Kung Pao Chicken was created by Ding Baozhen, governor of Shandong and governor of Sichuan in the Qing Dynasty. He had a lot of research on cooking and liked to eat chicken and peanuts, especially spicy. When he was an official in Shandong, he ordered his chef to improve the Shandong cuisine "Sauce-fried Chicken Dice" into spicy stir-fry. Later, when he was the governor of Sichuan, he popularized this dish and created a dish that combines diced chicken, red pepper, and peanuts. A delicious dish stir-fried in a wok. This delicious dish was originally a private dish of the Ding family, but later it became known to everyone and became the well-known Kung Pao Chicken. The so-called "Gongbao" is actually the honorary official title of Ding Baozhen. Ding Baozhen ruled Shu for ten years. He was an upright and upright official and made many achievements. He died in office in the eleventh year of Guangxu. In order to commend his achievements, the Qing court posthumously awarded him "Prince Taibao". As mentioned above, "Prince Taibao" is one of the "Kung Pao", so in memory of Ding Baozhen, the dish he invented was named "Kung Pao Chicken". Because this dish is so widely spread, there are many different ways of making it in various places, and there is even "Kung Pao Pork" that turns diced chicken into diced meat. After Kung Pao Chicken was introduced to the West, Westerners also made some improvements according to their own tastes, making it a "Western-style Kung Pao Chicken" that meets Western tastes.

Account 2

One day, Ding Baozhen, dressed in plain clothes and taking a family of servants, went for a private visit to Daming Lake in Jinan, Shandong. It was almost noon, and I felt hungry. Suddenly I smelled a fragrant fragrance wafting from a nearby farmyard, so I strolled into the yard. I saw a middle-aged man cooking in the kitchen. Ding Gongbao, who loved cooking, quickly stepped forward and asked the man what dish he was frying. The man replied: "Stir-fried diced chicken." The man enthusiastically asked Ding Baozhen to taste it, and Ding Baozhen took a bite without politeness. The taste was very delicious, and he quickly asked: "It is diced chicken, why is it so tender?" The man replied: "This is a local stupid chicken. Cut the chicken breast into cubes and coat it with starch paste to facilitate quick cooking and prevent flavor leakage. Add peanuts, pepper, sugar, salt, soy sauce, southern wine, onions, ginger, garlic, MSG and other seasonings. , stir-fried over high heat. The finished product is bright red in color, the chicken is tender, the peanuts are crispy, salty and spicy, and can be eaten with wine or rice." Ding Baozhen nodded while stroking his beard, finding a peanut on the plate and smacking it carefully. , it really has a unique taste. This dish made Ding Baozhen have a long aftertaste, and he was reluctant to leave it when he left. He remembered the right place, and soon after returning home, he sent a large sum of money to hire the man as his chef. Whenever guests from far away come, this dish will be served as the finale to entertain them. It is always delicious and delicious. Later, Ding Baozhen was transferred to the post of governor of Sichuan and asked the man for his opinion before leaving. The man was grateful for his kindness, so he followed Ding Baozhen to Sichuan with his family, and then brought the stir-fried chicken to Sichuan. His descendants replaced the pepper with chili pepper. Made Sichuan style Kung Pao Chicken. Shortly after Ding Baozhen's death, Kung Pao Chicken was presented to the emperor as a tribute dish by local officials in Sichuan, and it developed into one of the famous dishes used by the emperor.

Production process

Materials

Main ingredients: chicken

Brisket (225g), peanuts (50g).

Accessories: green onion, ginger.

Seasoning: dried chili pepper, Sichuan peppercorns, salad oil, salt, cooking wine, MSG, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, water starch.

Preparation steps

Tips

Break the peanuts in boiling water, peel off the skin, put the peanuts in a cold pan and cold oil (not easy to fry), medium Fry over high heat until lightly browned, then transfer to a large plate to cool and set aside.

Flavour characteristics

The characteristics of Kung Pao Chicken are spicy and sweet, sweet and spicy, the tenderness of the chicken combined with the crispiness of the peanuts, the entrance is spicy and crispy, red and Not spicy, spicy but not strong, and the meat is smooth and crispy.

After entering the mouth of Kung Pao Chicken, the tip of the tongue first feels slightly numb and slightly spicy, and then the taste buds are hit by a sweetness. When chewing, there will be a "slightly fuzzy" feeling, numb, spicy, The diced chicken, scallions and peanuts wrapped in sour and sweet flavors are addictive.

The names of Kung Pao Chicken in various places are the same, but the cooking methods are different:

The Sichuan version of Kung Pao Chicken uses chicken breast. Since chicken breast is not easy to taste, The fried chicken is often not tender enough. You need to pat the chicken a few times with the back of a knife or add an egg white before basting it. This will make the chicken more tender and smooth. The Sichuan version of Kung Pao Chicken must use fried peanuts and dried chili knots as ingredients, and the flavor must be spicy lychee flavor. The chili peppers are fried and fragrant, highlighting the spiciness of the paste.

The Shandong cuisine version of Kung Pao Chicken mostly uses chicken legs. In order to better highlight the taste of Kung Pao Chicken, Shandong cuisine also adds diced bamboo shoots or water chestnuts.

The preparation of Kung Pao Chicken is roughly the same as that of Sichuan cuisine, but more emphasis is placed on stir-frying in order to preserve the freshness and tenderness of the chicken.

The Guizhou cuisine version of Kung Pao Chicken uses glutinous rice cake pepper, which is different from the Sichuan and Shandong cuisine versions. Guizhou version of Kung Pao Chicken is salty, spicy and slightly sweet and sour. Please pay attention to the word "sour". Hot and sour is one of the important signs that distinguish Guizhou cuisine from Sichuan cuisine.