Chinese · Sichuan · main

Gong Bao Chicken (Gong Bao Ji Ding)

Gong Bao Chicken (Gong Bao Ji Ding) reads umami 7.0, salinity 5.3 and richness 4.5 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Chinese · Sichuan main, about 26 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 7.0 · Salinity 5.3 · Richness 4.5 · Nutty 4.5 · Sweetness 4.5 · Allium 3.3 · Funk & Ferment 3.0 · Herbaceous 2.4 · Sourness 1.7 · Earthy 1.6 · Warm Spice 1.3 · Citrus 1.2 · Bitterness 1.1 · Heat 1.0 · Floral 0.9

What's in it (17)

Time & effort: about 26 min (5 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 192.9 kcal, 5.4 g protein, 16.1 g fat, 7.3 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (6 steps)

  1. Toss the chicken with the salt, half the Shaoxing wine, the light soy sauce and the slaked potato starch and leave 20 minutes. This is a light velveting: the starch shields the surface so the cubes stay juicy in a very hot wok.
  2. In a small bowl mix the sugar, vinegar, dark soy sauce, the sauce starch, the stock and the remaining Shaoxing wine. Taste it. It should be markedly sweet and sour with a salty back, the balance the Sichuanese call lizhi wei, lychee flavour. There are no bell peppers in this dish, and no pineapple.
  3. Heat the oil in a wok until it just shimmers, about 160 C. Add the chillies and Sichuan pepper and stir 15 to 20 seconds, until the chillies darken a shade and the oil smells hot and fragrant. Lift the wok off the heat for a moment if they threaten to blacken; burnt chillies make the whole dish bitter.
  4. Raise the heat to maximum, add the chicken and spread it in a single layer for 20 seconds before stirring. Stir-fry 2 minutes, until the cubes are white outside and just firm.
  5. Add the garlic, ginger and spring onion whites and stir-fry 30 seconds, until they smell sweet.
  6. Stir the sauce, pour it in around the edge of the wok and toss 20 to 30 seconds until it thickens and coats everything glossily. Throw in the peanuts, toss twice and serve at once. The peanuts must still be crunchy when they reach the table.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.