I make Kung Pao Chicken in a sauté pan on the stove top or in a slow cooker, it all depends on the time I have to prepare the meal. The slow cooker method allows me to be able to put all the ingredients in the slow cooker crock the day before and put it in my slow cooker the next day for a no fuss meal.
For the sauce, I whisk every thing together in a 4 cup measuring cup, that way I don’t have to dirty any other measuring cups and bowls.
Be sure to mix the cornstarch in with just liquid, like water or soy sauce. Cornstarch likes to adhere to solids and you risk creating a lumpy sauce in the end. Once the cornstarch is dissolved in the liquid, mix in the rest of the ingredients.
Get the rest of the ingredients ready. If using fresh broccoli or bok choy, have that ready to go now too. This time around I’m using frozen broccoli so I need to add it later, and I have some frozen chard from my garden that I’m using instead of bok choy, so that is going in later too. You could use fresh spinach or napa cabbage instead.
Now just put it in the crock of the slow cooker and stir it up a bit. If I’m going to cook this the next day or later the same day, I put the lid on it and put it in my refrigerator.
If using frozen broccoli or another green other than bok choy, after about 2 1/2 hours of cooking, stir it in and cook for another half hour or so.
I like this on rice, try making Rice in the Slow Cooker, or serve it on cooked Udon or Hokkien noodles, topped with roasted peanuts, sliced green onions, and toasted sesame seeds.
Enjoy!
Kung Pao Chicken (Slow Cooker)
Equipment
- 4 to 6 quart slow cooker
- Cutting board and knife
- 4 cup measuring cup and whisk
Ingredients
Chicken and Veggies
- 1 each large chicken breast cubed
- Sea salt and black pepper
- ½ each red bell pepper bite size pieces
- ½ each green bell pepper bite size pieces
- 1 each small leek sliced, or ¼ yellow onion, diced
- 10 each button mushrooms quartered
- 2 cups broccoli florets fresh or frozen
- 1 each baby bok choy or 2 handfuls fresh spinach or shredded napa cabbage
Sauce:
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp mirin or brown rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp fresh garlic minced
- 1 tbsp Sambal Oelek
- 2 tbsp fresh ginger minced
Garnish
- Roasted peanuts
- Roasted sesame seeds
- Sliced green onions or chives
Instructions
- For sauce, whisk together soy, water, oil, mirin, and cornstarch. Then add honey, garlic, sambal oelek, and ginger and set aside.
- Cube chicken breast and put it in the slow cooker. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper
- Add bell peppers, mushrooms, broccoli (if using fresh), bok choy (if using), and sauce.
- Turn on cooker to low and cook for 2 ½ hours, stirring once or twice. If using frozen broccoli or spinach or napa cabbage, stir in now. Cook for another ½ hour.
- Serve over rice or udon or hokkien noodles and garnish with peanuts, green onions (or chives), and sesame seeds.
- Enjoy!