Kung Bao Chicken

Kung Pao Chicken is a spicy stir-fry dish made with chicken, peanuts or cashew nuts, vegetables, and chili peppers. The classic dish. Includes Szechuan peppercorns. Although the dish is found throughout China, there are regional variations that are typically less spicy than the Sichuan serving. Kung Pao chicken is also a staple of westernized Chinese cuisine.

The dish is believed to be named after Ding Baozhen (1820–1886), a late Qing Dynasty official, and governor of Szechuan Province. His title was Gongbao. The name “Kung Pao” chicken is derived from this title.

During the Cultural Revolution, the dish’s name became politically incorrect because of its association with Ding. The dish was renamed “Fast-fried chicken cubes” or “chicken cubes with seared chilies” until its political rehabilitation in the 1980s under Deng Xiaoping’s reforms.