When it comes to Chinese take-out dishes, there may be none more popular than Kung Pao Chicken. This spicy dish includes chili peppers, bell peppers and most importantly, peanuts and a spicy sauce to coat it all. When this dish takes on its Western spin, typically hoisin sauce is added to tone down the heat. But in the recipe below, we've kept it a bit more traditional.
Traditionally, Kung Pao Chicken comes from the Sichuan Province of China and so, uses szechuan peppercorns. Those can be a bit hard to find, but luckily szechuan sauce can easily be found in the Asian section of most supermarkets. That's what's used here, but a word of warning comes with this recipe. It is spicy, spicy, spicy!
Slow Cooker Kung Pao Chicken
4
10 minutes
4 hours, 10 minutes
4 hours, 20 minutes
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
6 - 10 dried chili peppers, split in half and seeds removed
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons Szechuan sauce
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons cornstarch + 2 tablespoons water
1/3 cup peanuts
Green onions, for garnish, optional
Heat oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add chicken thigh pieces and season with salt and pepper. Saute until chicken is completely browned, then transfer to a 6-quart slow cooker. Also add in dried chili peppers and red bell pepper.
In a large measuring cup, whisk together water, soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, Szechuan sauce, garlic powder, and ground ginger. Combine well and then pour over the chicken and peppers.
Cover slow cooker with lid and cook on low for 4 hours or on high for 2.5 hours.
Whisk together the cornstarch and water and add to slow cooker with the peanuts. Mix to combine, replace lid and cook for another 10 minutes on high.
Serve over steamed rice topped with green onions for garnish.