Make this easy Ground Kung Pao Chicken in just one pan in 20 minutes for a delicious Panda Express copycat dinner the whole family will love.
If you love making restaurant favorites at home, this Chinese Chicken takeout recipe is an easy way to bring Panda Express-style takeout to your own kitchen. For more copycat favorites to serve alongside it, try my Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken or Panda Express Fire Cracker Chicken Breast.
Why You’ll Love This Kung Pao Chicken?
- A takeout-style dinner that comes together in just 20 minutes!
- A deliciously savory, sweet, and slightly spicy meal that satisfies any takeout craving.
Sabrina’s Ground Kung Pao Chicken Recipe
This Ground Kung Pao Chicken is a quick and easy way to enjoy your favorite takeout flavors at home without the wait. This chicken was the logical copycat recipe to make after I made Ground Orange Chicken. It packs in bold flavor and cooks in one pan, giving you an easy weeknight dinner everyone will love.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil , divided
- 1 red bell pepper , minced
- 1 large zucchini , minced
- 1/4 cup diced green onion , white part only, in 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground garlic
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon cooking wine , (I used white wine)
- 2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 4 tablespoons water
- 2 ounces dry roasted peanuts , crushed
Instructions
- Heat wok/skillet on high heat 10 seconds, you want that pan to be nice and hot!
- To a large pan add 1 tablespoon canola oil and ground chicken.
- Cook until a good crust forms before breaking apart, then finish cooking by breaking it apart with a spatula and cooking for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the pan, add the other tablespoon of canola oil, red bell pepper and zucchini.
- Cook on high and cook for 1-2 minutes, until just caramelized and slightly cooked.
- Add the crushed red pepper, green onions, ginger, garlic, crushed red pepper, sesame oil and cooked ground chicken.
- Stir for 2-3 seconds and immediately add the wine, soy sauce and water mixed with cornstarch.
- Bring it to a boil for a minute or so until the sauce has thickened.
- Garnish with crushed peanuts if desired.
Nutrition
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Sabrina’s Tips
For the best texture, cook the ground chicken until it’s nicely browned before adding the sauce. This adds extra flavor and keeps the finished dish from becoming watery. Additionally, I think it’s worth investing in some higher quality ingredients needed for Asian cooking, like Soy Sauce and Sesame Oil. They help elevate the dish and can be used several times since Chinese recipes only require a little bit each time.
Table of contents
About this Recipe
Just like the Ground Orange Chicken, the crisp texture the chicken has, because I brown it well before breaking it apart, is amazing and it still has that flavorful Panda Express Kung Pao Chicken Sauce that everyone loves. With the use of ground chicken and finely chopped vegetables this dish literally takes 20 minutes to make, and that is at a leisurely pace. In fact the sauce in this recipe is authentic and released by Panda Express. Sometimes they drop recipes in obscure spots, like the Spicy Cashew Chicken that only appeared on a local morning show, or this sauce recipe that surfaced in a 2007 Honolulu news segment when a new location opened. Being an internet detective pays off!
Ingredients
- Soy Sauce: Nothing much to say here except Kikkoman has the best flavor overall and I always recommend reduced sodium.
- Sesame Oil: The flavor of sesame oil in this dish is unmistakeable and not really able to be substituted. Some Asian grocery stores will try and sell less expensive options that aren’t actually sesame oil, so just be sure the one you’re buying is authentic sesame oil.
- Rice Wine: Adds an authentic flavor to the sauce, in a pinch if you absolutely can’t find it you can substitute white wine, but it will make it taste slightly different.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
Wok: Great for high heat, quick cooking. Ideal for this dish because its wide, sloped sides make it easy to brown the chicken quickly and evenly. It also gives you plenty of room to toss everything together with the sauce without overcrowding the pan.
Serving Ideas
Set your Chinese Steamed Rice to cook in the rice cooker, start cooking the chicken, and wash and cut up some broccoli to steam in the microwave (glass bowl, a bit of water and a wet paper towel over the top for 3 minutes). By the time the rice is done cooking, so is dinner.
Related Recipes
More Chinese Takeout Style Recipes
Delicious! Easy to follow recipe. Spices all work together to create this tasty dish. I had mushroom in the fridge, so I added sliced mushrooms. I’m adding this recipe to my list to make again. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome Sandra. The sliced mushrooms sound like a nice umami addition. Thank you for the kind review!
Sabrina, I made this for the first time and followed the directions exactly. However, my chicken looked nothing like yours. Where yours was reddish in color, mine was pale due to the chicken breast. Was there another ingredient that gave yours its color? I liked the combination of zucchini and onions, but I did need to add more liquid to make a sauce.
Good questions, I’m guessing the seasoning and maybe red wine vinegar made the meat reddish? I really don’t know how to troubleshoot the need for more liquid as that can be for so many reasons, type of pan used that conducts higher heats, used dry measuring cups for liquid measurements? Sometimes that causes a problem. Not sure. Thank you for trying our recipe!
There is a difference between ground chicken and ground chicken breast. I don’t know if that would change anything, but just a thought!
I was skeptical. My husband is Taiwanese, and I love all Asian foods … this seemed too simple. But it was wonderful! I did add some oyster sauce, and a little extra soy sauce. Thank you!
I subbed in small carrot coins, and some green beans, along with the zucchini. Used lunchbox peppers from the garden in place of red bell pepper.
I’m going to make a second batch tonight for leftovers – the first batch was eaten!
I thought the recipe was pretty good but I thought it needed some sweetness so I added some honey and that helped but is that the best sweetener to add do you think or is there something different for a sweetener that would be better? Thank you!!
I will be making this again and again. Followed the recipe to the letter on round one; no regrets there. Ground my own chicken breast with the KitchenAid, which I feel elevated the recipe. My husband had thirds! Next time I’ll make a few personal tweaks for personal preference, but this is a new staple in my house!
Thank you Tricia. Always makes me so happy to hear that families are enjoying the recipes! Thank you for the five star review!
I got home from work at six and we were eating by seven. That included grinding my own chicken breast. My husband had thirds, so what does that tell ya? I’ll make this again and again.
My husband and I loved this! The only thing I did differently was go a little light on the crushed red pepper, and add a bit more sesame oil than called for. Ours also was not red in color. We thought the flavor was just right. I don’t think I’d attempt to feed this to my kids (positive they’d turn their noses up), but for us grownups it’s going to be a staple!
When do we add the kung pao sauce? I didn’t see it on the ingredient list or in the directions.
Hi Val. The sauce in this recipe is authentic and released by Panda Express. Sometimes they release them in obscure places like the Spicy Cashew Chicken that was only shared on a morning show on a local broadcast or this sauce recipe which was shared in a local news story about a location opening up in Honolulu in 2007. Sometimes being an internet detective pays off! The sauce is created by the ingredients listed in the recipe! Enjoy.
This sounds so yummy! I have this on my dinner list for next week. Can you put the red pepper and zucchini in a food processor to cut down on prep time?
Use Pulse on the food processor and carefully watch – you don’t your vegetables to be to small
Great! Thank you for your reply!