Kung Pao/Gong Bao Chicken (Gong Bao Ji Ding)

Description:
There are so many versions available in the net and in the cooking books. However, I like this version and have made this for 3 times now. This recipe was posted by David Anderson (I cannot find the webpage anymore) and the original recipe is from Yan Kit's Classic Chinese Cooking. He said that this dish is close to the one in China. But yeah, since I haven't been there so I just imagine that I have this dish as in China .

The Sichuan peppercorns give the distinct punget peppery aroma to the dish. It makes the dish unique and special.

The recipe below has been slightly modified by me. I don't use the egg whites as I can't be bothered keeping 1 yolk in the fridge (at the end it is most likely wasted) and when I tried with egg white, the sauce does not look appetizing to me. I put cashew nuts instead of peanuts as I find cashew is tastier.




Ingredients:
750 g chicken breast or thigh fillet, skin off cut 2 cm x 1.5 cm or slice and marinade with:
1 tsp corn starch
2 tsp soy sauce, Kikoman
1 Tbsp Shao Shing wine

Other ingredients:
2 Tbsp + 2 Tbsp canola oil
2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, dry roasted and coarsely ground
6 dried whole chillies (cut and add more if you want the dish hotter)
4 slices ginger, cut into fine strips
1.5 Tbsp mince garlic
salt to taste

2 spring onion cut into 2.5 cm long
0.5 cup roasted cashew nut

Prepare the sauce in a bowl:
2 Tbsp sambal oelek, Continental
2 Tbsp Shao Xing wine
1 Tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp corn starch
0.5 tsp sugar
4 Tbsp water




Directions:
Marinade the chicken pieces and put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes

Prepare the sauce and the other ingredients.

Heat your wok over high heat. Add the Sichuan peppercorns and dry roast for about 20 seconds. Ground the peppercorn and put aside.

Add 2 Tbsp oil and swirl it around to coat the sides of the wok. Add the dried chillies and stir them around till you start to smell them toasting. Toss in the garlic and ginger until fragrant. Then, add peppercorn.

Pour in half batch of the chicken. Slide your spatula under the mix and flip it over until all sides of the chicken pieces are lightly cooked, then you can start tossing it. Cook and toss for about a minute. Remove from the wok and add the remaining oil to the wok. Then, add remaining batch. Once the second batch chicken is partly cooked, return the other batch.

Stir the sauce mix to make sure the cornstarch hasn't settled. Pour it over the chicken in the wok, continue to stir-fry while it boils and thickens.

Add the spring onion and stir-fry for another 45 seconds. The chicken should be almost done cooking now. Add the cashews. Stir and toss for a few seconds.