Kung Pao Chicken Noodle Stir Fry
The ultimate comfort food, Kung Pao Chicken Noodle Stir Fry brings together tender chicken, crispy peanuts, and colorful veggies in a spicy, savory sauce. Perfect for a quick weeknight dinner, this dish will have everyone asking for seconds!
Equipment
- Baking Sheet
- Grater
- Skillet
- Whisk
- Large Pot
- Wooden Spoon
- Saucepan
- Chef's Knife
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 pound vermicelli or thin spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- to taste sesame oil
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 2-4 teaspoons red pepper flakes or dried red chilies deseeded and cut into halves
- 1 can (18 oz.) sliced water chestnuts drained
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 1 count red bell pepper chopped
- 2 cups snow peas ends trimmed and cut in half
- 5 stalks green onion chopped
- to taste salt and pepper
- 1 cup peanuts
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together marinade/sauce ingredients. Add ¼ cup of the marinade/sauce to a large freezer bag with chicken. Store the remaining sauce separately in the refrigerator while you marinate the chicken for 30 minutes up to overnight (the longer the better).
- Cook pasta al dente in generously salted water. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a large wok or skillet, dry roast peanuts until golden, tossing occasionally, approximately 3 minutes. Set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in a large nonstick skillet or wok over high heat. Once hot and sizzling, add chicken (letting extra marinade drip off) and cook approximately 3-5 minutes, or until completely cooked through. Remove to a plate.
- Turn heat down to medium and heat an additional 1 tablespoon oil. Add red pepper flakes (or chilies), garlic and ginger and sauté for 30 seconds. Add water chestnuts, celery, red bell pepper, and snow peas and sauté 1 minute. Add chicken and reserved sauce to skillet and bring to a boil. Simmer until sauce thickens, approximately 30 seconds.
- Stir in peanuts, green onions and noodles. Taste and add desired salt, pepper, and/or red pepper flakes. You can even add sugar if you like your stir fry sweeter.
Notes
- Tip 1: I recommend using red pepper flakes because they more evenly distribute the heat instead of having "pockets" of heat if you use the chili peppers.