Enjoy the authentic flavors of Copycat Panda Express Kung Pao Chicken with fresh veggies and crunchy peanuts in an easy ginger garlic sauce!
Dive into the rich tapestry of Asian cuisine with these similar mouthwatering recipes. You’ll love the sizzling Spicy Cashew Chicken, the ever-popular Orange Chicken, and our delicious Teriyaki Chicken, there’s always something special waiting for your palate!
Panda Express Kung Pao Chicken (Copycat) is a classic stir-fried dish from the Sichuan province and has won hearts worldwide with its impeccable fusion of spicy, sweet, and savory flavors. This homemade copycat version captures the essence of the beloved dish while allowing you to adjust the heat level to your preference. The chicken, combined with a symphony of sauce ingredients, offers an explosion of taste in every bite. While traditional versions in Sichuan might lean towards a fiercer heat, the beauty of making it at home means customizing it to your liking.
Another name often given to this dish is “Compound Chicken” which sounds the same when verbalized! What makes this recipe truly stand out is its authenticity. And if you’re in the mood to explore more, don’t miss out on the Panda Express Orange Chicken (Copycat) that’s equally delightful.
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How to Make Panda Express Kung Pao Chicken (Copycat)
Unleash your inner chef and bring the magic of Panda Express right to your own kitchen. With easily available ingredients and simple steps, you can recreate this Asian delicacy in no time. Check it out!
- Ingredients: Get fresh chicken breast, and ensure your pantry is stocked with all the sauce ingredients. For that classic stir-fry touch, ensure you have roasted peanuts and vegetables at hand.
- Preparing the Chicken – Begin by cutting the chicken breast into bite-sized pieces. Season it well and ensure it’s ready for the stir-fry process. To make the chicken more like Panda Express, cut the chicken into large cubes and then pulse it twice in the food processor for just a ½ second each just to break it apart and give it the same unique look.
- Sauce Base – In a small bowl add the wine, soy sauce, and water and set aside.
- Stir Fry – Heat oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces and stir fry until they’re golden brown. Push chicken to the side, add vegetables, and stir fry until they’re slightly tender. Pour in the sauce and stir everything together.
- Serve – Once everything’s well-combined and cooked, dish it out and sprinkle roasted peanuts for that added crunch and chopped green onions for a pop of color. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Chicken breast is recommended because of its lean texture and ability to soak up the flavorful sauce. But you can use any chicken you have on hand.
For the best flavor, we highly recommend letting the chicken marinate for at least an hour, even overnight if you’d like! But it technically doesn’t need to be marinaded.
While traditional Kung Pao Chicken is known for its spicy flavor, this recipe allows you to adjust the spiciness according to your preference. Just add more pepper flakes if you’d like more spice, or less pepper flakes and chilis if you prefer less.
Absolutely! Feel free to substitute with cashews or almonds, though peanuts offer the most authentic flavor.
You’ll love this Panda Express Kung Pao Chicken, even if you have never enjoyed it at Panda because the amount of oil per serving is just 1 tablespoon, and with the addition of white meat chicken, zucchini, and bell peppers, this dish is very healthy even though it is “take out.”
If you want to cut down the fat even further you can either ditch the peanuts in the pan and just sprinkle a couple of crushed peanuts on top or cut down on the oil by using half.
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Key Ingredients in Panda Express Kung Pao Chicken (Copycat)
Creating an authentic Kung Pao Chicken dish starts with the ingredients. The beauty of this dish lies in the marriage of fresh components with flavor-packed seasonings, resulting in a stir-fry that’s both robust and comforting. Many would argue that the essence of a good Kung Pao is its sauce, and the base for that lies in our key ingredients. Here’s what makes it so good:
- Soy Sauce: This is a fundamental ingredient in many Asian cuisines, it provides depth, color, and a salty umami flavor to the dish. While light-sodium soy sauce is often used, regular can give a richer taste.
- Chicken Breast: While you can go for chicken thighs for a juicier outcome, tender chicken breasts provide a cleaner taste, allowing sauce ingredients to shine through.
