WOW Kung Pao Chicken Slow Cooker Style

WOW 

Kung Pao Chicken

Slow Cooker Style

Gong Bao or Kung Po are transcriptions for Kung Pao Chicken , which is a spicy Sichuan inspired dish  usually including chicken, vegetables, chili peppers or peppercorns and peanuts.

W
hile this easy little version is very Westernized, it definitely provides a very spicy kick to the taste buds! What I should mention is that typically for Kung Pao Chicken, the chicken is cubed, but as you can see in my pics it is more shredded. It's your choice, simply reduce the cooking time accordingly. I will cover that a bit more during the preparation. My recipe is an adaptation from recipes of Six Sisters Stuff, Food Network and Hungry Gerald . This dish pares very well with some steamed white or brown rice and Asian Coleslaw, which will be a new recipe coming soon!

Let's Try It!

Ingredients: (serves 4-6)

Marinade Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. rice wine
• 2 tbsp. peanut oil, canola oil or olive oil
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch

Remaining Ingredients:

• 1 1b. fresh boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 bottle (18 3/4 oz.) Kung Pao Sauce (I used three small bottles of Dynasty Spicy Hot sauce and it was perfect.)
• 1 medium/large red bell pepper
• 1 medium/large green bell pepper
• 1 bunch scallions
• 1 can (approx. 8 oz.) water chestnuts, sliced
• 1/4 to 1/2 c. peanuts, basically to taste (some like more crunch...)
• approximately 4 dried, red chili peppers or your favorite chili peppers

Preparation:
1. In a small bow, whisk together the rice wine, oil, soy sauce, salt & cornstarch.




2. Rinse/dry the chicken breasts & place in a non-reactive bowl. Pour the marinade over the breasts, turning a couple of times to coat.
3. Cover & place in refrigerator to marinate 45 minutes to 1 hour. Turning once or twice during this time.





4. After marinating, spray inside of slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Pam to the rescue! Place chicken breasts in slow cooker. Slice the red chili peppers in half & toss in with the chicken.





5. Pour the Kung Pao Sauce over the chicken & peppers, cover & cook on low for 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 hours. You can see those spicy little peppers peeking out of the sauce in the pic. note: Here again, how do you prefer your chicken? More chunky or more shredded, you decide & adjust accordingly. And remember, all slow cookers don't cook the same! For example, newer cookers with tempered glass lids and more insulation around your insert tend to take a little less time than the heavy plastic type lids.

6. Approximately 45 minute to 1  hour before the cooking time is up, dice your bell peppers & chop your scallions.







7. Add the bell peppers to the slow cooker. You can also add the scallions or simply use for garnish when serving or both.







8. Add the water chestnuts & peanuts to slow cooker. Give it all a bit of a stir to mix the ingredients in the sauce. Turn the cooker to high & continue cooking for the remaining 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove chicken breasts from vegetable/sauce mixture, chop or shred & return to slow cooker. Stir to mix. You're done!

Now enjoy! Serve your Wow Kung Pao Chicken over steamed rice, garnish with some of your chopped, fresh scallions and add an Asian inspired salad for a terrific, spicy meal! And remember, my Asian Coleslaw (no mayo in this coleslaw) recipe is coming soon. A fresh, crunchy mix of coleslaw, Ramen Noodles, slivered almonds and sesame seeds.

Wow Kung Pao Chicken

Enjoy! WildWSS outta Here!