I hate Kung Pao chicken, but love Gong Bao chicken, even though it’s the same name, just transliterated differently. Explanation: every Chinese takeout has Kung Pao chicken (even though it’s a Sichuan dish), and it’s generally made with a sickeningly sweet fluorescent orange to red sauce, which I’m convinced comes in 55 gallon industrial drums and doesn’t require refrigeration.

I think Gong Bao is now the preferred transliteration (I’m just guessing though) . . . so I associate it with the ‘real’ dish, first introduced to me via Fuschia Dunlop’s book Land of Plenty. In this version, the sauce is much more balanced, with less sweetness, and much more depth from the use of black vinegar and both light and dark soy.

There’s something like 18 ingredients, and lots of prep work, but once ready, the recipe comes together quickly.

Ms. Dunlop’s version calls for breast meat. Normally I’d use thigh meat, for additional flavor, but I couldn’t say ‘no’ to Aldi’s mislabelled $1.53 bargain:

Only when I got home and straightened out the label did I realize that what I had misread as $1.53 was $4.53. Never mind.

The chicken’s cut into 1 cm/ 1/2″ cubes, then goes into the marinade, which is just soy sauce, rice wine or dry sherry, cornstarch and water:

Cut up the other ingredients:

And make the sauce: sugar, cornstarch, dark & light soy, black vinegar, sesame oil, and stock.

The cooking is dead easy: heat a couple of tablespoons of oil and fry the Sichuan peppercorns and red peppers until fragrant. Add the chicken and fry until the cubes start to separate. Add the ginger, garlic, and scallions and continue to cook until done. Stir in the sauce and cook until thickened.

Yum! Here with some Chinese broccoli and fried corn/peppers with sesame oil:

-R