- Ginger & Garlic: A tablespoon of fresh ginger and about 2 cloves garlic grated are good to use if you don’t have the dried version utilized in this recipe.
- Red Chili: For this recipe, we are using dried red chile de árbol (arbol chile) which can easily be found in the Latino section in most grocery stores.
- Sesame Oil: The rich umami flavor of sesame oil gives a deep flavor to each bite. We are using regular untoasted sesame oil, but you can use a variant if that is what you have available. Just make sure it is 100% sesame oil.
Can Panda Express Kung Pao Chicken (Copycat) Be Made Ahead of Time?
Absolutely! Kung Pao Chicken is a dish that tastes even better the next day when flavors have had the time to meld. Prepare the stir-fry, let it cool, and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, reheat on the stovetop, adding a splash of water or broth if it appears too thick. If you’re making it for guests, you can prep the chicken and sauce a day or two in advance, and simply stir-fry before serving. Be sure to serve it within 2 days of making it. Add fresh peanuts and chopped green onion before serving.
Substitutions in Panda Express Kung Pao Chicken (Copycat)
- Soy Sauce: Tamari or coconut aminos can be great alternatives, especially for those with gluten intolerance or soy allergies.
- Chicken: For a vegetarian twist, use tofu or tempeh. Adjust cooking times accordingly.
- Peanuts: Allergic to peanuts? Cashews or almonds can be a delightful replacement.
- White Wine: You can always use white grape juice as a substitute. Rice vinegar is also a good substitute.
Variations on Panda Express Kung Pao Chicken (Copycat)
Diversity is the spice of life. While the classic Kung Pao Chicken is undeniably delicious, a few tweaks can present a whole new dish.
- Shrimp Kung Pao: Swap chicken for shrimp for a seafood twist. Adjust the cooking time as shrimp cooks faster.
- Veggie-Loaded Kung Pao: Amp up the nutrition by adding a plethora of vegetables like extra bell peppers, baby corn, mushrooms, and snap peas.
- Panda Express Kung Pao Sauce: If you don’t want to make the sauce yourself you can buy the bottled variety and follow the recipe for the vegetables and chicken to complete the dish.
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How to Store Panda Express Kung Pao Chicken (Copycat)
- Serve: Serve hot and keep covered when not being served. Don’t leave the dish out for more than two hours.
- Store: In an airtight container, it’ll last 3-4 days in the fridge.
- Freeze: Freezing is possible, though the texture might change slightly upon reheating. Store in a sealed container and use within 2-3 months.
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts , diced into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 large egg
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Kung Pao Base
- 1 teaspoon cooking wine , white wine works
- 2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil , divided
- 12 chili peppers , smaller than 3 inches; if longer, cut in half
- 1/4 cup green onion , diced, white part only, in 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger , dried (or use a full tablespoon fresh ginger)
- 1 teaspoon ground garlic , dried (or use a full tablespoon of fresh garlic)
- 1 teaspoon crushed red chili pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch , make it a slurry mixed with ½ tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 ounces dry roasted peanuts
- 1 red bell pepper , cut into ¾ inch cubes
- 1 large zucchini , cut into ¾ inch cubes
Instructions
- Combine the chicken, ¼ cup water, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ egg, ¼ cup cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
- In a small bowl add the wine, soy sauce and water and set aside.
- Heat wok/skillet on high heat 60 seconds, you want that pan to be nice and hot!
- Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil.
- Remove chicken from marinade and add to wok, cooking on high heat for 60 seconds.
- Remove the chicken from the pan, add another ½ tablespoon of oil and the red bell pepper and zucchini.
- Cook on high and cook for 1-2 minutes, until just caramelized and slightly cooked.
- Remove vegetables and add the chili peppers.
- Stir until they darken a bit, then add the green onions, peanuts, ginger, garlic, crushed red pepper, and sesame oil.
- Stir throughouly and immediately add the wine/soy/water mixture.
- Bring it to a boil, then add the cornstarch and water mix and stir until it has thickened.
- Add the chicken and vegetables back in, stir to combine.
Nutrition
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Photos used in a previous version of this post.
