I had some chicken and zucchini lying around, so I stir-fried it on my outdoor wok burner (which, as I occasionally do, I fired up with the flame guard facing the wrong way and thus got some real hot hands).
It’s a little similar to what they call “Kung pao chicken” at Panda Express (which, despite its lack of authenticity, I think is among the best fast food you can get anywhere).
Ingredients:
For the chicken:
3/4 pound chicken thigh or breast, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
For the Sauce:
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinkiang vinegar
1 tablespoon fermented black bean sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
2 tablespoons chicken broth or water
For the Cornstarch Slurry:
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
For the Stir-Fry:
3 tablespoons vegetable, canola, or rice bran oil
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch dice
4 cloves garlic, minced
A 2-inch knob of ginger, peeled and minced or cut into fine matchsticks
2 to 3 scallions, cut into 1-inch segments
3/4 cup of roasted peanuts
1. Combine chicken and marinade ingredients in a medium bowl and mix thoroughly with clean fingers or chopsticks. Set aside for at least 15 minutes and up to overnight (refrigerate if marinating overnight).
2. Combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Combine slurry ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
3. For the Stir-Fry: have all of your ingredients ready to go near your wok. If cooking on an outdoor wok, follow along with the video. If cooking on an indoor wok, heat 1 tablespoon oil over high heat until lightly smoking. Add the zucchini and stir-fry until charred in spots but still crisp, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl. Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok and heat over high until smoking. Add the chicken and stir-fry until it is mostly cooked through, about 1 minute. Push the chicken to the sides of the wok and add remaining tablespoon oil to the center. Add garlic and ginger to the oil in the center and stir fry until fragrant, about 10 seconds, then toss it together with the chicken. Add scallions and peanuts, and return the zucchini to the wok.
4. Pour the sauce around the edges of the wok and stir-fry until it is nearly dry, about 1 minute. Stir the cornstarch slurry and add it a teaspoon at a time until the sauce forms a glaze that just coats the ingredients. You will probably not need all the slurry. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve immediately.
hey everyone it’s kenji i’m stirring fry i’m stir frying some chicken with zucchini um this is because my neighbor elena gives me way too much zucchini um because she has way too much growing um so this is actually similar to what they call kang pao chicken at panda express um which my daughter actually loves there’s some things i like there too actually i think as far as fast food goes it’s for the price it’s pretty tough to beat the quality and the the health factor of panda express this is not an advertisement um authenticity uh you know whatever um all right so i got some chicken that i’ve marinated with a little bit of salt uh sugar corn starch tiny bit of sesame oil some soy sauce and some shaoxing wine i’ve got here chopped ginger and garlic i’ve got a cornstarch slurry and then my sauce here is uh soy sauce um vinegar sausage wine chicken broth um and then what else do i got i got some scallions and peanuts and i got some uh zucchini so i’m gonna stir fry this all together i’m working on this outdoor burner so i can probably fit everything in here all together i don’t have to worry about going in batches like i would do indoors [Music] so okay there [Music] so trouble we’ll clean those up later [Music] i’ve been i’m testing all these outdoor burners you can see this one and i got a whole bunch more over here um five of them in fact the problem i found with all of them is that none of them are at a good height this one’s a little bit too low although this one so far is my favorite um it’s from outdoorstirfry.com it’s nice because it has a pilot that stays on so you can and and the knob is here so you don’t have to go down to the um the propane tank to uh adjust temperature like you do with the other ones gives you a lot more control [Music] [Music] okay scallions and peanuts going in corn starch slurry i think that’s actually plenty of coins we don’t need any more than that all right let’s see how we did very very loosely based on a kung pao chicken the only real similarities similarities are that it has chicken and peanuts and scallions that is delicious nice and gingery all right there we go a very inauthentic stir fry that is nonetheless delicious i will see you later guys gals non-binary pals [Music] you
47 Comments
Uncle Roger says you gotta have that wok hei. Good job!
i fricking love this man
POV eres admin
Damn K-Lo, it looks the part but a little too much seasoning me thinks. Stir fried salt yak yak yak. Try super noodles, they give you the amount of seasoning you should use then you can learn from that.
Think you can get a hot air balloon off the ground with that bad boy?
This actually reminds me of one Peru's most famous dishes: Lomo Saltado (or beef tenderloin stir-fry), great recipe!
We all need an Elena in our life
I really love to see you cook asian dishes and i wondered If you could so some Indian dishes in the future, like tikka massala or Butter chicken. There are already some good tutorials on YouTube, but no video has pov cooking or such good explanation and side notes. I hope you'll give it a try
Why the corn starch slurry?
Understanding that you must cook for the taste of a 3 year old's palate.
