P.F. Chang's Kung Pao Chicken Secrets Revealed

today I'll show you the correct recipe for PF Chang's kungpow chicken we'll discuss the exact ingredients and techniques they use at the restaurant I'll reveal the secret homemade kungpow sauce recipe you'll need to make this signature dish correctly and I'll show you the unique two-step process pfchangs uses to get the most tender stir-fried chicken imaginable now for their kungpow chicken pfchangs uses regular boneless skinless chicken breast to ensure tenderness they brine their Chicken in an alkaline soy marinade that helps it stay super juicy even when deep fried but before we get into that let me

show you how to section the meat properly to prepare it first flip the chicken breast over and remove the tenderloin you can use it in this recipe or save it for something else then trim any unsightly bits of fat or tendon to clean it up now place your hand on top of the chicken like this and make a horizontal cut across the length of the breast to split it then take each piece and cut the meat into roughly 1 in slices length wise down each cutlet then take the slices turn them perpendicular to you and

cut them into 1 in cubes and this is the basic preparation for the chicken the next step is preparing the alkaline soy marinade at the restaurant they use a version of this on almost all their proteins this marinade both tenderizes and flavors the chicken seasoning the meat all the way through and it's super simple to make you'll just take one cup of water and to that add half a teaspoon of baking soda and stir to dissolve this baking soda trick is why the proteins at your favorite takeout restaurant are almost always more tender than when

you try to make these dishes at home baking soda raises the pH levels on the surface of the meat which causes a chemical reaction that prevents the protein strands from tightening during the high heat of walk cooking or deep frying if you've ever added baking soda directly to a protein and felt like it gave it a soapy or metallic off flavor using a brine like this dilutes the taste so we can get all the tenderizing effects of baking soda without imparting such flavors then to our alkaline water we'll next toss in 1 tbsp of soy

sauce and stir it to mix it into the Brine and if you're looking for the exact brand they use at the restaurant pick up a bottle of leom keys low sodium soy sauce the one in the green bottle but really any soy sauce will work for the marinade then pour the brine over 9 oz of your cubed chicken breast and you'll want to marinate the meat for at least 2 hours at the restaurant they brine their protein for 24 hours and I have noticed longer marination times do improve both texture and flavor so if you

can swing it I recommend at least a day and just make sure you refrigerate it the entire time while our chicken is marinating it's the perfect time to prepare the kungpow sauce this one is slightly different than the dark sauce we've made in previous videos it uses most of the same ingredients but there are a couple of new additions for the base of the sauce pfchangs uses a chicken broth made from Miner's original chicken base and you should be able to find this on Amazon I'll include a link in the video description but if you

don't want to spring for this exact br brand both nor and leom key Asian style chicken buan powder will also work fine for this recipe to color the sauce they use leum Keys mushroom flavored dark soy sauce if you're not familiar with dark soy sauce it's typically added to dishes more for color and less for flavor but mushroom soy sauce has the added benefit of mushroom seasoning for extra savoriness if you're unable to locate mushroom soy sauce any dark soy sauce should work fine for the oyster sauce PF Changs uses leum key Panda brand oyster

flavored sauce in the green bottle and this is the gluten-free version with no added MSG really any oyster sauce will work but if you can find leum key premium oyster sauce this is what I recommend because it's the best I've tried for the rice wine they use a style called meu this is a very popular choice for cooking wine in many Cantonese and Taiwanese kitchens it's very similar to the more popular xaing wine and while there are some subtle differences flavor-wise they are essentially interchangeable you should be able to find mitu at most Asian grocery

stores and it is available on Amazon but if you're unable to locate it just grab a bottle of xaing and finally you'll need regular distilled white vinegar so to make the kungpow sauce let's start with 1/4 cup of water and to that add 1/4 teaspoon of the chicken buan base along with 6 and 1/2 tbspoon of sugar bring it up to a light simmer over medium heat and whisk until the sugar is totally dissolved and before you go into diet diabetic shock via YouTube video we're making eight servings of the sauce because it's difficult to

scale down and keeps well in the fridge when the sugar is dissolved add 3/4 of a cup plus 1 tbsp of light soy sauce 2 tbspoon plus 1 teaspoon of mushroom dark soy sauce 3 tbsp of white vinegar 3 tbspoon of rice wine and 1 teaspoon of oyster sauce whisk until all the ingredients are well Incorporated and turn off the heat then add 1 teaspoon of fine finally minced green onion and gently stir them into the sauce until they're mixed in and this is PF Chang's kungpow sauce after it's cool down you can keep it

