Chinese · Authentic-ish Chinese
Kung Pao Chicken
352 kcal a serving, against 520 for the traditional version. That is 168 kcal off, or 32%, with 39.4g of protein. Serves 4. 25 minutes.
What the traditional version is
Diced chicken thigh, passed through a wok of hot oil to keep it soft, then stir-fried with scorched dried chillies, ginger, garlic and peanuts. Finished with a sharp sauce of soy, black vinegar and sugar, pooling in red oil.
What changed, and what each change costs
600g of chicken thigh and an oil-blanch swapped for chicken breast and a water-blanch
Breast is significantly leaner than thigh. Coating it in egg white and cornflour before a quick plunge in boiling water mimics the soft texture of a deep-fry without the fat.
What it costs you. You lose the deep, savoury flavour of rendered chicken skin and thigh fat. This is just a lighter, cleaner finish. Nobody is going to mistake it for a disaster.
60ml of groundnut oil down to 15ml
By boiling the chicken instead of frying it, you only need enough oil in the wok to toast the chillies and aromatics.
What it costs you. The final dish lacks that traditional slick of red oil at the bottom of the plate. You also have to work the wok much faster because there's very little fat to stop the garlic burning.
100g of peanuts down to 50g
Peanuts carry a lot of fat. Halving the amount keeps the essential crunch while dropping a massive amount of the load.
What it costs you. Fewer peanuts per bite. You'll find yourself hunting for them at the end.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 520 | 352 |
| Protein | 37.5g | 39.4g |
| Fat | 33.8g | 14.1g |
| Saturated fat | 5.8g | 2.3g |
| Carbohydrate | 18.5g | 16.5g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 7.2g | 11.2g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Chinese prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. eggs, gluten, peanuts, soybeans, sulphites.
The method is in the book
This is a genuine restaurant trick that works brilliantly at home. The velveting process completely protects the lean meat from drying out in the fierce heat of the wok. You get the crunch, the sour tang and the smoky chilli heat of the original, while dropping a massive amount of fat. Kung Pao is the first dish I cook for people who think leaner food means dry chicken.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Chinese, along with 55 more. Buy the paperback