I'd be hitting that with some chili flakes
Hmm this might be a werid question:
but do you have any good tips for double frying? Like double frying chicken katsu and other meats?
Should i do the same method as your double frying french fries or is it diffrent since its meat and needs to be cooked thorughly?
Man's cooking with a jet engine!
Any substitute for the sho wine ???
Is this GENJI's face reveal didnt know he could cook this well
Just came by to thank you for trying to suppress other peoples ideologies. Good on you mate.
I miss you, Shabu!!!
Which material of your frying pan and other cookware plz tell
Hi Kenji, as I said in my previous comment I too have been trying to debate which outdoor wok cooking unit/set up would be best for me.
You being a mathamatical and cooking wiz (no punt intended here) You might enjoy my/this process I think just might work. Not some new discovery or anything, just new to me, and maybe to you. I'm thinking, a compact can camp stove, a single ofcourse,or even very possibly a homemade one with pellets. (Can google for various styles on the market) There's two different grades of pellets, heating pellets and food grade. Food grade being more pricey. Some come in various smoked wood flavors which for direct flame cooking one could choose according to taste pallette. There are other variables such as flame hieght and BTU's. Thought you would appreciate the adventure and get a kick out of it. The things that make us happy, lol, no worries, not making fun, this would make me happy too to have a stove hieght perfect wok outdoor set up. Idk maybe you have already tried this route and can share some info on this, please let me know. 🌺Happy Monday
Made this today. It was delicious. Thank you, Mr. López-Alt.
my dude, add some more oil to the protein marinade, top stuff as always
curious, about how long would you say a tank of propane lasts considering how often you stir fry ?
Even if I had that setup, one attempt to toss it would leave my food on the lawn
Hey Kenji, I am unable to get the vinegar and wine locally. Would it be worthwhile to purchase on Amazon? I can't think of many recipes we could use these items in outside this one, but if you think it would be worth while to have in the kitchen still, i'd be happy to purchase them.
If this grill is too low for you, I am sure it is a perfect height for me 😄
We recently got a panda express here, like 2-3 years ago, and it's okay I guess. There's a local place with a bit different menu but for the same amount of money you get twice as much food stuffed into the Styrofoam. I miss that place and the other one that has their version without the nuts, and all your stir fry videos make me want to break out the fancy burner I've never used.
I enjoyed watching you stirring-fry, Kenji
What size / brand wok is that our of curiosity?
What is that pan mount for the go pro? Put in the link, I'll buy it.
Kenji, thanks for the great videos on stir fry. I look forward to your book. Do you have advice about using precooked (sous vide) proteins in stir fry? I will sous vide extra meat and chicken either for speeding up the final prep, tenderizing (eg chuck), or to preserve meats bought on sale. Should I cut meats thicker to crisp exterior without overcooking? is there a flour dredge that will crisp quickly? Thx, David – Dallas
Is their a video of how he cut the chicken?
You are using the burrner wrong a little bit your handle should be in line with the solid part as it is there to protect your hand.
Flipping a wok around with super heated oil while wearing flip flops….that's how you know Kenji is pro
Just made this and it's ^#*$^%$ delicious! Upped my stir fry game by at least one parsec. Problem is I want to eat ALL of it in a single sitting.
great Video!
Made this for dinner tonight but added two tablespoon of shili crisp for just the right amount of heat
On a scale of 1-10 if I replaced the blackbean sauce with hoisin and took out the sugar. How healthy would this be?
Wooo, I like their Kung Pao.
Pls make a video on how you season/maintain your wok! Also what kind of oil do you use?
Dong at Outdoor Stir fry said not to use the electronic ignition version as a pilot light because the will melt the sparker. Have you had any issues with yours.
Hey Kenji, when stir frying zucchini, is there anything i can do to make the 'crust'/stir-fry Malliard reaction come out more? I've tried several things, like dehydrating in the oven in a wire rack, salt and no salt.
I see you literally did nothing to them, and they came out fine. Is it maybe just my wok not getting hot enough?
i've been following Kenji for a couple of weeks and every time i follow these recipes it's the most bomb meal ever. no more googling random recipes i'm sticking with these for a while definitely give them a try.
Hi Kenji, the burner is setup incorrectly, at 1:08 I see the heat shield is facing the camera and not your wok handle and gas knobs. If setup correctly you won't need to use a towel to grab the wooden handle.
Great video Kenji!
Bro That looks so good
do you still recommend this wok burner? there's currently a 2 month lead time on it so I'm just wondering if it's worth the wait or if there's something else comparable that you would recommend.
Kenji, I can't tell you how many times we have made this! My first time using a wok and it has turned out great every time. Thank you so much for all your content. Ann in Indianapolis
🤤