To assist her family survive several chilly Minnesota winters, my friend Colene used to serve this tomato soup to her guests. She was a busy woman, but she could quickly prepare this soup with tomato juice and frozen mixed vegetables!
| Prep Time: | 25 mins |
| Cook Time: | 15 mins |
| Total Time: | 40 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into cubes
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 pinch Chinese five-spice powder, or to taste
- ¾ cup water
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Asian (toasted) sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 ½ teaspoons rice vinegar
- 1 pinch Chinese five-spice powder
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
- ⅓ cup roasted peanuts, or to taste
Instructions
- Mix the chicken, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, salt, pepper, and 1 pinch of five-spice powder together in a bowl until the chicken is coated, and set aside.
- Whisk together water, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, rice vinegar, and 1 pinch of five-spice powder in a bowl until the mixture is smooth, and set aside.
- Place 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook and stir the chicken mixture until the chicken is browned, about 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the wok, and set aside.
- Pour 1 more tablespoon of oil into the heated wok, and stir in the onion, celery, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir the vegetables until they start to become tender, about 3 minutes. Pour in the cornstarch mixture, and cook and stir until the sauce thickens, about 1 minute. Remove the wok from the heat, lightly stir in the cooked chicken and peanuts, and serve.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 277 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 12 g |
| Cholesterol | 65 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 26 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Sodium | 457 mg |
| Sugars | 6 g |
| Fat | 14 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Surprising simple and tasted great.
Loved the flavor of this recipe. I used less of the red pepper (I’ll add more next time) but added more veggies: Broccoli, cremi mushrooms, carrots, red pepper slices, water chestnuts, baby corn. Makes a ton – this pic is after two helpings have been eaten. Will make it again.
Its not a bad recipe, but it needs a few improvements to make it delicious: 1. Use *big* pinches of Chinese Five-Spice 2. Double up on every ingredient in step 2 except for water 3. The sauce needs to boil for a lot longer than 1 minute. Let it keep boiling until the thickness looks about right.
I don’t like celery so I didn’t put it in and it turned out good. Make sure not to over sauce otherwise you will have paste not good sauce. I just get it warm and stop. It is a very good dish. And I’m pretty picky. I have made it a couple times.
Really easy and delicious. Better Thant most restaurants. We made it a little spicier. Delicious with warm rice. We will definitely make this many times. You can change up the vegetables to suit your taste and what is seasonal. ??????
Yay! Thanks for a great recipe! I used 1/2 tsp of Chinese 5 Spice powder in each spice mix. Could even increase it more. Also added carrots. Delish.
I added jicama for an extra crunchy texture. I also added a bit more 5 spice and red pepper than indicated. I enjoyed this meal and I will make it again.
Fair, it had plenty of heat, but not much flavor. I added more soy and fresh ginger which helped.
Pretty easy and tasty. I added mushrooms and I think you could add any veggies you want. This is a good way to use extra celery.
Little too much of a vinegar taste. I will reduce/eliminate the white vinegar.
I loved this. Had all of the ingredients, EVEN the Chinese Five Spice… Well except for peanuts. I had slivered almonds on hand so I toasted them and added them along with some petite baby carrots. So delicious I will definitely make this again. And there’s no gluten, yippee!
Turned out pretty bland for me. Needs more flavor.
Especially yummy with broccoli .
Everyone loved it – even the kids!
my family love the dinner it is very spicy though awesome recipe thank you
This recipe was good, but I took off a star because it doesn’t taste like the kung pao I’m used to (with a reddish sauce). It was good, and pretty much tasted of the Chinese five spice powder. I also added a yellow pepper and a lot more celery. Overall, a good meal but not quite the kung pao I was looking for.
This was very good Kung Pao Chicken. It is spiced perfectly. If you read the recipe it clearly states to add red peppers to taste. So if you like your Chinese food spicy, throw in a tablespoon of red pepper. Also, if you don’t like so much sweet cut the brown sugar in half. I did not have Chinese five-spice powder but is easy enough to make if you have the ingredients in your kitchen, and it a must. Will be making this on a regular basis.
Amazing! I used only two green onions, and about a cup of peanuts which I did not
It was OK but not enough vegetables for me.
My family loved this, even the kids. Husband said he would have eaten more if I had it so next time I’ll double it. I changed up the veggies to red bell peppers, scallions, zucchini, celery, and garlic. I would have added mushrooms had I thought of it. We will be making this again!
I’ve made this several times, and not only is it delicious, it’s a very flexible recipe. Sometimes I have more or less chicken, sometimes no green onions, sometimes I make extra sauce, sometimes I don’t add the peanuts. No matter what, the flavor is wonderful! No idea if it’s authentic, but it’s good.