I added msg and doubled the crushed red pepper because we like heat, otherwise followed the recipe to a T. It was so much better than Panda Express, thank you for this amazing recipe. So glad I found your site can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
We love Asian food. Please feel free to review the many many options on the site Britt!
This is amazing. I have made it different each time even used leftover BBQ chicken thighs. It was still amazing!!
This is excellent! I was looking for something tasty, uncomplicated, and without oyster sauce (as we can’t have shellfish). So, I now have made your recipe twice— as described the first time but also a second time with mixed frozen stir-fry vegetables, fresh scallions, fresh bell peppers , and extra crushed red pepper instead of pepper pods. Both times it turned out to be a crowd pleaser for our entire “foodie” family! Thanks for this very easy recipe with simple ingredients!!!
Made this for dinner tonight and the husband raved that it was the best kung pao! I agree! It was delicious! Thank you
I’ve made this recipe several times and it’s always been a bit! Be careful of the salt content sometimes it can get a bit too overpowering if you tend to eyeball measurements like I do. The recipe says marinade for a minimum of one hour, but what is the longest I should let the meat marinade? Will it produce a bad side effect if I leave it for too long?
I don’t usually comment but this recipe was excellent and easy to follow. It tastes better than the Panda Express version.
Thank you!
Oh my gosh! I can make Kung Pao Chicken at home like Panda Express! This is a relatively easy recipe to follow. I made a couple of modifications. I added celery and used twice as many peanuts. I already had the Thai red chili peppers so I was good with the heat. I agree that the meat and veggies need to be cooked a bit longer than the recipe states. This is going into my regular rotation. Thank you so much for developing the recipe and sharing it with us.
This recipe is dead on! Amazing job, anyone reading needs to try it.
I’m a little confused ….. 1/2 egg ??? Is that One or Two eggs ?
It’s half, you could either beat and measure half of it or choose yolk or white. For this recipe I usually use the white.
I think Panda uses dark meat chicken for this, like for most Kung Pao dishes.
Hi Sabrina! I am loving your recipes, I’ve saved SO many just today :). I just wanted to mention that you have a keen sense to detect the wine in the recipe; most people don’t know that practically every Panda Express menu item has wine in it!! I know this for sure bc I called their corporate HQ and asked years ago as I have Muslim friends that assured me that they did. Sure enough, and I never knew! However, since I make a lot of Asian dishes, I’ve been turned on to Shaoxing (Shaosing) Chinese cooking wine. That is the go-to wine used in most Asian dishes everywhere and it does have a flavor that you will recognize when you taste it, even my husband said that… If you can, give it a try, I think it really adds something special to most Asian dishes and it’s not expensive at an oriental market. Thank you for so many great dishes!! <3
Thanks for the tip, Beth Ann.
Delicious. Used 10 fresh whole Thai chilies instead of dried chilies as we find panda Express too mild. Nice heat in the dish. Well sequenced recipe steps! Thank you
Great suggestion to add a bit of heat!
Great recipe!
I used skin-on chicken thighs since it’s what I had on-hand – having used thighs, I fried the pieces a little longer to be a little bit crispy and drained any remaining excess grease from the thighs that I didn’t need.
I added canned mushrooms to bulk up the veggies in the dish.
Next time, I’ll have to double the sauce portion since we like ours saucy.
This will go into our stash of recipes! Thank you!
I just have red wine on hand can I use that or white wine vinegar which would be a good substitute
The white wine vinegar would be the better substitute. Enjoy!
This is one of my favorites at Panda. We grow a fair amount of zucchini and my Asian wife is always craving Asian food; finally found your recipe and put it together — it came out absolutely perfect! My wife kept raving at how delicious it was, so I’ll be keeping this in the rotation for sure! Looking forward to trying your other recipes. Cheers!
Reading this makes me so happy! Thanks for coming back to let me know, Andrew.
Hi, is the garlic and ginger fresh or dried in this recipe? Thanks!
I used dried for this recipe. Make sure to use more if you decide to use fresh. Good luck!
