Skip takeout and whip up this baked kung pao chicken loaded with peanuts, veggies, and as much spice as you want.
Kung Pao Chicken is one of my favorite things to order at an Asian restaurant. It’s the peanuts! I love the peanuts! I don’t make take-out style Chinese food at home very often, because it’s usually fried. Don’t get me wrong, I love eating fried food. But I tend to make a giant mess in my kitchen when I fry food at home. Which is why I love this Baked Kung Pao Chicken. It has all the great flavors of the classic take-out dish, without all the mess and hassle.
The technique for this recipe is very similar to my Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe, but this dish has a bit more kick and some added veggies. And of course, the peanuts! Feel free to add more veggies, peanuts and Sriracha to suit your tastes. We like to serve this over hot cooked rice. It’s so much better when you make it yourself!
- 4 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- Salt and pepper
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1½ cups cornstarch
- ¼ cup canola oil
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ⅓ cup rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 2-3 tablespoons chopped jalapeno
- ⅓ cup peanuts
- 2 green onions, chopped
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
- Place the 1½ cups cornstarch and the beaten eggs into 2 separate bowls. Dip the chicken pieces into the beaten egg, then into the cornstarch.
- Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook the chicken, working in batches if necessary, until it is golden brown (don't worry if it's not cooked through, it will finish cooking in the oven). Place the chicken into a greased, 9x13 inch baking dish.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, Sriracha, sesame oil, garlic, brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Pour over the chicken and toss to coat. Sprinkle the red pepper, jalapeno and peanuts over the chicken.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through, stirring once halfway through baking time. Before serving, stir in the chopped green onions.
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