nutty brown rice makes a great complement.

[Cindi Kruth] We loved the tender chicken-and-crispy-nut combination. This recipe really did make my lips tingle. The spicy-sweet sauce got the heat just right. As always with stir-frying, I assembled the components ahead of time. At dinnertime this dish took only about 10 minutes to prepare. Can't wait to try it with shrimp and cashews.

On 10.26.05 G.G. wrote:
Love it!

On 10.16.06 A.T. wrote:
Excellent recipe. I spent a couple months in China last year (Beijing, and the Qinghai and Sichuan provinces), and came back with my pound of plundered Sichuan peppers prepared to make this dish. Unlike the Westernized garbage you find in Chinese restaurants outside of China (baby corn, water chestnuts, etc. -- ack!), this recipe will give you a taste of what real Chinese food is like. Sichuan peppers are hard to find, but they really add a fantastic, completely unique dimension to this dish and others like it. This recipe is the real deal.

On 2.13.07 D.M. wrote:
Excellent! Very spicy. I had this dish in a restaurant (Baumgart's in Ridgewood, NJ), and this was almost as good. Not sure how the restaurant gets that nice caramelized color and flavor. If I could figure that out, this dish would be perfect.