Sabrina,
Your recipes are amazing! I have lost track of how many I have made so far, each tastes incredible and just as promised! Thank you so much!
You’re so sweet, Amit. Thanks so much.
Using the food processor to get the texture right is pure genius, I must try it.
Even more important for chicken thigh meat which is so difficult to get a good texture since it that has a smooth outer layer, and many restaurants (and Panda Express) use thigh meat.
never seen the idea before, nice original idea!!
Thank you!
Thanks for this recipe Sabrina. Love this recipe!—I’ve made it 3x now. The only thing I did differently from the first time is I add 1 T. peanut butter to the sauce. This recipe, served along with your copycat Panda lo mein and brown rice, is now a regular in our menu rotation.
You’re welcome! Adding PB sounds delicious – so happy you have found some favorite recipes to go to!
This was absolutely fantastic! Made it as-is for the first try and it was wonderful. And now that I know the recipe works I can make changes to my own family’s tastes. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
You’re welcome, Kit.
Thank you. I am not a chef or a cook. I made this as a surprise for my wife who was returning from a long day out.
It was fun for me to make (I had most of the mess cleaned up before she walked in) and she loved it.
It even worked in a hot frying pan instead of a wok, and making some nominal changes due to what was on hand (celery in place of zuchini, for example). It took me several minutes to sear the chicken versus 60 seconds. I didn’t want any pink showing on the chicken at this stage. I didn’t know how much more cooking it would get.
The recipe was very mild (a “1” , not spicy at all). We added more crushed red chili peppers to our individual servings. I would increase the amount of red crushed chili peppers to make it a 2 or 3 on the spiciness level (on 1-5 scale). My taste is to have it a noticeable warm glow, but not burning.
We will have this again. Thank you.
Thanks for dropping by to let me know! I’m so glad you guys enjoyed it!
I love Kung Pao so I was excited to try this recipe. But I’m guessing I used the wrong dried peppers?? My store only had “Oriental hot chilies”. I googled it to see if they were the same and couldn’t find any info that they were not the right ones…but they were soooo hot! Even after picking them all out, my kids couldn’t eat the dinner. Are they the wrong peppers? Maybe I will attempt it again if you can help. Thanks.
Oh no!! Those are so spicy!! I’m so sorry but those are the wrong peppers. You want to choose a mild version of these peppers.
Here’s a link to help you for next time: https://amzn.to/2GCqKna
I’d love to see you copycat their veggie spring rolls and plum sauce!
To make it closer to the actual recipe you’ll need to cook the marinaded meat in enough oil to submerge at 275 for about 50 seconds. The veggies are blanched in boiling water for 10 seconds. then once those are done you add oil to a hot wok, then hot chili peppers, cook till just brown, not red or black. Immediately add green onions, garlic and ginger, then meat. Next cooking wine and soy sauce mixture with cornstarch. The sauce should thicken before adding the veggies. At the very end once it is tossed together, add the sesame oil THEN the peanuts. This is an important step because the peanuts will become soggy if they are not added at the end. You will know it is done when the sauce is almost a solid.
Thanks for your suggestion!
To be truly “authentic” this recipe must use chicken thigh meat rather than breast meat. Other than that it is a great recipe.
That’s what I thought! That it is made with thighs.
Please tell me a substitute for the white wine (or do i just skip it?)
You can always use white grape juice as a substitute.
Made this and it was delicious.
The marinade came out like a thick batter on the chicken. Do you shake the excess before frying to omit this?
You want the chicken to be evenly coated.
This recipe is amazing. I’m too novice to know better, so I did make some substitutions and alterations (clearly watching cooking shows has made me perhaps a little too confident). Used pre-cooked chicken, which didn’t take to the marinade as much as fresh probably would but still good. All spice for ginger. And I added baby corn (with the zucchini) and celery (with the onions). I also didn’t have Thai chilies at my local market so I substituted sweet chili garlic sauce and a splash of Sriracha and it turned out BETTER than the PE version (which is saying something because before I made this today was obsessed). Thank you so much for sharing!
You’re welcome, Jen!
How much sweet chili garlic sauce did you use?