in a covered container in the fridge for a few weeks to prepare the chicken let's start by heating some neutral oil to 350° then remove the chicken from the Brine and Pat it dry with paper towels to dredge their chicken pfchangs uses potato starch and you should be able to find this at most Asian grocery stores or on Amazon it'll come in little bags like these when you're dredging your chicken you want to make sure each piece is completely covered in potato starch so take your time pressing it in your hand and shaking off the

excess after you've dredged all your chicken toss it in the deep fryer and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes or just until it's done and make sure to agitate it after you drop it because it tends to Clump together if you don't we're basically cooking the meat before the final stir fry so the finishing process should only take us a couple of minutes to complete the dish then drain the chicken on a Wire Rack or plate lined with paper towels and set it aside for the final cooking you want to make sure you have

all your ingredients assembled beforehand because the meat is already cooked the final dish comes together in just a couple of minutes and we'll go over everything we need while we're making it but before we start I need to tell you about a few specialty ingredients we'll need to make this dish correctly the first is a chili paste called sball Ole this is an Indonesian chili sauce typically made with chilies salt and vinegar the exact brand they use is ho Fong the same company who makes sriracha and I want you to notice you'll often find these

two sauces loitering together Sall olec and chili garlic sauce either will work fine for this dish and really the only difference is the chili garlic sauce has garlic but PF Changs uses Sall Ole in their kungpow the second is dehydrated minced garlic and you should be able to find this at most grocery stores in the spice aisle this is minced garlic that's been dried so it has no moisture in it but why do they use this special type of garlic first it doesn't burn and stick to the hot pans as easily as fresh garlic and

secondly it offers a slightly smoother and more concentrated garlic flavor to prepare it you'll just need to reconstitute it in hot water for about 20 to 30 minutes and then drain it of all the water before using and you can use this anytime you need minced garlic it'll keep in the fridge for about a week next we'll need dried red chilies when you're buying these you want to make sure they're not brittle they should be flexible and not break if you bend them like this you should be able to find some version of these at

most Asian and Western grocery stores and they'll come in little bags like this the last specialty ingredient we'll need is sesame oil PF Changs uses this as a finishing oil because of its Rich nutty flavor you'll see several different types at most Asian grocery stores but what you want to look for is pure sesame oil if you can only find toasted sesame oil that will work but the brand they use is leom key pure sesame oil now this dish has only one vegetable celery and let me give you a quick rundown on how to prep

it better for stir fry so celery has these long strings in it that can sometimes make it tough to chew because they get stuck in your teeth so what you'll do is take a peeler and just peel down the stalks like this then turn it over and peel the bottom too this will remove that tough outer layer in all of those stringy bits then you'll cut each stalk and half lengthwise like this now take each half and cutting out a bias make slices of about 1/8 of an inch wide and if you've done it correctly

they should look like this when you're ready to start cooking it's essential to have everything prepared and ready to go we'll go over all the ingredients you'll need while we're making the chicken but because this comes together within just a few minutes you'll need to prepare all the components beforehand to get started let's heat some oil in a walk over medium heat then toss in a small handful of the dried chilies and stir fry them until they've darkened in color usually about a minute or two and for warning these Peppers do release a lot of

esia vapor so you might want to open a window during this step because it may turn your kitchen into the Eastern front of the battle of bully mave in World War I then add 1 teaspoon of the rehydrated minced garlic 2 teaspoons of the sball chili paste and 1/4 cup of finely chopped green onion whites cook for about 10 to 20 seconds to release the flavors of the aromatics then toss in 1/4 cup of the prepared kungpow sauce bring it up to a boil and let it reduce very slightly you don't want to go too

much with it because the sauce can become too thick if you overdo it next add 1/4 cup of peanuts 9 oz of the prepared chicken and 1/4 cup of the sliced celery stir everything together and cook for about 20 to 30 seconds or just until the chicken is completely coated in the sauce and you see no dry spots then drizzle in half a teaspoon of the toasted sesame oil stir it into the chicken and turn off the heat and this is PF Chang's kungpow chicken now very quickly before the taste test let me give you

a tip on the sauce if you don't feel like tracking down all the ingredients to make it at home which you should because it's much better you can find a pre-made version of the kungpow sauce at most grocery stores it's not as good as the homemade version but it will work in a pinch all right back to the taste test although this isn't a traditional spicy kungpow it's still an excellent version of a western style takeout kungpow chicken and if you enjoy enjoyed this video make sure to check out PF Chang's fried rice here thanks

for watching see you next time